Why Is It Ok To Blame Any Animal?
Handling everyone's dog with custom care, attention and exercise, at our boarding kennel Harmony Farm Kennel & Lamb, near Kamloops, we get to know all types of dogs and doganalities very well. We don't judge dogs for anything, however, by their behaviour, they do tell us more than most people realize about their owners as well...
Years ago when working with horses professionally it always puzzled me when the rider did a terrible job of training and leadership. The horse acted up accordingly and yes, the horse always got the blame. They were quickly labeled a bolter, puller, kicker, bucker, biter, nutcase or unmanageable... Yet when the rider did a wonderful job and the horse responded to excellent leadership, the horse got all the credit! As if no one had anything to do with creating either horse! How is that?
We find the same with dogs actually. We meet people almost everyday that struggle having literally no leadership skills with their out of balance dogs. We see people lead their dogs holding them with strong arms the dogs front end totally off the ground to go into the kennel. We see people choking their dogs with a check chain, having no release when the dog tries to do the right thing. We've had people come with their dogs wearing their 'dog shirt' that has bite holes all over it. We see dogs jump, paw and leap all over their owners, disrespect their owners word or space and, not unlike horses, they come with labels. We often hear and see written on our registration forms ...a jumper, barker, digger, destructive, runaway, biter, lounger, bolts food, terrible to lead, bad manners, over exciteable and much more. Yet, when dogs come to our boarding kennel well balanced and behaving like dog 'champions', the dog gets all the credit, as if it just happens without some dedicated owner creating the excellent behavior! “How does this work?” I ask.
We find our dogs! We look at them, we go and get them, sometimes pay a great deal for them and we choose to bring them into our lives! Some even breed dogs specifically so others can take them into their lives! Any domesticated animal/pet, dog, horse, cats, even mules, require training and guidance. They need to know a person's standards that are expected, they need direction and guidance and coresponding to that training/leadership, the animal finds safety, comfort and a reliable friendly place within those trained perimeters. This isn't rocket science right? Am I missing something here?
So how is it that we can blame and condemn any dog or any other animal/pet, regardless of breed, of anything? How can we humans, judge and condemn any domesticated, humanly managed (or not) dog ...a.n.i.m.a.l... for bad or inappropriate behaviour? Did someone not take that dog into their life and either provide appropriate training, or not? Did some one not allow or dissallow that animal's behavior? How is it that it is okay to put blame on an animal for their actions, rather than the person responsible for that animal and their behaviour?
I just don't understand the logic. Nor can I condone this week's Ontario governing decison maker's ignorant and oblivious IRRESPONSIBLE approach to supposedly creating a better world by condeming and having the right to kill any animal for anything, that a human was responsible for. HOW is THAT going to make any world better or teach anyone within our world to be better owners of animals, I ask, least of all help any of the dogs (regardless of breed) that are out of control! Why are the people responsible for that animal not held responsible, instead of just doing away with the animal?
As I began, I'll never understand why animals, no matter what their size or breed, wear the label and get all the blame. Why is it ok to simply blame the animals?
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