Chapter 2. The Psychology of Pet Grooming: How to have a great human to dog relationship and inter-species respect.

❖Chapter 2.

The Psychology of Pet Grooming: How to have a great human to dog relationship and inter-species respect.

Our pets are the perfect companions. They are in tune with our emotions, they love unconditionally, they worry about us when we are gone and they make a celebration out of our return. They eat the same food every day without complaining and they treat you like their God.

If you agreed with everything I said above except treating you like a God, then there is a problem. Lets go over a little dog psychology. Believe it or not, even though our dogs are our best companion next to humans, you cannot treat them like a human! Your pet dog is and always will be a dog; not a human. And he will love and respect you more if you treat him like a dog. Lets do a little role reversal. Think about how you would feel if your dog tried to treat you like a dog instead of a human. You come home and the dog sniffs you all over. (He probably does this already and is makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?)The dog makes you eat the same food every day in a bowl on the floor. The dog asks you to fetch the paper and pee outside. Doesn't this sound foreign and crazy? Wouldn't you feel awkward and out of place to have the dog making you do dog behavior because he wants to treat you the same as himself, a dog? It is the same when you superimpose human qualities and human rights on your dog. Your dog is not the same as you. When you give a dog human rights you are in denial of how a dog was made to function.

A dog's instinct is to live within a pack with a clear leader who gives orders. Each dog in the pack has a place, as in a hierarchy, or a chain of command like in the military. It is important for the dogs psyche that this structure exists or the dog will feel and act out of place, uncontrolled, wild, try to dominate you with biting or growling, be anxious, nervous and protective of you against other people or animals. It is essential that you are the pack leader, the Alpha, the boss. It's not enough to say you are the Alpha, you have to act it and be it. You must be your dog's God. By that I mean that the dog doesn't challenge you, ignore your orders, beg, dominate you, or destroy your things. A dog who feels a part of a pack with you at the head, is secure, happy and confident. He listens to and obeys the leader without question. He remains calm in new situations and knows his leader will be in control so he doesn’t have to panic or overreact.

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