The relation between humans and dogs has been forming for centuries. Somewhile the dog is condemned; otherwhile it is worshiped and reputed as the best friend of a human. Many superstitions and misconceptions about dogs have still been kept among people. Therefore, I will continuously publish articles and essays here concerning the topic "human vers. dog" to help those who view the dog as a potential manslayer. Let me paraphrase a well-known proverb:

"The dog is the best friend of a human and not his worst enemy."

 

How to Treat an Unknown Dog

We meet them everywhere; many of us are their neighbors. They have been our companions for many years, being the friends of the human genus. Unfortunately, nowadays we also too often witness them being generally condemned by means of many hysterical news that are served to us by media without any deeper interest in the primary cause of the conflicts.

From time to time, we thus learn that some dog attacked a poor human again (let us notice that the most favorite conflicts are those between a small child and so-called "slayer breed" - pitbull, Rottwailer, Doberman, etc. Unfortunately, the ears of the public hardly ever hear the entire truth, i.e. including the beginning of the story. Namely, the accelerant in most of these cases is human ignorance or cruelty. In this article, I would like to correct some surviving rumors and provide some basic advice how to behave on meeting an unknown dog.

Let us proceed to the first problem. Influenced by the surroundings and "guaranteed" news, many people divide breeds into so-called "slayers" (i.e. dangerous) and the others, towards which one can afford anything. And this is where everything begins.  Dogs of various breeds, of course, express themselves in a different way. But whatever breed they are, it is always the canine genus. The basic instincts, i.e. the instincts of a beast of prey, are the same, whether it is a German Pointer or a Chihuahua. We should always respect these facts. Putting a hand on an unknown dog's head or muzzle or exposing one's face in front of his if the same hazard as aiming a loaded gun against one's head. Since I have often witnessed such a situation, I can't resist hypothesizing whether the mankind is not losing the basic instincts of the animal kingdom - the self-preservation instinct. This is namely one of the situations that give rise to a conflict. The dog reacts absolutely naturally - in the same way as you would protest if somebody disrupted your zone. Since dogs show all of their emotions much more intensively than people do (liking and happiness, as well as fear and anger), they show their protest very assertively. If the dog's jaws clack shut a few centimeters from your face, you can speak about luck. If is only and merely our fault.

In the same context, we mustn't wonder if we tease the dog through the fence and suddenly find out that the gate is open... Or, in some time we meet the dog in the open air... I would like to make everybody sure that the memory of dogs is absolutely excellent as regards other dogs, people and all events concerned. Apart from the fact that such a behavior of people that is often not far from torture is really incomprehensible to me.

Therefore, my first advice is: If we really insist on caressing an unknown dog, we must always ask its owner for permission. Then we start with letting the dog sniff our fist (not fingers, they are too vulnerable) and then we caress it or stroke it gently on sides. We must never impose our favor on the dog. Believe me that if the dog does not trust in you, it has its reasons, and it will surely let you know. If you keep persuading it, it will pull back to assume a defending position and show you its disapproval more clearly. If you keep ignoring this, you must blame the consequence on yourself.

Now, let us imagine a different situation. You go for a walk, and a dog rushes against you. Well, rushes... It is running closer to you and barking. The worst reactions are the two following: First, we burst in panic and get running away. The dog behaves absolutely naturally again and starts pursuing us because all running objects represent his prey to hunt. But don't worry, in most cases the dog only wants to look at us and sniff us - not devour us. Or, the second reaction, we start threatening the dog and shouting, simply showing aggression in the dog's view; then, a healthy self-confident dog will behave in the same way since we have challenged him to force measuring.

Therefore, my second advice is: In that case, stand still and stick your hands to your body. This is how we become less vulnerable. And, which is very important, never stare into the dog's eyes. Dogs understand a direct stare in its eyes as a challenge to fighting. Therefore, we behave in the same way as a dog that refuses a conflict: turn our look away. Every normal dog understands and respects this signal.

And the third advice: Never show fear when you meet a dog. First, there is no reason because the dog is the best friend of a human and not his worst enemy. Second, the dogs can sense it reliably, and fear and cowardice are emotions that dogs really dislike.

At the end of this article, I can't help mentioning one more important thing. It is the indisputable fact that the one to take responsibility for every dog is its owner. It depends on the human, what his dog is like. The owner is the one who decides whether he will bring it up or train it responsibly, and whether his dog will be peaceful, controllable and with a healthy relation towards people and other dogs, or whether it turns out to be a hysterical uncontrollable individual that has troubles with its surroundings. (Even in this case, however, the old truth will be confirmed that the dog is a faithful picture of its master.)

 

Dog Shelters

In this article, I would like to write something about dog shelters and advise how to chose the suitable friend for a considerable part of our life.

The dog shelter is an institution that civilized people invented as help for dogs in need who have lost their homes - whether for apprehensible reasons such as death of the owner or losing their way, or for incomprehensible reasons, such as the owners' dislikes or loss of interest. Unfortunately, many people also consider the shelter as a warehouse for unwanted or superfluous puppies. Nevertheless, let us consider the shelter as a place into which the dog gets for some of the reasons stated above and which is supposed to substitute home and human friendship for shorter or longer time before somebody chooses it and (in the better case) provides it with a new home for the rest of its life.

If we decide to choose a dog in a shelter, we have to bear in mind one important fact. We usually know neither the previous life of these individuals nor their acquired experience, so we must be equipped with an increased dose of patience, tolerance and carefulness. If the dog previously acquired negative experience, for example, with small children, we can almost surely expect that it will keep this experience together with its approach towards children for the rest of its life. The dogs have a unique ability to remember faces and characteristic features of people; therefore, they may be unpredictable in their relation to people who will remind them of the old suffering. It is another absolutely natural reaction, and one can hardly wonder about it. Therefore, we should be more careful before we completely "read" our new doggie.

Another thing, which unfortunately many potential owners of a shelter dog fail to realize, is the fact that the shelter is a place where the dog has spent certain period of its life, during which it acquired certain, as I say,  "shelter habits". One of them is, for example, the bond to a place, not to a master. We must realize that even though the dogs in the shelter are cared for very well, the dog actually does not belong to anybody, so it does not to have the bond to a human, which is the essential thing in a dog's life. The dog must recreate the bond in itself; the newly recreated bond must replace the bond to the shelter that has previously embodied its certainty and safety. We should bear in mind these things and give our dog friend enough time to rearrange its system of values. In the same way as we are getting used to it, the doggie is getting accustomed to us. There is nothing more depressive than returning the dog to the shelter just the other day or week because it "does not fit" to the new owner for some reason. If we change our jobs, friends, or a place to live, we also need time to get used to the new ones - and the dog, as an intelligent being, is in a similar situation. Therefore, if we adopt a shelter doggie, let us give it the chance - it deserves it.

On the other hand, if your doggie and you strike a common chord, it will guard you like a treasure and will never leave you. Namely, the dog highly appreciates the certainty of his new home and good treating, and ranks these principles in the highest position in his new hierarchy of values. The experience of losing its home or cruel handling plays its role, too. Shelter dogs are often said to be more devoted to their owners than a dogs who have spent all their lives with the same owners; even though it really depends on its particular experience, it is often true. Unfortunately, sometimes the human has left such a horrible experience on the dog that it has taken an intense disbelief in the human company and will remain eternally reserved to its new owner. This must also be counted with, as well as the fact that that some dogs have spent their puppy age forlorn out on the street, and it takes much time before they regain their confidence in the human genus. When you take the doggie to your home, it will be a radical change for it, and many dogs during the first days react stressfully and in the human view perhaps illogically. This temporary stage is not as difficult as it might appear on the first sight. It only needs patience, kindness and consistency. The doggie will soon learn that the human does not necessarily have to be associated with negative experiences and unpredictability but can also become its best friend.

Now, I will try to sum up the topic and propose some recommendations. If you only decide to adopt a shelter doggie for financial reasons, be sure that the purchase price is only an insignificant fragment of the total cost you have to pay during the 8 or 15 years of its further life. Every year, you pay the tax, vet care, food, and other items. If you believe that the dog can cope with leftovers and vaccination is unimportant, then please, leave the dog in the shelter. It will be better off there.

However, if your reasons are generally human, then I am keeping all my fingers crossed for you. Consider your possibilities carefully and choose the dog so that it will never have to return to the shelter. Give it the chance and time to get accustomed to the proper happy canine life. Don't bring it back in several days just because it does this and doesn't do that. The dog is a real conformist and will make maximum effort to meet your demands, but it needs time. And never forget to ask the keepers in the shelter about its good and bad habits; the information you'll get will help you much in the first days.

At the very end, let me ask you for something. Please, never take a dog from a shelter as a cheap toy for your child, as a reward for the good school report or as a Christmas present. These dogs with absolute regularity re-fill the shelters at the beginning of the school or calendar year when people find out that the dog is a living being with all its needs, not a plush toy to leave in a drawer. Such dogs would never get to the shelter, if people were responsible enough towards them. Shelters would be half empty and not packed, as they are nowadays.