I suspect distrust of men is
genetic. Men are abusive trainers generally, and are much more inclined to
abuse animals in general. Dogs are useful for women, protecting and amusing
children, and are naturally protective and nurturing of the infirm. The nurturing behavior is apparently
inherited from wolves. Big game hunting
commonly results in disabling injury to a pack member who is nurtured back to
functionality by the rest of the pack.
Jon Franklin thinks that it was the babysitting and nurturing of the ill
that got the more docile follower wolves into the parlor. By the women naturally, the men were too busy
beating them into guard dogs for the domestic animals. The men didn't care that sheep dogs hated
everything including the shepherd as long as they protected the sheep. Herding and hunting dogs needed to work with
their handlers, but didn't have to like them.
Guard dogs are unreliable even for their handlers. I was told by a Doberman breeder how you can
tell that somebody breeds Dobermans: He
pointed at the scars on his face and said look for these.
I suspect this trait is why working
dogs are generally considered hard to train without abusive methods. I watched a dog show the other day and
noticed that the working group had at least choke collars and one was shown
with a prong collar. These were dogs
that were bred for conformation and acceptable docility for shows.
I trained a purebred German Shepherd
using the immediate verbal reinforcement delayed reward method, to acceptable
levels of control on and off leash, but he never learned to like men he did not
have time to get acquainted with at his own speed. I had to advise new male visitors how to
avoid confrontation. And I never even
tried to introduce strange men "in the wild." Strict control,
sit-stay at my side, and told the men to keep their distance. It was generally not a problem. He was a 75
pound whole dog, and was not friendly looking even in a sit-stay.
Peter was apparently abused by men
while he was a stray. We have taught him to tolerate men (even me) but he still
trusts only women and children. He
bonded immediately with Sue at the Shelter, through the holding pen door in the
not for adoption aisle. "We will
look at Peter." Sean and I were
considering more socialized dogs as a first pet. It was only my long experience with training
puppies and dogs that convinced the placement staff that we should be allowed
to adopt the relatively fresh stray.
It was not easy, even as the source
of treats it took him years to trust me enough to proffer a sore paw that he
couldn't shake the burr out of. He still
tries that first. The first time I tried
to help he snapped at me even though he couldn't put weight on the leg. Nonetheless, no adversive training was
used. Always verbal reinforcement
delayed treats. I don't even carry treats
on walks or training sessions. The HSSV
noted that hot dogs were a favorite treat, and I found that turkey dogs are the
best of the best. Any real meat works, he spits out commercial treats.
