It didn't seem real that a dog could take a human for a pet.
This beautiful male Black Labrador retriever danced in front of me, taunting me to chase him down the driveway. It would be no problem, unless you summarize the odd behaviors of the day: he ate a panful of our -human- food, resisted to be leashed, jumped on anybody 6 feet around him, and gleefully joined the kids games, or rather, pushed and pulled them.
In popular terms: he was setting his dominance of the pack through the playful motions of hunting.
The dog was nearly a third of my weight but obviously fitter -waaaay fitter- so wrestling him into the backyard went instantly to the bottom of my options list; chasing him could give me my first heart attack and letting him wander around was a sure way to end up blacklisted in the city's ASPCA chapter. Then, the shine in his eyes taught me a lesson.
I saw happiness, self-assurance, adolescent cockiness, and the raw sheer of freedom in his eyes. How can somebody want to erase that? I could not.
So, I turned around, grabbed a stuffed squeaky duck -MY favorite-, and invited him to chase me, via the same dance he was offering me. Wow. The boy went bananas, going around me until I offered him his fair half of the duck and tug-o-warred with him. I counted five seconds, ended the game, and closed the path to the driveway.
With loud praises for him, I went into the house and let both of us rest in the fresh victory of nice manners.
This dog made me realize, beyond the theory I had learned, been tested, and passed, that obedience training is not a matter of the fittest but the wittiest, not of imposing but proposing, not of bullying but bonding.
The one-minute lesson served me well, after his 2-month intensive training under my care, I faced off with a giant grumpy Saint Bernard, several chihuahuas with short temper, and over stressed mutts of all sizes that needed someone to teach them a simpler way to deal with us stubborn human.
Months later, while watching Animal Planet's Groomer Has It, Artist won Best in Show after bathing and brushing the most dominant of a group of Chow Chows. He explained his successful approach as performing a service to the dog, not trying to dominate and make obey. Attaboy.
Dominant behavior exists, but it does not have to addressed a la Cesar Milan by showing who's the boss -peace to my fellow mexican. We can simply provide the dog with better reasons to do things our way.
Subtleties are not lost on dogs.
