tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post3982596397732620029..comments2023-11-02T05:18:38.925-05:00Comments on Antiquity Oaks: Trust and control (and dog psychology)Deborah Niemannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10754242197245805551noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-2988659425588403352008-08-16T14:53:00.000-05:002008-08-16T14:53:00.000-05:00Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this with us a...Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this with us all. I was really gripped reading this very considered response to an awful event in your family life. Sovalye is indeed lucky to have you as a family, it sounds as though he deserves a second chance. We don't speak dog half as well as they speak human and it must be very frustrating for them, especially when ill or scared. Well done xJenny Holdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17503427796709597517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-33788141524374724412008-08-15T15:15:00.000-05:002008-08-15T15:15:00.000-05:00Hi Deborah,I am so glad Margaret is doing better. ...Hi Deborah,<BR/><BR/>I am so glad Margaret is doing better. It sounds like your family people and critters alike, are fortunate to have your gentle and intelligent guidance in their lives. You alone know your daughter, the dog, the situation to its fullest. I am glad you are all recovering from this ordeal and you are still in my thoughts and prayers that happier days lie ahead for you all. Take care of you and yours.Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306393089259457114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-83203258664180586392008-08-15T06:30:00.000-05:002008-08-15T06:30:00.000-05:00Great post and thanks for the reading suggestions....Great post and thanks for the reading suggestions. I'd love to read your article with the monks.<BR/><BR/>One of the gifts you gave Sovalye was some time. (I'm glad you found a new vet.) When we're frightened, it's so easy to make decisions that might be regretful and dire. Sovalye and your family had time to absorb what happened and recover thoughtfully. <BR/>It's something I've always appreciated about homeschooling in that the time allowance turns many problems into solutions.<BR/>When we were in the barn with Sovalye, he was never intimidating to us. Even when you and I were in the milk parlor and the boys were hanging out with the other goats. He wasn't afraid of us and we weren't of him. (He was locked up in the stall, but he seemed to have it figured out as far as danger level with strangers.)<BR/>Our dog attacked a passing car on our road when I had just walked out of our front door. He'd never bothered with cars on the road before that particular timing other than to scope out who was pulling into our driveway. We think he was in protection mode of me. He lost the battle with a broken hip. We learned that assumptions of what is going in our animal's head is just that, an assumption, and that we need to be wary of his behavior at all times.<BR/>Hope Margaret is doing well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-57163940800862205632008-08-14T22:08:00.000-05:002008-08-14T22:08:00.000-05:00Thanks to you both! And I'd love to read Karen Pry...Thanks to you both! And I'd love to read Karen Pryor's book again, so Tammy, if you get a copy before I find mine, I'd love to borrow it. I was very happy to see on Amazon that she did a revised edition a couple years ago.Deborah Niemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754242197245805551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-4775359560633311102008-08-14T13:41:00.000-05:002008-08-14T13:41:00.000-05:00Very thoughtful post. I admire you for taking wha...Very thoughtful post. I admire you for taking what many would consider the 'hard road', and trying to work this out. It sounds like Margaret too, is working out how this happened, so I think that has to be very healing. With Boone (my Mastiff) I also had to learn a 'new way' of thinking. Training methods that worked on the collies just did not make any headway with him. He is a great dog, but because of his breed and make up he thinks and responds differently than the Collies. I love how you discuss how you've come to learn that working with the animal (and situation) is so much more profitable. About the first year I had sheep, I realized that so many methods I used with other animals wouldn't work, so I started 'thinking like a sheep'. It's made things much smoother, and only when I forget, do things get crazy! Anyway, I wish you the best as you work through this with your mighty dog--with time, hopefully he will regain his confidence and trust. Also I've put the book by Karen Pryor on my wishlist at the paperback club I belong to. If I get a copy, I'd be happy to send it on to you, once I read it! ;-)<BR/>TammyTammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02131066591477169851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-37250643311620169332008-08-14T11:34:00.000-05:002008-08-14T11:34:00.000-05:00Loved your thoughts and insights, and think they a...Loved your thoughts and insights, and think they are all spot-on. Sovalye is a very fortunate dog to have you all as his family, because too few would try to understand him and trust him again. He deserves it! I've learned many of the same lessons the hard way with horses, after being taught the "cowboy way" (dominance) early on. Fortunately, dressage lends itself to understanding and trust more than many disciplines.Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550786937196525098noreply@blogger.com