Anthropomorphism A Dirty Word?

Anthropomorphism means to attribute human qualities to animals. Is this such a bad thing?
We do this, simply as a means of reference to reference expressions and behaviors. As Alexandria Horrowitz states " Anthropomorphism's are not inherently odious. They are born of attempts ot understand the world,not to subvert it. Our human ancestors would have regularly anthroponmorphized in an attempt to ex plan an predict the behavior of other animals, including those they might want to eat or that might want to eat them." Inside a Dog, What Dogs, See Smell and Know Alexandra Horowitz, Scribner, copy write 2009.
In our relationship with dogs humans tend to ascribe human labels to the dog's behaviour. This is only normal as we have no other point of reference. It is important to remember this, as many feel that ascribing human traits or emotions to dogs is negative. Further to this, many will scorn animal communication for just this reason. They will say that dogs do not think or feel, they are animals and as such are governed purely by biology: they eat, sleep and procreate. Basically many think of dogs and other animals as biological robots.
However, dogs and many other animals are sentient beings in that they do think, and feel. This is not to say that they think in the same terms as humans. Dogs think in a linear fashion. That is to say that if A happens then B must follow.
Thus when communicating with animals one is not using psychic ability, but rather telepathic ability This means a fair amount of concentration is needed to be able to hear the animal's thoughts. The communicator will interpret these thoughts into human language so that we humans can understand the thoughts more clearly.
This is not anthrpomorphism but merely interpreting and using human feelings, and language as a point of reference.
Animal communication is a wonderful tool as it can help the pet guardian to understand their companion animal, it can also help in diagnosing illness as under normal circumstances the pet guardian will have to make guesses about illness as for the most part both dogs and cats are very stoic about not feeling well.The animal communicator will instead ask the animal such questions as how are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?I personally have used the services of an animal communicator to find out why my Davina exhibits different behaviors with me than she does with my husband. The answers were very interesting. In addition I have taken some courses in animal communication from Claudia Hehr. She is an amazing person and extremely telepathic

As an aside I have noticed that I have two followers of this blog. I would love to have your comments about this entry and any other issues I have discussed on the blog. I love comments it means I am not talking to myself.

cbc radio one broadcast Dogs themselves

In December there was a three part radio broadcast on CBC radio one called "Dogs themselves" with among others Suzanne Clouthier and Gillian Ridgeway. The discussion was about do dogs have cognitive ability and if so how do dogs view the world. It was very interesting in that the general consensus was that dogs do have cognitive ability but view the world differently. It was suggested that dogs see the world more in pictures than in a verbal sense. Dr. Coren has suggested that dogs see the world and have memory much like a two year old child does.
Although I have no scientific observations to back it up am of the opinion that dogs actually understand more than they are actually given credit for.
For those reading my blog and or following it, I would be interested in comments and stories about the cognitive ability of dogs and how much others feel their dogs actually understand.

Obdience training

Norma Jeanne Laurette from IPDTA has an article about dominance theory and obedience training. She is basically stating in the article that obedience training is making someone do something, to subordinate.
I tend to agree.
While it is necessary to teach the dog to sit, stay, come, leave it and several other commands that are important for the dog's own safety, this can be done without making the dog subordinate.
Teaching the dog can be done through operant conditioning. In operant conditioning the individual can manipulate his environment either in a positive or negative way.
Teaching can also be made fun. It can be a sort of Montessori for dogs.

Domination theory again

I have been doing much reading and research about Domination Theory. What does it mean to dominate someone? It means to make that person subordinate, inferior. Those who use domination theory as part of training advocate for making the dog subordinate to humans. Why is this necessary? Do humans fear that their dog is plotting to over throw the humans in the household?
The other part of dominance theory is that dogs actually view humans as part of the canine pack. The humans must become the "alpha" or dominant one in the pack.
Dogs are smart and do know that humans are a different species and do not want to gain control, if for no other reason than the fact that the humans can open the fridge, use the can opener and have better food.
In nature dominance is fluid. This means that who is the dominant or alpha in the pack today, can change due to a variety of factors.
In dog training, employing the dominance theory invariably means using aversive (physical punishment) and forcing the dog to be subordinate. The dog performs out of fear of punishment, not for the pleasure or anticipation of a reward.
In positive dog training humans employ an understanding of canine behavior and the dog performs as he knows that by doing what is asked he is rewarded. Not performing the requested task does not get him a reward. It is a simple equation and makes perfect sense in doggie arithmetic.
What it all boils down to is this: Would you rather have a dog that is afraid of you or a dog that enjoys doing what is requested of him.

The proof is in about vaccinatiions

When I first started going to the Holistic veterinary East York Animal Clinic four years ago the Veterinary told me that dogs did not need anything other than rabies. I was willing to try this in order to get Davina's seasonal allergies under control. I was skeptical at the time. I was also worried thinking maybe she will get Parvo or distemper or something.
Well since then, there have been many articles written about over vaccination and how it breaks down the dog's immune system. There have been articles in Dogs in Canada, and various veterinary websites about this.
Many dogs today have developed food allergies, as well as environmental allergies. This is mainly due to a breakdown of the immune system due to over vaccination.
It should be noted that after the puppy shots that the dog received within the first three to four months of life he only needs the rabies vaccination. Instead of vaccinating, ask your veterinary to do what are called titre tests. This is a blood test to find out if your dog has the antibodies for Parvo. If he does then he does not need the vaccination. Other vaccinations your dog does not really need are kennel cough, and Lepto vaccine. It should be noted that certain breeds of dogs cannot tolerate the Lepto vaccine well, and this should be researched as well as consulting with your veterinary about how well your dog can tolerate certain vaccinations. The new rabies vaccinations are good for three years.
In addition to this, some heart worm medications such as sentinel have insecticides to kill fleas and tics. This is harmful to your dog.
When choosing a heart worm medication check which ones do not have insecticides.
Heart Guard which is for heart worm only is a safe bet.
It is important that your dog be as natural a dog as possible.

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Weebly - Website Creation Made Easy

Natural dog training

While watching a program called Animal House Calls a new training technique was introduced. This is called natural dog training. You can learn more about this from looking at their blog which is naturaldogblog.com From reading this blog, it is basically going with the dog's natural instincts and being relaxed. There is one particular article on the blog that is interesting which is called "Be the Moose" This article talks about the dog's prey instinct and how the dog will run with the moose and hopefully have a meal. The main thing is that the moose is the most important thing, that the moose as prey. That hunting the moose expends a great deal of energy. Much more energy than say a jack rabbit.
The article is also saying that what is important is the energy and going with the natural flow of the dog. This technique is very interesting and seems to fit in with positive training techniques. I personally am very excited about this type of training and hope to learn more in the near future.