Reminds me, I got to say hello to a mastiff and a rottweiler/mastiff mix today at the market.
Reminds me, I got to say hello to a mastiff and a rottweiler/mastiff mix today at the market. Omg, sooo well trained and friendly and adorable. And huge. Like, smaller at the shoulder than the officially Giant Alaskan Malamute, but big, muscly dogs. Really, really pretty and sweet.
I really wish I was responsible enough for an Alaskan Malamute. They really are my favorite. Big dogs with training are just the best.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I would need to get trained before I would feel comfortable dealing with dogs that need very strong training dominance, or else. I hate to see it when people get them because cute puppy, or whatever, and then can't properly train and care for them. They end up needing rescue, and sometimes are just put down. The malamute I met was a rescue and his adopter said the shelter found him locked in a crate that was too small for him and just left in the yard. They're pretty sure someone thought they were getting a cute puppy, not a 160+ lbs. stubborn dog.
ReplyDeleteMost dogs don't actually need dominance per se, just strength of personality and assertiveness and ludicrous amounts of communication.
ReplyDeleteI think that's how we got Bandit, by the way - as an unaltered year-old 80-lb puppy he came wandering in to my cousin's house in the country. The cousin apparently lives on Dump Your Unwanted Pets Lane, which is why he and his wife have eight dogs and 20 cats. He didn't mind us claiming the one who decided to come home with us that day.
I don't personally have the tolerance for certain dog behavior that many in the group seem to, so I see myself as more of an outlier when dogs are mentioned here.
ReplyDeleteStefanie Fiskaa that's fair, I don't have tolerance for many child behaviors, so I'll never have one of those. But I'm glad other people do.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you call it, #alphadogging
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's what I mean, that "alpha dog" thing is nonsense. http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_12/features/Alpha-Dogs_20416-1.html
ReplyDeleteThat shit is stupid just like "breaking" horses is stupid.
ReplyDeleteThat is not what i was talking about. That link does explain somewhat why I was apparently under the impression that a dog deferring to you for any reason had anything to do with the term "alpha", but I was not at all aware that it was associated with an abusive, punishment based training style. I'm glad you let me know, though, because I won't use the term now since it's something I also have no tolerance for. "Strong personality and assertiveness" is far more accurate, and I'll use that phrasing in future.
ReplyDeleteYeah, basically dogs respect a person with, for lack of a better word, charisma, and then want to make them happy. At that point the only problem is explaining what it is you want to a critter with whom one does not share a common language.
ReplyDeleteYep, that. Thanks, though, again, 'cuz I hear people using those terms incorrectly and I needed to know that.
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