As usual, my parents watched 爱 in the living room. I on the other hand have absolutely no interest & I was contented playing with Ton on the sofa. When the show ended, a documentary came on. As fate would have it, it was a local show on correcting behavioural problems in kids. A couple was having trouble with their 3 year old boy who for the past 1 year hits & kicks them. A professor in childhood psychology was asked to intervene. She did the assessment & interviewed the parents in her house. She told them that they need to check the unwanted behaviour the moment it manisfests itself even for a child as young as 2. He has to be taught that hands & legs are not meant for kicking & hitting people. This has to be done on the spot as it would no longer be relevant if you wait say for a more suitable time or location.
I was stunned. I don't have kids. I've never read any of the parenting books before. So how on earth did my ideal teaching method be the same as an expert in the field be the same? I guess I can only credit it to having to teach puppies. When I chose to have a dog, I chose a puppy. I've got no experience with dogs & a puppy is a clean sheet of paper. Easier to imprint on them on what is allowed & what isn't. I would know at this stage coz we acquired Wang in adulthood. House training is impossible. The best we could do is to outdoor train him. Even till now, 7 years later, he still refuses to go on the pee tray, choosing to pee on the floor when he absolutely has to go despite knowing that he'll be punished for it.
The moment I brought the 1.2 kg bundle of white fur whom I already knew I'll named Ton Ton, the boundaries had already been set. I loved him to bits. Whose heart wouldn't melt at the sight of this super adorable but scared to death puppy? But having done my research, I knew puppies will do their business within minutes of a meal. So I placed him on the pee tray till he did & rewarded him with a treat for a job well done. There were lapses which I promptly punished. By punished, I meant caned. He took 2 weeks to be house trained & 4 weeks to be really reliable unsupervised.
The 1st night Ton came into my life, I kept him in his playpen in the kitchen. I expected hin to bark & whine from separation anxiety. He didn't disappoint. I ignored him even though he kept me up the whole night. He was quiet from the 2nd night onwards. A fast learner he is. If I had gone to comfort him, I would reinforce to him that being anxious, barking & whining will get him the comfort he craves, leading to a lifelong separation anxiety problem. Be hard hearted for a few nights at the most & you'll have a well adjusted dog for the rest of his life. A pretty good tradeoff if you asked me.
A few months after Ton became part of the family, I heard a dog with severe separation anxiety somehow strangled himself on a leash or something while the owners were out. At a lesser extend, I've heard dogs tearing the house apart.
Of course, not all dogs are the same. I acquired Puggy a year later. He was a vocal & stubborn dog. House training alone took 6 months. He was too ill behaved despite the canings. I took him to obedience training where I learnt to use the choke chain to correct undesirable behaviours. I'm aware some people are very against the use of choke and pronged chains, calling it cruel. Again, if you can just bring yourself to be hard hearted for a short period of time, you'll a be rewarded with a well behaved dog. Besides, you're not asphyxiating the dog. You're giving the chain a sharp but short tug. Try it on your arm. It doesn't hurt.
The outcome? Do the dogs hate me for being so harsh on them? On the contrary, they're the closest to me. They get all excited when I come home. They don't when my parents do even though they dote on them the most & don't discipline them at all. When they're unwell, it's me they seek. They're the happiest when I'm the 1 bringing them for a walk even though I check them all the time for the entire duration, something my dad doesn't do. I refused to let Ton sniff too long at a spot & insists he walks my planned route when he keeps wanting to go where he wants to. Puggy is a wonder to walk thanks to his obedience training. He'll never pull on the leash, always keeping in pace with me. He doesn't get distracted by birds or cats unlike Ton. Best of all, he keeps trotting away despite another dog being in the vicinity all the while with the other dog barking at him & the owner struggling to stop his/her dog from dashing over.
What I'm left with are friends whom I can really enjoy & who enjoys me. I don't see them as my kids like some dog owners do. They're soul mates & I see our souls dancing together in a meadow, having the time of our life.
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