Animal Tales

Dogs want you to know …

Written by Whitney Doremus* and the thousands of dogs
she’s met along the way

Dogs do not speak English, or German, or Spanish, or Russian, and so on
Dogs can be taught the meaning of about 80
words or phrases
Dogs do not understand praise or corrections unless it is delivered within three seconds of the behavior
Dogs DO NOT feel guilt
Dogs' primary form of communication is body language
Dogs are contextual
Dogs live in the moment
Dogs are non-verbal
Dogs need lots of exercise
Dogs need to be rewarded for good behavior
Dogs hate social isolation
Every dog has different motivations
Every dog will work for his/her motivation
Dogs want to work
Dogs DO NOT act out of spite
Adult dogs have the mental capability of a two
year old human
Dogs use their nose over any other sense
Dogs need socialization to all things human
Dogs need lots of practice time to become obedient
Dogs need mental stimulation
Dogs want YOU to be their leader
Dogs want you to tell them what to do
Dogs will create "jobs" for themselves if they need to
Dogs develop strong associations
Dogs were bred for various purposes and therefore have drives
Dogs do not see well, but see better at night than
we do
Dog hear VERY well
Dogs ARE NOT little humans wearing fur
Dogs think dead animals smell like perfume
Dogs want to live inside with their humans
Dogs mature around three years old
Dogs do not feel jealousy
Dogs do learn to "guard" easily
Dogs can learn not to "guard" easily
Dogs depend solely on their humans to teach them and care for them

*Whitney Doremus, owner of Dogs at Play is a certified Pet Dog Trainer through the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She has been teaching obedience classes and doing dog behavior consultations professionally since 1997.

Reprinted with permission from her website: www.superdogsatplay.com

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