Click here for registration forms

Mary Mazzeri

Carpentersville, IL

847-426-5089

Serving the Chicago region in the Fox Valley area since 1970

Group Classes

Private instruction

Behavior Modification

Board & Train 

  IACP Certified Dog Trainer/Instructor CDT

LEAD OR BE LED!

The dog is a pack animal with strict rules of social conduct. Over centuries, the dog has become closely involved with man. Originally, in exchange for scavenging, hunting and alerting, the dog received food and companionship. Today dogs are largely deprived of their original work. There are hunting dogs who have never hunted and herding dogs which have never even glimpsed livestock.  Instead, they are primarily companions-pets. This is an important role too, but it contributes to their increased dependency. A dog perceives its human family as its pack, and has strong instincts to establish a leader.

For this reason, it is unhealthy to treat a dog as an equal. A dog can’t be equal to a human due to its genetic make up and its dependence on its owner for necessities. The dog owner should realize that the dog's subordinate position has nothing to do with repression. It is natural from a dog’s viewpoint. Unfortunately, in some dog/man relationships, dogs are treated as equals or even superiors. When an owner does not take time to properly train his dog, the strong willed dog is forced to ‘take over' due to pack instincts. Someone has to be in charge and that individual has the right to express likes and dislikes and to enforce them. This dominant dog will be demanding or even aggressive.  Often the owner gives in or caters to appease the dog, eventually avoiding situations where the dog is likely to challenge him. However, neither one can be happy in roles contradictory to the laws of nature. Some dogs become increasingly frustrated in this role until they explode at something or someone, especially children, often without warning. Sometimes the dog will attack even its owner without the owner deviating from its normal routine. Dogs with low assertiveness (submissive) may become neurotic or susceptible to illness, when it is unable to determine the pack order or rules. It can show its frustration in destructive or annoying behaviors, barking or whining, house soiling, chewing or fear biting. The dog is put in a position it can't handle and doesn't want. It seeks structure with man as the leader, having the opportunity to serve and please, with a bed, a bowl and a little praise for a job well done. 

Have you ever watched how happy a dog is when it can retrieve a ball or stick for its master? Compare this with the reaction of a spoiled, idle dog when it is asked to vacate the couch. No one can expect a dog to respect a human who caters to it without asking anything in return. The dog is in a power position and will make demands, which it has taught its owner to meet. A dog cannot comprehend our ideological concepts for equality in relationships. A dog does not have our sense of freedom either. For example, we may assume we are depriving the dog of its ‘rights' if we don't allow him to run free, but we forget that animals living in the wild never run without reason-they do it for survival- (and some of them don’t). The most detrimental factors in human/canine relationships are:

·        Humanizing: - Expecting the dog to know, understand, and act in a human way.

·        Catering – Where the dog is excessively spoiled and indulged.

·        Unclear communication: with inconsistent `rules of conduct', which leads to frustrated behaviors.

·        Neglect -where the untrained dog has to `self-train' and, instead of developing devotion, its emotions become wrongly conditioned and it responds with aggressive, destructive or phobic behaviors.

A humanized or self-trained dog becomes either emotionally dependent or emotionally demanding. Such a dog's desire to please becomes a demand to BE pleased instead.

The healthy bonding between a master and its dog can best be established through the understanding, discipline and communication learned through participating in a balanced training program.