Bones Would Rain from the Sky by Suzanne Clothier

Author:Suzanne Clothier [CLOTHIER, SUZANNE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446571036
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2009-11-29T05:00:00+00:00

PUT DOWN THAT PICKLED OKRA!

Much training advice deals with controlling the dog’s resources as a way of establishing leadership. At its core, this is sound advice. Among dogs, the privilege of high status is evidenced in access to and control of resources. What exactly is a resource? Ask me, and I might say pickled okra. The mere thought of the stuff makes most folks gag, but there are those among us who love it. I’m one of the few, the strange, the okra lovers. When a Southern friend sent me a case of pickled okra, I opened it with glee and then snarled at my husband, “This is mine.” Throwing up his hands and backing away from the box, John was quick to assure me that if I fell off the face of the Earth that night, he’d not touch my pickled okra. It’s not a matter of how deeply he respects me, or how much he wishes to avoid any confrontation—after all, nothing short of absolute blissful harmony is the key to our marriage. (Yep, just like the flying green pigs that are the hallmark of our farm.) His assurance was based on this little fact: He hates pickled okra. While I view it as a valuable resource to be guarded, he has no interest in it at all.

Obvious resources are food, toys, bones, chews (pig ears, cow hooves, rawhides, etc.), treats, even water—or the expectation of any of these. A dog may guard an empty food bowl not because he’s hallucinating that it’s filled with food, but because the bowl represents an expectation of food. Visitors to our house who don’t know that a certain cabinet contains dog treats are startled to find many large dogs jostling each other for position when that cabinet is opened. To the dogs, the cabinet represents an expectation of treats. Although it also contains the potatoes and onions and other nondog items that the guest was actually seeking, the dogs know that each time that cabinet is opened, there is the potential for treats. Thus, being nearest the cabinet and the person opening it serves as a resource for our dogs, just as an empty food bowl may be viewed by other dogs as a valuable resource. Less-obvious resources may be attention, access in or out of the home or certain rooms, sleeping areas (whether dog beds or the human bed), freedom, solitude, perches (either in laps or on furniture) or viewpoints (such as a window or door), specific furniture, proximity to a person or activity, a particular position near a door, fence or gate.

Blanket statements about what constitutes a resource ignore the importance of understanding each dog as an individual. What one dog finds valuable may be of no interest whatsoever to another dog or to a person. Like beauty, a resource is only a resource in the eyes of the beholder. I once sold a puppy named Ellie to a woman who had a beautifully appointed home full of fine antiques and collectibles.

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