So much has been written about dog behaviour; so little of it from the perspective of the canine itself. Dogs are highly intelligent animals with well-developed means of communication and emotions. Were it not for the often uninformed intervention of a human being, they would be quite capable of resolving inter-canine contact in an appropriate manner.

But over time, the dog has been required by our human society to conform to a different set of rules – rules that come from the human world, not the animal world. For many canines this adds a stressful dimension to their existence that can eventually move them from calming intent, through frustration and into aggression, as communication after communication goes unnoticed or unrecognised.

 

How many of us have experienced the emotions of being unable to communicate, particularly in a tense situation or an emergency, when we are overseas with no knowledge of the local language? We shout (bark), we use sign language (body and head movement and positioning) we give out every signal we can in a vain attempt to get our message through. Little wonder that anger can take over as the situation worsens and our sense of frustration and impotence increases.

 

To live permanently in this state would cause us the most intense feelings of stress. Perhaps in time we might become able to communicate with the locals and secure food, drink, shelter and companionship, but add into the equation a cultural environment that is quite alien to us, along with customs and practices that we can make little sense of, and we start to understand the world of the dog in our modern society.

 

So at Sheila Harper Limited we work towards understanding behaviour not punishing it. We try to get to the causes of behaviour and deal with these as much as the symptoms. We help to educate owners in ways to create a low stress / stress free environment -which is to the benefit of dog and owners alike.