Petiquette

Everyone has their pet peeves, but mine are directly associated with actual pets. I apologize for my soapbox rant in advance.

To All Pet Owners:

• Leashes are the law. I know we all want to live in a world where our dogs can frolic off-leash, but that is called a dog park. My neighbors reasons for not using a leash will not work with me, "He was close to me," "You don't expect to run into people this late at night (it was 9:30 and what the hell does that mean?)" and "He was on leash (uh, ok expect it was invisible)."
• Respect property right, period. In case you didn't know, not all people like dogs. Many families choose not to have pets and this is their choice. These people should not have to deal with your dog running all over their yard and peeing on every vertical object.
  
• Pick up the crap. Invest in some poop bags. Dogs poop and if you don't pick it up you set a bad example for all dog owners everywhere.
  
• Flexi leashes suck. You may be thinking, "Oh I love being able to let my dog roam and have more freedom." Sorry, but I refuse to use a leash that comes with warnings that involve amputations. On a side note, these leashes never ask your dog to comply with any rules regarding pulling on leash. This is why many of my students get drug around the training room. The dog has no regard for the person attached to the leash.
• Correction in dog world is perfectly normal. I understand my knowledge of dog body language is larger than most of the general public, however one of my biggest annoyances is people not understanding normal dog behavior. Dogs use aggression as normal behavior to convey to other dogs very important messages. For example, a young goofy dog may approach an older more mature dog in a very rude manner (think young inexperienced boy trying to hit on a woman). The mature dog has every right in this situation to correct the young dog. If effect, the older dog is saying "that is rude and this is what happens to rude dogs." Usually this correction is loud and showy, but the intent is not to injure the other dog. These correction can be incredibly important to the development of a young dog. This type of aggression happens on a regular basis in human language. A child does something wrong and the mother has "that look" that ends the interact immediately. Of course if the mother was mad at the child and decided that beating him was appropriate we would consider this abnormal behavior. In the dog world there are abnormal forms of dog aggression. In these cases dog behavior is ways that are outside the bounds of normal dog communication. Suzanne Clothier's article "He Just Wants to Say Hi!" explains this more in depth.

Well, that is enough of my soapbox for a bit. Hope everyone had an exciting weekend. Mine was pretty uneventful: work, family dinners and a little more work. Christian and I did see The Bourne Ultimatum. If you want to watch a thrilling movie full of abnormal aggression this is the one for you. It is great!