Font Salada after thoughts

Thanks Paula for sending me so many pictures taken during our beautiful walk in Font Salada (17.04.2011). I have chosen the picture of the speech for this blog.

My Font Salada (after)-thoughts are as follows.

1. When we met a person with a brown Labrador, coming from the opposite direction, I stayed with dog and owner until all our friends and dogs had passed them.
Why?
When I see a person walking a dog on a tense lead in the campo, while the dog is showing me a head held high, a chest thrust forward, tail held high, eyes tensely focused and hackles up, I read that trouble is possible. I read that this dog is in charge, not the owner; this dog does not accept the protection of the human and does not show respect. Most people call such a dog "an agressive dog".
This is a mistake.
I call it a DEFENSIVE dog. He knows he has to defend the pack, as the human holding the tense lead is not doing this.
My question is: Why are so many friends in the Sunday morning walking group, still walking their dogs on a tense lead, allowing their dogs to pull them along?
If your dog is pulling (s)he is in charge. NOT YOU.
If you want to learn how to walk your dog on a slack lead, believe me, I can teach you.

2. Throwing a toy (it can be a plastic bottle) and expecting your dog to retrieve it, can be dangerous if other dogs are present. Toys do not exist in nature because in nature our dogs would never be bored.
What we call a toy is a PREY for a dog. Dominant dogs will protect their prey and this can lead to incidents if another dog wants to go for the same prey.
If you want to learn how to do retrieve exercises, believe me, I can teach you.

3. During the walk we met a family. The husband had to walk back because they had "lost"(?) a dog. This is a human interpretation. The dog was not lost.
This never happens in a natural pack.
According to me the dog thought the human was lost.
A dog does not stay with you, when you do not have developed the perfect team spirit of a natural pack. It means that you constantly pay more attention to the dog than the dog pays attention to you. If that is the case, you are not in charge. Your dog is. If the dog accepts and respects you as her/his pack leader, (s)he will not run away.
If you want to learn how to take charge of your pack, believe me, I can teach you.

4. The owner of the Font Salada bar had suggested we could leave the dogs in a pen.
I knew it would not work.
If you have not trained your dog to do long stays while other dogs are around, dogs will do everything that is possible to get to you.
This is what happened.
Do not think that is because these dogs love you so much.
That is the human way of thinking.
They want to be close to you because they consider you to be their submissive pups. They think they have to look after you.
Only when they trust you as their pack leader will they be able to do long stays.
If you want to learn that, believe me, I can teach you.

5. Offering food to a dog during or after the walk has to be avoided.
Do not reduce yourself to the position of a food dispenser. In nature a pack leader does not do this. Whatever happens in nature has to be our guideline. Mother Nature never makes mistakes.
Offering food to your dog during or after the walk (when we are having a drink) has already caused fights. Dominant dogs will protect their prey and food is prey. Dominant dogs might even protect their water bowl, if they feel that YOU are not offering that protection.
If you want to learn that, believe me, I can teach you.

6. During my speeches before we start walking, I stress that you are responsible for your dog during our walks.
The absolute minimum you need are commands like COME, SIT, STAY, DOWN, RUN (as a release command).
If you want to learn how to do that, believe me, I can teach you.

7. If you pick up the poo of your dog with a plactic bag that is excellent. But do not leave the small plastic bag on the parking lot for me to pick it up and bring it to a dustbin.
If you want to learn how to do that, believe me, I can teach you.

Kindest regards from Brunothedoglistener