I love food. I literally wake up and am immediately looking forward to breakfast! Its not my reason for living but without it we would die. I know how to find more food in our modern world its very easy to pop to the nearest shop.
Our dogs also wake up thinking about food, in their minds too food is fundamental for life. However, they do not understand how on earth we magically produce it for them. We as humans 100% know that we will feed our dogs, in fact in this household once morning wees and poos are done thats exactly what I do – feed the dogs. If we don’t communicate with them in a way that makes them trust us they will also then spend the rest of the day worrying about where their next food is coming from. Its why they disappear on a scent trail when off lead, or dive down a rabbit hole, or counter surf in your kitchen, or eat very quickly. If we don’t show them they can trust us they are in a constant panic and literally can believe that todays meal is their last. Teaching clients how to feed their dogs is the first of the FOUR in dog listening that I teach.
The photo is my four all enjoying raw venison bones in their paddock on the croft. They all took their bone and immediately lay down with some personal space to enjoy it. None of my dogs felt the need to go and bury it as a future food cache. Once one has either finished or walked away from their bone I pop them back inside so there is no chance of squabbles as they try and access one of the others. If they leave a remaining portion of the bone I pick it up and dispose of it. Once I have given them the bone I go nowhere near them. Remember in their heads food is fundamental to life, I want them to be relaxed and enjoy the food, I do not want to appear as a threat and attempt to take it away. This is basically just a cruel act and risks them asking me as a dog to not do that which when pushed can lead any dog to bite the hand that just fed them.
I have personal experience of living with wild dogs. I absolutely love them. The charity I shared an office with have an instagram page so I can keep up to date with what they are doing. Here are two brilliant recent posts below that reminded me of whats going on inside our pets heads. The first shows a pack of wild dogs getting rid of a hyena who was trying to take their kill. The second is a pack hunting wildebeest, they describe the picture thus:
‘African wild dogs are known for their exceptional hunting success rate – achieved through incredible strategy, teamwork and communication. Unlike many predators they don’t rely on sheer force but instead use coordination to outwit their prey. In a standoff like this with a wildebeest herd the pack works together to assess defences, testing for any sign of weakness, each dog has a role – some distract, other position themselves for the chase’.
As a dog listener I am absolutely convinced of our dogs brains being exactly the same as these wild dogs. Our dogs behave in the same way. They love being part of a family, all dogs have different characters – strengths and weaknesses. Some are more food oriented than others, some are superb hunters while others would just be back up in a hunt. I have never seen a pack of wild dogs actually hunting. Everytime we were lucky enough to find the packs in the bush they were either at a den site or asleep under trees. The only time they ever moved was to hunt for food. They then all ate very quickly before another predator came along. They all run very quickly, I have watched TV programs of film crews desperately trying to film a whole hunt in Botswana. The wild dogs (also sometimes called Painted Wolves) move….just like our dogs…have you suddenly realised that when our dogs go for a walk in their heads they are actually on a hunt! Its why when we use all the dog listening body language correctly we can convince the dog that we are the best hunter who makes the best decisions and will always provide the food. Only when we convince them of this can our dogs trully relax.
Instagram posts by African Wildlife Conservation fund in the Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe.
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