How things have changed

I found a dog training book: Paul Loeb’s Complete Book of Dog Training, by (perhaps unsurprisingly) Paul Loeb.  Copyright 1974.

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The training advice is based around dominance theory, not really surprising, given the era.

Tierce:  I don’t buy dominance theory. I don’t care if you run everything. Saves me paperwork. Speaking of that, have you done your taxes yet?

Me:  Shut up.  Hey, you got off lucky with the housebreaking.

Tierce:  I came housebroken. What’s your point?

Me:  Take a look.

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Tierce:  And he has a helpful illustration. Are you sure this isn’t one of those witch hunting instruction manuals?

Me:  Pretty sure. I didn’t see any descriptions of thumb-screws or Iron Maidens.

Tierce:  Close enough, though. I agree with whoever annotated the page with, “I would never do this!  Barbaric + cruel”.

Me:  Yeah, pretty much.

Tierce:  Besides, why torment a defenseless puppy with just a taste of poop and not give them the whole thing?

Me:  I’m going to pretend you never said that.

Tierce:  If anyone tried that with me, their house would be smoking rubble within 12 hours.

Me:  Well, in that case, this guy has a solution…

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Tierce:  What is up with the vinegar and Tabasco fetish?

Me:  Beats me. Speaking of that, this is how I should teach you not to bite.

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Tierce:  ‘Set up possible nipping situations with the dog and the children.’  Now, that doesn’t sound like anything could go wrong there.

Me:  Sounds a little risky. ” Okay, Caitlin, take Puppy’s ears and yank really hard…”

Tierce. Ugh.

Me:  Doesn’t sound as bad as this situation.

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Tierce:  Who the hell are these people?

Me:  Well, people thought differently back then.  Dominance theory was probably the best explanation people had for dog behaviour.

Tierce:  ‘Back then’?  You were born in the seventies, weren’t you?

Me:  Well… yeah.

Tierce:  How old are you?

Me:  Let’s move on. Hey, you can tell this was made in the seventies.

Tierce:  Aside from the cover?

Me:  Yeah. First, look at this.

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Tierce:  That seems awfully specific. Hey, it says that I can have tobacco and liquor if prescribed by a vet.

Me:  Uh, no.

Tierce:  But beer tastes really good.

Me:  What?  When did you drink beer?

Tierce:  When we visited those friends of yours and someone spilled a Bud Light on the porch.

Me:  That’s what that was?

Tierce:  I actually liked the Canadian better.

Me:  What?

Tierce:  Someone else spilled that later.

Me:  No beer!

Tierce:  In dog years, I’m well above the age of majority.

Me:  No. No beer, no hamsters, no dead birds.

Tierce:  A predator is ever aware of opportunity.

Me:  Hey, this guy has a solution for that.

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Tierce:  That’s considerate of him to make sure a snack is always within my reach. And I can perfume the house with it. Like air freshener.

Me:  That’s never happening.

Tierce:  Aww.

Me:  He doesn’t seem to have a good opinion of attack trained dogs.

Tierce:  Neither do I. You have a 99% less chance of getting treats if you bite people, so they tell me.

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Tierce:  Holy shit, is that really what happens?

Me:  Not in my experience. I have no idea who this guy was chumming around with, but that’s not how RCMP dogs are trained. And the Schutzhund people I know don’t do that; they say that associating protection training with negative reinforcement is the exact wrong thing to do.

Tierce:  So, what’s the second thing?

Me:  This.

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Tierce: The Hell’s Angel of the dog world. Huh.

Me:  What’s missing?

Tierce:  Have no clue.

Me:  No mention of pit bulls.  Anywhere.

Tierce:  Interesting.

Me:  Yup.

Tierce:  I’m kind of glad you went with clicker training.

Me:  I’m sure we both are.

2 Comments

  1. This made me bark out loud! Loved it…Humom had to change her Depends! BOL! xosuki

  2. The only thing I would like to add is that the same words can have different meanings. When I use the word “dominance” I mean “being the person who decides what happens.” A dominant person can be sweet, kind, and gentle.

    But I know that sometimes the word is used synonymously with extreme harshness. Something I’m, of course, not in favor of. “Leave the carcass on him for a few days” !!!??? No commentary needed.

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