Читать книгу The Practical Dog Listener: The 30-Day Path to a Lifelong Understanding of Your Dog - Jan Fennell - Страница 11

A dog believes it is a functioning member of a community that operates according to principles directly descended from the wolf pack. Whether its ‘pack’ consists of itself and its owner, or a large family of humans and other animals, the dog believes it is part of a social grouping and a pecking order that must be adhered to at all times. What is more, all dogs believe they are the elected leader of that pack. And they believe this because the humans with whom they live send out signals that re-elect them to the role on a daily basis.

It is my belief that all of the problems we encounter with our dogs are rooted in their belief that they rather than us, their owners, are the leaders of their particular packs. It is the correction of this misconception that lies at the heart of the communications technique I have developed, called Amichien Bonding.

Four separate elements make up the bonding process. Each correlates to the specific times I have identified when the pack’s hierarchy is established and underlined. On each occasion, the dog is confronted with a question that we must answer on its behalf by providing clear, concise signals that it will understand. The four occasions are:

 When the pack reunites after a separation, who is the boss now?

 When the pack eats food, what order do we eat in?

 When the pack is under attack or there is a fear of danger, who is going to protect us?

 When the pack goes on the hunt, who is going to lead us?

Each set of signals will be introduced individually with the ‘hunt’, or walk, tackled last of all. It will eventually be necessary for you to use all four elements in conjunction with each other. Your dog must, in effect, be blitzed with signals. It needs to learn that it is not its responsibility to look after you, that it is not its job to care for the house, that all it has to do is sit back and lead a comfortable and enjoyable life. It is a mantra that must be repeated over and over again. Only then will your dog get the message that it is no longer in charge, only then will it be able to exercise the most powerful form of control, self-control.

The process is, at heart, a simple one. The most powerful central principles are established within the first few hours of application. From there, you will go on to add additional signals and controls, first within the home, then within the outside world. By the end of the first thirty days, you should have laid the foundations for a lifetime of companionship and co-operation. What follows is a guide to these formative, first thirty days.

In many ways, the process that is about to begin is akin to a revolution. The objective will be to stage a bloodless coup, to remove the leadership from the dog, but to do so without resorting to force or violence in any way. No coup in history has succeeded without precise and careful planning. And this one will be no exception…