Giving More With Less

When it comes to humans interacting with nearly any animal, we have the tendency to give them MUCH more than they need.  Dogs are by far the worst example of this and in nearly every other example it creates the same result…chaos for the animal and human.

Many behavior issues stem from humans giving the animal much more than they need and much more than they should.  Does a Siberian Husky really need rubber boots and a coat?  Does a chihuahua really need a dog stroller?  Does that German Shepherd need gluten free food?  Absolutely not!

When it comes to giving, humans are good at giving lots of free affection (which leads to behavior issues) and really bad at giving exercise and setting boundaries (which also leads to behavior issues).  The balance comes from doing these items in the correct order.  Exercise, discipline THEN affection. 

Our training consultant Kurdt Greenwood has had firsthand experience with this in his home country of South Africa.

“We have a problem with humans feeding Baboons in South Africa and it creates a lot of conflict, with unfortunately the baboons getting the worst of it. They are incredibly powerful and intelligent animals with teeth on a male being as big as a lion so they can be very dangerous. They get so used to tourists feeding them that all they want is human food and will do anything to get it including stealing it from houses, cars and right out of your hands.  We even have baboon squads or monitors that follows troops to make sure they don't break into houses in some towns and cities. Unfortunately the better the baboon gets at stealing human food the more likely they are to being labeled as dangerous and many times gets taken out by nature conservation. So, when we spoil wild animals we can create a massive problem not just for us but also for the wild animals involved…”

Want to learn how to do more with less?  Contact your local certified Always Faithful Dog Trainer today!