Doggone Etiquette —

House Rules

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:                           

Rule No. 1: Walk, don’t run, anywhere in the house. You are allowed to race around barking like a madman only when there’s a fire. In that case, before you sound the alarm, be sure to check with the man of the house. Men take great offense if you sound your fire alarm anywhere near their barbeque.       

Rule No. 2: Use as your personal place of ‘business’ only those newspapers put down on the floor specifically for you. They will always be in exactly the same place until they gradually disappear, which means you’ve grown up and can take your ‘business’ outdoors. Try it on newspapers that fell to the floor beside Dad’s chair and you could be sent off to that Doggie Farm you’ve been threatened with. 

By the way, the ability to lift first one leg and then the other is an art that will only impress female friends of your own persuasion. People don’t consider it especially clever. And here’s a word-to-the-wise if you’re a big dog: The first time you try that “this-leg-or-that-leg“ rite of passage, be sure no one is watching, and that you’re close to a fence or curb. Balance only comes with practice, no matter how smug you think you are. Oh, another word: Old male dogs often return to squatting. They have nothing to prove and old legs can get very tired.

There are a lot of other House Rules to learn. What’s yours and what’s theirs is sometimes confusing. Just pay attention and you’ll come out a winner!            

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

Dogs are creatures of habit, and you as the owner must take the responsibility for making sure all your dog’s habits are good ones. Habits all begin with obedience, and while classes are great because they teach you as well as the dog, obedience actually begins the day you bring Rufus home. It is the everyday way you do and say everything that builds the “habit” response in your dog. It is also why so many people complain that their dog doesn’t pay attention to what they say or do. If you don’t want Rufus on the sofa, you should say “Off” as you remove him (by his collar) to establish a good habit response. That’s not hard, but you have to coordinate the same command with the same removal every single time, and believe me, it will definitely be more than a few times!  Eventually, just “Off” and a hand motion will do it.

So many things we say to our dogs get lost in translation and you can’t blame the dogs. Our language is confusing. Let’s go back to the sofa bit. Perhaps you correctly use the one-word command “off” sometimes, but other times you tell him “Get down.” Are you surprised when he goes from a sitting position on the sofa to lying down on it? All he heard was “down” and he is showing you he knows what that word means. Maybe another time, you say “Get off the sofa” and he merely looks at you with a puzzled expression. He heard “get” and could be thinking of the times you say, “Get the ball” or “Get out of my way” or “Get out of the garbage.” Poor Rufus! Establish one-word commands from Day One, and your house rules will be much easier for Rufus to understand.

Develop good habits in your dog, and they’ll work wonders for you. For example, always take your new dog out the same door to “go potty.” The routine will become a habit and soon he’ll head for that door which will indicate to you that he needs to go out. Instead of always praising him with “Good dog,” reinforce whatever it is he’s doing so he can make that specific one word connection. When you see him about to lower his backside to the floor, get in a “Good SIT.” Or, as he’s running toward you, say, “Good COME,” with a big smile. (You’ll note the emphasis is always on the action word.)

House rules – for people as well as their dogs – vary in every family, but benefiting from the philosophy that “dogs are creatures of habit” requires the family’s total consistency.                           

Until next time – Be good!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me! which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award this year.