The hearsay and the “they say”
“Conventional wisdom: the generally accepted belief, opinion, judgment, or prediction about a particular matter.” (Merriam-Webster)
Some examples of conventional wisdom:
• The earth is flat and the center of the universe
• Doctors say cigarettes are good for you*
• Bloodletting is curative and will remove toxins from your body (this practice persisted for hundreds of years!)
• “Don’t swim right after you eat” (the American Red Cross says this is a myth. It may be uncomfortable to swim right after you eat, but there’s no medical reason that you shouldn’t).
Dogs and Conventional Wisdom
Some examples of wholly inaccurate tidbits of “conventional wisdom” as they pertain to dogs include the following:
• Tug will make your dog aggressive. Tug is a natural and healthy behavior for a dog to engage in. When we train our dog the basic rules of tug, it can be a wonderful game to play together.
• Don’t let your dog “win”at tug. “Winning” here is seen through the myopic lens of the control-hungry human. It’s the game, the interaction, the pulling that our dogs generally get excited about; not who ends up with the object in the end.**
• Eat before your dog to maintain your pack leadership role. This is just plain silly, not to mention inconvenient.
• Feeding your dog “people food” will make him beg. Who invented the term “people food”? Right, pet food manufacturers, and they love how many myth followers are out there. No creature has exclusive rights to any food source, and, in fact, if we feed kibble, it’s highly likely we’ll see “people food” ingredients listed. The difference is that kibble is highly processed, packaged into fancy bags and is a far cry from its original ingredients. Feeding people food won’t make your dog beg, but repeatedly feeding him anything he likes in a specific situation may inspire him to please ask for more.
• Go through doors before your dog [purportedly for same reason as above]. Does this apply to every door, even the bathroom door? What happens if you have a yard, and you just want to let your dog out to pee? Do you still have to go out first? Again, very misleading, inaccurate and inconvenient. However, please teach your dog good door manners so everybody is safe and happy.
• Stick your hands in your dog’s food dish while she is eating to show you own everything. This is simply rude and over time will condition your dog to loathe your approach rather than like it. Don’t take: donate! Teach joyous exchange games so your dog relishes relinquishing.
• A wagging tail = a friendly dog. The tail is very expressive for sure, but it’s the whole body we need to observe to assess a dog’s emotional state. A high, stiffly wagging tail can mean arousal; not a good time to say hello. A very low wagging tail can mean worry or fear; not a good time to interact either. We have to look at more than just the tail to get the full picture.
• Reach out your hand when meeting a new dog so he can sniff you. Dogs will already have gotten a hefty dose of your aroma before you get that close, and reaching your hand towards her can be seen as an invasion of personal space. Instead, let her approach you and avoid being handsy. Dogs will present the part of their body they prefer you touch; respect this.
Conventional wisdom is often a poor guide. It can be based on myths, customs, faith in others’ ideas, bad research, or just plain habit - “we’ve always done it this way”- kind of thinking. Blindly embracing conventional wisdom risks impeding growth, knowledge, creative new ideas and progress. It can feed our confirmation biases.
Just because we believe something is the truth doesn’t make it true. In fact, conventional wisdom can be so wrong that following it can have dangerous repercussions for us and for our dogs.
What bits of conventional wisdom have you found to be potentially harmful or off the wall? Which ones might have slivers of truth? Were you surprised by any of the above?
If we take a moment to question some of the things we hold as true and accurate, dig a bit deeper and use legitimate sources for our information, we might discover the “wisdom” factor has been completely missing!
Happy Training!
*“IN 1946, THE RJ REYNOLDS Tobacco Company initiated a major new advertising campaign for Camels, one of the most popular brands in the United States. Working to establish dominance in a highly competitive market, Reynolds centered their new campaign on the memorable slogan, ‘More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.’ This phrase would be the mainstay of their advertising for the next 6 years.” (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
**Tug, taught with rules and fun, can help to mitigate resource guarding, but if you notice any guarding from your dog, please contact a professional who practices positive reinforcement.
Diana Logan, CPDT-KA Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge-Assessed
Pet Connection Dog Training, North Yarmouth, Maine
www.dianalogan.com | 207-252-9352