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The Dog Listener
Has anyone else read The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell? I'm just wondering what others thought about it, especially from a training perspective? At first I really liked it and I can see how a lot of what she's talking about can be used to help behavioral problems in dogs who don't have an underlying medical condition leading to it. But after getting halfway through another book of hers, The Seven Ages of Man's Best Friend, I'm not so keen on her methods as an end-all-be-all. And at least in the Ages book, she does state SEVERAL times, that her methods will cure ALL behavioral problems. Something that's getting a wee bit old. Especially since I was hoping for her book to go into the reasons for the changes in dogs at different ages, i.e. neurochemical changes that effect behavior and signal specific hormones and circuits in the body. But that's a whole different discussion!
I'm just thinking that her methods have worked well for her for many reasons, but I don't think that he methods are going to work for EVERY SINGLE behavioral case, even though that's exactly what she claims. One of her methods is that when ever you come back after a separation, you totally ignore the dog . She explains how some dogs will go to extended lengths to get your attention and re-establish themselves as the alpha. How you may have to wait an hour or more with more stubborn dogs, but that it will happen. And will you know that they've given in for that specific time, well, you'll just know! That part is pretty crappy. What if you have a very intelligent dog that just waits you out until you think that they're done, oh but they're not! And what if you have a dog that's acting out because it doesn't get enough exercise or environmental enrichment/stimulation? That has nothing to do with you not being the alpha, but everything to do with you maybe not having the right breed for you or just having a particularly busy schedule. What if someone gets a new significant other in their lives and they start "neglecting" the dog (i.e. not as many walks or attention, etc.). Does that dog being frustrated at getting left home all the time or getting ignored all the time have to do with the owner not being the alpha?
While I think that some of her methods can be helpful, I think that there are others means to correcting problem behaviors that are way better and look at the problem as a whole instead of chalking everything up to misplaced alpha-ness. But that's just my two cents. I would be really interested to hear what others thought of the book!
I'm just thinking that her methods have worked well for her for many reasons, but I don't think that he methods are going to work for EVERY SINGLE behavioral case, even though that's exactly what she claims. One of her methods is that when ever you come back after a separation, you totally ignore the dog . She explains how some dogs will go to extended lengths to get your attention and re-establish themselves as the alpha. How you may have to wait an hour or more with more stubborn dogs, but that it will happen. And will you know that they've given in for that specific time, well, you'll just know! That part is pretty crappy. What if you have a very intelligent dog that just waits you out until you think that they're done, oh but they're not! And what if you have a dog that's acting out because it doesn't get enough exercise or environmental enrichment/stimulation? That has nothing to do with you not being the alpha, but everything to do with you maybe not having the right breed for you or just having a particularly busy schedule. What if someone gets a new significant other in their lives and they start "neglecting" the dog (i.e. not as many walks or attention, etc.). Does that dog being frustrated at getting left home all the time or getting ignored all the time have to do with the owner not being the alpha?
While I think that some of her methods can be helpful, I think that there are others means to correcting problem behaviors that are way better and look at the problem as a whole instead of chalking everything up to misplaced alpha-ness. But that's just my two cents. I would be really interested to hear what others thought of the book!
© 2008 Created by Andrea Schneider
