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Understanding the 3 Cardinal Rules of Dog Psychology to Know When Loving Your Dog Too Much Can Be Harmful

29 10:36:40

Understanding these three basic rules of dog psychology can help you overcome many of your dog’s behavior issues. Knowing which actions you are taking, or not taking, that is causing or contributing to their behavior problems can go a long way in helping you and your dogs have a better relationship and be able to live together in deeper harmony.

Do you think that if your dog really loved you, she would behave better, would come when you called, and wouldn’t eat your shoes, pee in the house, be aggressive, or tear up your stuff…?

Do you sometimes think that after all you’ve done for them, they should treat you better? After all, you work very hard providing food, shelter, treats, and you give them tons of affection all the time showing them how much you love them… Why aren’t they being the dog you want them to be?

Veronica came to me this past month with her much loved four dog pack of monsters, Percy, Shamus, Loo and Bear. There weren’t any repercussions from their bad behavior yet since she lives in a rural area. However, Veronica had plans to move into town soon, and other people wouldn’t be so tolerant. She’d have to make the painful and heartbreaking decision to let go of some of her family.

Her dogs fought with each other, barked non stop, jumped on strangers and were never allowed off leash because they wouldn’t come when called.

Veronica’s dogs frustrated her all too often causing her to yell at them frequently… which did no good, either for her blood pressure or as a behavior correction. She wasn’t getting anywhere with her training attempts. She was also worried about their health because Loo and Bear were vomiting frequently.

Veronica thought an animal communicator would help figure out why they were acting out so badly, help with their health concerns, and discover what could be done to fix the problems. She realized that loving them wasn’t enough to resolve things between them.

After I spoke to the dogs, I shared with Veronica that the dogs said they didn’t respect her and they didn’t trust her much either. They enjoyed the food and attention to a point, but were actually allergic to some of the foods she was giving them.

Veronica’s energy was weak and unfocused, which made them feel anxious and unstable. They couldn’t figure out who was the leader of the pack, so they constantly fought over position and resources. Her directions could safely be ignored most of the time, and they knew how to avoid her when they wanted to.

Veronica had forgotten the 3 Cardinal Rules of dog psychology.

1. Dogs aren’t born thinking they owe humans anything, including respect. Why should they? They didn’t ask to be bred, or beg to be trained, or want to be vaccinated or spayed or neutered, or given to various people and hauled away to strange places… They also weren’t inclined to offer respect to someone who they didn’t have to please or appease.

2. Trust is earned as a reward for having spent quality time developing a proper balanced relationship. Every time you are with your dog, you are either training them or untraining them by what you choose to reward and what you choose to ignore, by how you show up as a leader or follower. Be sure you are rewarding the things you want your friend to continue doing, and that the reward you are offering is something they value.

3. Affection doesn’t make sense to a dog without having been earned first from someone who is of good standing in the pack, and is often unwelcome attention that can cause them pain or distress, or even trouble in their pack status. True love isn’t based on pity. It is based on respect, trust, communion of the soul, and a deep understanding about who each of you truly are in your authentic Self.

Veronica said after her session with the animal communicator “Listening to her talk to my dogs quickly clued me in to the root cause of our problems: my dogs didn't respect me. She helped me understand our interactions, how and why my own behavior was influencing theirs, and that I needed to act differently.

“She started me on a new path and a week later my formerly fractious pack is sitting here around me calmly. No one is fighting, they're not growling at each other constantly, they don't bark all the time anymore, and they're happy to listen to and obey me.

“It seems like a miracle but it's not, just the results of listening to someone who really knows what she's talking about and can communicate that effectively to others. Communicating with understanding really is the key.”

Remember too that dogs value integrity very highly. They are honest souls who will let you know if you’ve crossed a boundary or not kept your word to them.

They check your energy constantly to reassure themselves that all is well. If you’re resonating with unstable, anxious energy, then they will reflect you. If you’re breathing deeply and radiating a calm assurance and confidence, then they know they can relax.

If your relationship with your dog isn’t all you want it to be, then give yourself a reality check. Your dog wants you to be his Love Guru too – but in all the right ways.

If you haven’t been showing up as an authentic Leader, someone your dog can respect, love being around, enjoy and trust 100% of the time, then you’ve got some work to do.