Ambassadogs

Dogs are amazing intelligent social active animals. Regardless of breed, type, age or sex of the dog each and every one chooses to live with us. You may have been the one who decided to offer to share your home with a dog but ultimately it’s your dog’s choice to live with you. He or she could leave easily if he wished and some do! He could run out an open door, jump over or dig under a fence. He could run off during a walk. If he really wanted to he could be aggressive to escape from you. He chooses not to. That in itself is pretty amazing.

We in return feed, water and shelter them. We ensure they are physically healthy and exercise them. It sounds like a fair “trade” but imagine the roles were reversed. You are a social intelligent active being. Imagine being provided for as your dog is, fed, watered, sheltered and exercised. Sounds great doesn’t it?! However in the role reversal you will have to do one thing more than anything else. You will wait. You will wait to be fed, you will wait to be walked, you will wait for a game, and you will wait for attention or fuss. Day in, day out your main task will be to wait and to do so without complaint. You will not get bored and play with something you come across. You will not vocalise your annoyance and boredom. You will not be over excited when someone comes home and you finally have someone to interact with nor will you be overexcited when you’re allowed out and can speak to other people. You will remain calm, steady and happy. You will do as you are asked when you are asked and by someone who speaks a completely different language to you that you don’t really understand!

It’s a big ask isn’t it? Yet this is not only what we ask for but actually fully expect our dogs to do. When they don’t behave as we would like we often blame the dog, simply for being a dog.

Take a moment and write a list of all the things you do NOT want your dog to do during a 24 hours period and include the timescales (for example : I do not want my dog to be destructive during the 8 hours I am at work). Then write a list of all the things YOU provide for him to do during a 24 hours period, again including the time scales and compare the two lists.

Not quite so much fun being the dog now is it?

The good news is you are not a dog. Hopefully (!) you don’t greet others sniffing their genitals, bury bones in the garden or like to roll in foul smelling faeces. More good news - your dog is not human. He does not “misbehave” because he’s “trying to dominate you” and he’s not secretly planning to take over the world. You dog stays with you because he enjoys and accepts your very bizarre human behavior.

All he would really like is for you to extend him the same courtesy.