ive been spending a lot of time at my aunts farm recently and ive noticed how farmers treat their animals compared to us 'pet owners' ...

she has two dogs, a collie and a jack russell,both aged 16... both dogs are blind and deaf, yet she treats them no differently to how she did when they had sight and sound, charlie the collie lives outside, he was a working dog but has now retired, he will be allowed in the house if its raining or snowing, but all he has is a blanket on the floor... hes very well behaved, never runs off, doesnt bark unless theres danger or he senses someone coming, my aunt loves him very much, yet she doesnt bend down to kiss him and make a real big fuss of him, she buys him no toys like we would our dogs, but he loves her none the less and gets excited when he senses her coming

george the jack russell lives inside and when he was younger he was the ratter, he too is treated the same, hes very much loved but unlike my dogs, is rarely hugged, a pat on the head and a hello george is enough for him, he has no toybox like mine have , he is also extremely well behaved apart from eating two blocks of rat poison when he was younger, and managed to survive

then theres my dogs..both live inside, both are very much loved also, except i cant help hugging and kissing fred when hes lying down and looking cute lol, the same with daisy, i cant help showering her with love.. they have a basket full of toys, a cupboard full of their food and treats and numerous leads and collars for them both, and daisy has several coats .... i talk to them like they understand me lol, theyve got a nice comfy bed each and they both sleep in the bedroom with us, daisy under the covers and fred at the bottom of the bed or by the side of it!!

daisy is extrememly well behaved, and fred is errrrmmm not too bad lolololol.... i will always have to keep on top of him, one day slack with him and he takes full advantage

i wonder how they would have turned out had they lived on my aunts farm

i couldnt hack it as a farmer... to them animals are born and they die, as much as they love the two dogs they have, theyre already on the lookout for two more to take over the jobs!!

i do wish that i hadnt have been over the top with the loving and too soft with fred when he was a pup, and laid the ground rules from the word go, he maybe wouldnt be such a victor meldrew now ....

Totally agree with you Shell.I've been to a few places where the dogs are kept
outside in kennels and they are much better behaved IMO.Still very affectionate
with visitors but not OTT.I think its because we spoil our house dogs and give them too much attention if you know what i mean. For instance..I am having major problems with Indie at the mo.He is trying to be leader of the pack and unfortunately Shadow is the one he is picking on.Its got so bad that they are now
separated at all times.I know now that i am partly to blame as i babied him as a
puppy.Result is he thinks he should be leader and that includes guarding me.
I have tried everything to lower his status but if anything its getting worse.Since
he turned 2 he has been a total bastard.

Sorry,went on a bit there.

I see what you mean about the way some people perceive their dogs can be different to us.
maybe it's because people like your Aunt, instead of having a pet see them more as the staff because they got them to work rather than to love. I admit too I am too soft with my dogs,
even my kids have said so. with working animals I think they know their place.
it's a very interesting post hun and food for thought. 8FCB0300-67B8-356D-4E38-6F84ED42CC02
1.03.01

you didnt go on jan, it was very interesting.... ive had similar problems with fred when he was younger.... he was very over protective of me and i babied him too when he was a pup, i totally ruined him

i look at my aunts dogs, and theyre amazing, all charlie the collie does now is sit outside all day, moving wherever the sun is, hes never walked, never worked, yet hes still a calm well mannered dog, he will walk over to you, sniff you, let you pat him, then hes off.... where as fred is all over you, squealing like an idiot

youre right ka ren i think they are seen as staff, and they did have thier jobs to do, i only wish i could of treated fred like that, he might have had more respect lol, daisy i treated totally different to fred and you can see the difference in their behaviour, daisy is brilliant, you can take her anywhere

same here Shelley. I wish I had been nicer to Tilly when I first got her. I never hurt her or anything I just ignored her most of the time. but then again she has turned out to be brilliant and no trouble at all.
(except with little dogs when out on a walk ) Shady is my OH's dog she treats me like the Staff

Bailey where do I start Maybe removing him from my arse would be a good place to start. 8FCB0300-67B8-356D-4E38-6F84ED42CC02
1.03.01

bless them .... freds an amazing dog when its just me and him, throw other people into the mix and hes stupid

daisy you can take absolutely anywhere, she is amazing.... i cant fault her.. apart from when she hears someone at the door, her bark is horrible lol..goes right through you....

I keep all mine (28) of them out in the kennel block but love everyone dearly and each one gets their time in the house etc etc....but they are still dogs to us with jobs to do.
We are the pack leaders - my Hubby is Alpha male and I am Alpha female. The dogs are happy, healthy and are extremely contented.
The point I am getting to is that I have noticed that the puppies that go to 'Pet' homes ARE treated like they are children. Against what I try to teach my 'families' - especially with the GSDs - they allow them to 'rule' the roost.
When they come here for training, I notice when asked to command the dog to sit. They will normally say - in a very squeaky voice - 'Sit nice!' A dog doesn't know about being asked politely! Most ignore the owner and 'Sit' on their own terms.
I have recently had two emails from two different owners with juvenile entire males. They are having problems because they allowed the dogs, as puppies to jump on their furniture, eat when they were eating, go through doors first, be at the same level as them etc etc etc (the list of no nos goes on) and NOW they are coming back to me because they dogs feel THEY are the boss and are showing all sorts of tendancies, dominance, posessiveness (sic) pulling on the lead etc etc. I am trying to help them retrain their dogs but it is hard when all I get is and I quote here - ' I feel sorry for him when I put the lead on. He looks like he is wondering if he has done something wrong!' OMG! it is a dog...he doesn't care if he is on or off the lead, as long as he knows one is boss.
Dogs in general do not want the Alpha position but are pushed into it because of the owners babying them and not being strong enough.
I see it from both sides, the way I treat my dogs and the way my 'families' treat theirs. The ones that get on best with a satisfactory balance are the ones who realise that the dog, although loved dearly and treasured as a family member is still just a dog who is there to do a job.
Sorry rambled there, but thought it was an interesting thread.
I, personally agree with the first posting regarding the way the Aunt on the farm treats the dogs. Old stockmans way.
CC xx

great post hun..

absolutely totally agree with you... my old dog was nothing like fred at all...he was the perfect dog.... he knew he was a dog but was still loved very dearly.... when i lost him, bless him and got frederick ... i was still grieving so i spoiled him, i know exactly where i went wrong, and it took me ages to rectify it, some issues we are still working on lol... when we got daisy i vowed i wouldnt make the same mistake and i havent she still gets exactly the same amount of love, but the boundaries were there from day !!!!!!

very interesting all this is

very intresting thread, all my dogs through out my life have been working dogs. they are not kenneld, but they are not allowed free reign on the furniture ect. and because all of them have had a job to do, be it security work, stooge work ect we dont allow them to get away with anything.

none of my dogs have toys, except training ones, they dont have treats or anything maybe the odd chew they get treats as in fresh meat/fish in thier feeds. they are all crate trained so never had a problem with chewing/ messing in the house. they are treated like dogs first and foremost, but that doesnt mean in anyway do i love or think of them any less then someone with a pet dog. if anything the bond i have with my security dogs for example is EXTREMELY strong, it has to be for the job we do. they are like a part of me, and when i lose them i will be deverstated. but i always prepare for the loss of one working dog, by getting another one and training it up before the other retires. not to replace the dog in my affections, but for the job in hand which they are needed for xxx