EU_Page 1_COVER.indd - Eujacksonville.com

ROUTINES & CONSISTENCY
Now that you have a new, furry family member, keep a consistent routine. Daily walks, consistent
potty and meal times, and a schedule of play, socialization, training and rest will convince your dog that he
is a member of a stable, well-adjusted pack and encourage him to be stable and well-adjusted as well. Follow
through with training for the same reason. “Training becomes a lifetime process,” says Hawley. “The
communication that we train [people] to have with their dog – it’s not something you would do just one
time or infrequently.” That’s why she points to lack of consistency as the biggest mistake people make in
training their dogs. “[The dog] might respond for a while, but when you really need them to come, if you
haven’t been training them consistently, they may not come under a strong distraction. But the more consistent
you are, the more likely they are to respond to you.” Likewise, be consistent with discipline. Decide
before you get your new dog what is acceptable and unacceptable in your home and resolve to stick to
those rules. “Sometimes” is not a concept your dog will understand, so stick to “always” or “never.” For
example, if you defi nitely do not want your dog on the couch when guests are over, resolve that the couch
is always off limits to him and stick to that. Thinking that you’ll sometimes allow your dog the “treat” of
sitting on the couch will only teach him that being on the couch is acceptable. Think long-term when determining
the rules of your household. You might think it cute for your four-week-old Great Dane to cuddle with
you on the couch, but he will not be that small for long. You need to consider how you will feel about him
taking up the entire couch at 160 pounds!
EXERCISE & SOCIALIZATION
Anyone who has witnessed the aftermath of a long car trip with young children can understand that
you cannot pen that energy and expect that it won’t explode at some point. Dogs, like children, need exercise.
Some are content with daily walks and some need vigorous activity like running, swimming or chasing
a ball. The difference between a child and your dog is that your dog can’t say, “Mommy, I’m bored,” or ask
to go out and play. Save yourself and your dog a lot of frustration and follow through with regular exercise.
“When [dogs] get to go out and run around with other dogs,” says Dunakin, “it stimulates the mind and
body. It’s a great thing for them.”
The same goes for socialization. Think of those horrible stories of discoveries of children who’ve
been locked away in basements for years. Among their many problems are that they can’t relate to other
people and are nervous, anxious and even destructive when forced to do so. It is no wonder that a dog who
encounters very few people or other dogs and has little experience with the world outside his home and
yard frequently becomes aggressive toward people or other dogs and is fearful, nervous and unpredictable
in new situations. Socialization is imperative to your dog’s psychological well-being (and to the safety of
the people and dogs he might encounter). Untrained and unsocialized dogs clearly become unmanageable.
Take your dog out into the world and introduce him to other humans of all ages, races, heights, shapes,
to people wearing all kinds of different clothing and doing a variety of activities, to people in wheelchairs,
walking with canes or crutches. Introduce him to and allow him to play with all kinds of other dogs as well.
Teach him to accept the nail clippers and the electric razor. Take him walking on sidewalks and trails; take
him to the beach and the dog-friendly café. (The article on page 17 recommends a few dog-friendly area
eateries.) Take him on car rides and let him experience fi reworks, crowds and the vacuum cleaner. In other
words, the more life experience your dog has, the less likely he is to become rattled and unpredictable when
presented with a new situation such as an unfamiliar child or a jogger passing by on the sidewalk.
Exercise, socialization, training, discipline and affection are all part of the adventure of owning a dog.
Explore the world with your canine companion and enjoy helping him discover his skills and capabilities.
Watching his personality develop and knowing that you helped shape it is just one of the many joys of sharing
your life with a dog. The loyalty and licks you’ll be rewarded with are priceless!
8 AUGUST 2010 | eu jacksonville monthly
photo by rachel henley
photo by richard abrahamson
IMAGINARY HEROES
The Secret Lives of Dogs BY MADELEINE PECK WAGNER
Yoshi is a supermodel, Lola a
living meatloaf, Lulu runs a tanning/
nail salon in New Jersey, Murphy is
really a racehorse, and Tyler was a
gentleman about town, and occasionally
a space explorer or mountaineer.
The list could go on and on, and
devolve into the specifi cs of how Lulu
runs a New Jersey-based business
from Florida (lots of video conferencing
and headset wearing), where
Yoshi retired after she gave up the
beautiful life, and Murphy’s training
schedule.
Elaborate, fanciful and completely
absurd, the imaginary lives
of dogs might say more about their
owners than they do about the canines.
Nonetheless, the satisfaction
derived from constructing and narrating
these secondary/tertiary lives
deepens the relationship between
pets and their people and friends
even. These stories become touchstones
of humor and compassion,
and even fi ll the awkward silences.
Like when Grandmother visits and
though silently condemns your decorating style, chances are she’ll thaw (at least slightly) for a
charming little dog.
*It’s worth noting that cats too have alternate lives, but these tend towards dictatorships,
assassination plots and Michelin-starred chefs. Don’t ask, cats are just natural oligarchs.
At this point, a personal disclaimer is in order; the above mentioned astronaut was my dog.
He died in July and with him, his considerable list of accomplishments... or attempts at greatness.
Like most dogs, Tyler had a huge heart and a ton of courage- not always, but when it was needed.
I like to think that though he was with us for only six years (we got him as a four or fi ve year-old
rescue) they were the years he was supposed to be with us; that, although we rescued him, he
protected us.
Statistics show that pet owners live on average four to fi ve years longer than non-pet owners,
and among these, dog owners seem to benefi t the most. Dr. Deborah Wells, a psychologist
from Queens University, Belfast UK, postulates “It is possible that dogs can directly promote our
well-being by buffering us from stress, one of the major risk factors associated with ill-health. The
ownership of a dog can also lead to increases in physical activity and facilitate the development of
social contacts, which may enhance both physiological and psychological human health in a more
indirect manner.”
Then there’s the unconditional love part. No person is likely to give one a standing ovation
every time he or she walks in the door. But the dog will. He (or she) will cheer you on, be your
biggest and best supporter, each time, every time... even if it sometimes comes with a little excited
pee. Truly there is no better feeling than seeing your Boston Terrier so excited to see you, and
one of your close friends, that he greets her with excited leaps, and a little “leak,” on her brandnew
designer jeans... well, maybe not the best feeling, but an awesome memory.
Archaeological evidence suggests that dogs have been domesticated for tens of thousands
of years, in fact some genealogical testing suggests that humans began selectively domesticating
wolves about 12,000 years ago. At Bonn-Oberkassel, a burial site located in Germany, archaeologists
have found joint human and canine interments dating to 12,000 BCE, while Danger Cave in
Utah has remains about 11,000 years old, and the Mesolithic site (5,250-3,700 BCE), Skateholm
in Sweden, also has evidence of deliberate dog burials.
Evidence of burial sites certainly reinforces evidence of the bonds that must have grown
naturally out of the shared business of survival. But the idea of a pet, of an animal kept, fed, and
protected just for the pleasure of its company, wasn’t something that entered culture-by-way-oflanguage
until about 1,000 CE. The word “pet” itself fi rst came into use in Old Northern English
and Scottish language at about this time. Of course, this overlooks etymological evidence possibly
found in non-Western cultures, but for the purpose of this article, will serve as an example.
The percentage of animals that can be effectively domesticated is incredibly small, and of
these, the ones humans can form bonds with and bring into the home, even smaller. Because humans
are hard-wired to love and be loved, pets can fulfi ll the role of child, companion and friend.
Even in those leading lives of epic adventure, lives that have been recorded by poets and sung by
bards, the love and role a dog plays cannot be underestimated:
“Then as Ulysses knelt beside it, the old dog stirred. Slowly it lifted its head and stared
through very weak eyes. Moments later the old dog whined, and its thin tail began wagging feebly.
Argus had recognized his master! And a tear rolled down Ulysses’ face as the now happy dog
closed its eyes for the last time.”
This passage is one of the most famous in all of literature. So touching, carved reliefs of the
scene have been found on ancient Roman sarcophagi. Again and again human history is fi lled
with stories of incredible animals, and dogs especially, whose loyalty, bravery and humor echo
down the ages. It seems that the bond humans share with their animals is unquantifi able, yet so
integral a part of being human, it lingers in our oldest and most precious myths.
And sometimes these stories are smaller- simply about a tiny mountaineer exploring the
Sangre de Cristo mountains; an epic that will be quietly sung.