Laika our eight-year-old Kelpie-mix was born, I am guessing because we adopted her at the age of one, with weak hind legs. Her front legs and chest area are super strong. Because of the weakness in her hind area and because I am a trainer that loves a good challenge, I along with the help of a couple of great physical therapists designed a series of exercises to strengthen her rear legs.
We work on these exercises three times a week – similarly to a person going to a gym religiously. Her sessions of course are much shorter and she does not have to wear the ultimate in sports attire.
For the most part we work in the garage where I have a series of props and we move from one exercise to the next swiftly: me paying attention to the placement of her paws, her gait and balance, the wagging of her tail with open grin and making sure she gets treated for almost every well performed rep. A few weeks back, I started working with her on the same exercises outside. We make use of the natural terrain that is soft on the joints yet it represents a challenge because it is on an incline.
The sessions go like this: I work with Deuce - our young and energetic border collie on impulse control in a high-intensity game of whippet. If you have no idea what a whippet game is… stay tuned…. as I will write on this fantastic training tool/game in a future post. While Deuce relaxes and catches his breath, Laika and I work on her routine. A few days ago, as I launched her treat for her to “find” she remained with nose glued to the ground in a hopeful search for another treat. I called her after a few seconds to no avail. As I stood on our exercise “hill” the question: “do you love me”? popped into my head.
Well, then if you love me you would mind me and come rushing to our exciting game/practice…. If you love me more than a piece of kibble you would…Really? Does it matter if my dog loves me? Yes! It matters to my ego and to whatever motherly instincts I have (all of course directed towards four legged species- that is just my speed).
From the perspective of behavior and behavior modification however, my question is a moot point! It really matters little if my dogs love me because what really governs behavior (any behavior: our dogs, yours or mine) is MOTIVATION.
I have had more than one client feel somewhat embarrassed when after expressing (just like me) their desire to be loved by their pets followed by me telling them (as gently as I can) that it really does not matter if their dog loves them. In other words: to give up on the need to be loved by their dog!
Motivation should not be an undesirable “dirty” concept in our minds. It is actually natural – that is it is evolutionarily advantageous for any animal (yes, us too) to act out of sheer self-interest.
What is even more fascinating is that the motivation my dog can have at a given moment; including her lack of interest in our joint practice has so little to do with the wonderful, warm and fulfilling relationship we have.
Now take note: while I have let go of wanting my dogs to love me with adoration, I do want my dogs to trust me! I want them to feel safe and “know” that I will do anything in my power to protect them, meet their true needs and give them a break when their motivation is not 100 % in line with mine.
Does it matter that you love me? No, but it is sure nice to think of the possibility…
We work on these exercises three times a week – similarly to a person going to a gym religiously. Her sessions of course are much shorter and she does not have to wear the ultimate in sports attire.
For the most part we work in the garage where I have a series of props and we move from one exercise to the next swiftly: me paying attention to the placement of her paws, her gait and balance, the wagging of her tail with open grin and making sure she gets treated for almost every well performed rep. A few weeks back, I started working with her on the same exercises outside. We make use of the natural terrain that is soft on the joints yet it represents a challenge because it is on an incline.
The sessions go like this: I work with Deuce - our young and energetic border collie on impulse control in a high-intensity game of whippet. If you have no idea what a whippet game is… stay tuned…. as I will write on this fantastic training tool/game in a future post. While Deuce relaxes and catches his breath, Laika and I work on her routine. A few days ago, as I launched her treat for her to “find” she remained with nose glued to the ground in a hopeful search for another treat. I called her after a few seconds to no avail. As I stood on our exercise “hill” the question: “do you love me”? popped into my head.
Well, then if you love me you would mind me and come rushing to our exciting game/practice…. If you love me more than a piece of kibble you would…Really? Does it matter if my dog loves me? Yes! It matters to my ego and to whatever motherly instincts I have (all of course directed towards four legged species- that is just my speed).
From the perspective of behavior and behavior modification however, my question is a moot point! It really matters little if my dogs love me because what really governs behavior (any behavior: our dogs, yours or mine) is MOTIVATION.
I have had more than one client feel somewhat embarrassed when after expressing (just like me) their desire to be loved by their pets followed by me telling them (as gently as I can) that it really does not matter if their dog loves them. In other words: to give up on the need to be loved by their dog!
Motivation should not be an undesirable “dirty” concept in our minds. It is actually natural – that is it is evolutionarily advantageous for any animal (yes, us too) to act out of sheer self-interest.
What is even more fascinating is that the motivation my dog can have at a given moment; including her lack of interest in our joint practice has so little to do with the wonderful, warm and fulfilling relationship we have.
Now take note: while I have let go of wanting my dogs to love me with adoration, I do want my dogs to trust me! I want them to feel safe and “know” that I will do anything in my power to protect them, meet their true needs and give them a break when their motivation is not 100 % in line with mine.
Does it matter that you love me? No, but it is sure nice to think of the possibility…
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