Most of these ignorant owners I see seem to think that giving a dog love and freedom is what makes them happy, and if the dog misbehaves they yell at it without trying to properly teach what’s right or wrong in the first place.

I agree – it is strange but some people seem to think that dogs come with a pre-programmed set of commands. I say it is Lassie’s fault 🙂

I think sometimes people also get embarrassed, so they scold their dogs to try and show others, that they are good parents who discipline their dogs. One of those human things that have very little to do with the dog.

Safety vs. Quality of Life –
As you say, sometimes there is a trade-off between safety and freedom. For example, my dog would love to run around off-leash wherever, but very quickly he would get into bad trouble and that would not be good for him. Therefore, to keep him safe, I use a combination of rules and management. He has to wear a leash, and I make sure to always check my equipment so that it is in good shape.

Does that mean that my dog is totally safe? No – he would probably be safer if I didn’t walk him at all. However, that would be giving up a lot of quality of life, for some little gain in safety.

Therefore, it is a trade-off that every dog owner makes for their dogs.

Kids, Dogs, and Respect –
I agree with you that both kids and dogs should have rules. However, I believe that it is good to encourage independent thinking in kids.

When I was growing up, my parents had rules as well. I followed almost all of them, mainly because I respected my father very much and did not want to disappoint him. However, this does not mean that I follow everything that he says. He made sure that I always thought for myself and made my own decisions even though sometimes we may disagree on the right thing to do. He was especially worried about my dieting phase 🙂 I followed those rules not because I feared physical reprimand (my father never-ever physically reprimanded me), but because of respect. In contrast, family members that did use physical methods on me, I did not respect as much.

Respect, I think is a 2-way street. My dad respected me to make my own decisions, and I respect him for many many things, including that.

You strike me as a very independent thinker – so I imagine it is similar for you and your parents. For example, you decided that Dunbar is not for you 🙂

I also let my dogs do their own thinking, and only have rules where it is necessary. They can choose to follow or not follow certain rules, and if not, there will be consequences. As with kids, I believe that resource-based consequences are more effective than physical-based consequences.

Ian Dunbar –
Consider checking out Dunbar. I thought his writing style was somewhat pedantic, but some of his methods worked very well for my dogs. In particular, bite inhibition training is one of the best things I learned from him. It really minimized the amount of badness when my Shiba started acting out and redirected his aggression onto me.

As for Dunbar vs Millan, it does not matter much to me who is better, more handsome, more right or more wrong. I don’t really know any of them personally, so I have no vested interest in their relative awesomeness. I do however, love my dogs very much and have a strong vested interest in their well-being. I try to evaluate whatever techniques that come my way, and then re-evaluate them as necessary, so that I can find the ones that best suit me and my dogs. Just my 2 cents 🙂

Sure, give your dog love and freedom! But give it after you’ve done what he needs, not what you want. I’d like to see these owners stay all day with nothing to do but sleep and walk around a house — bet they’d get their act straight real fast.

Exercise, disipline, affection — so simple and yet it works so well.

In the long run it’s for his safety. What if I accidentally drop the leash and there’s a cat there. He really likes chasing those fuzz balls up a tree, but there’s a road in front on him. He locks onto the cat, but I give him a “hey” and he snaps him right out of it.

I look at owning a dog like I do having a kid; I am the one responsible for my dog’s(kid’s) actions, safety, and health. Since I am responsible for him, it only makes sense that he’ll follow my rules in my house. This doesn’t mean I’m going to make my kid do what I want and then wait for further information. I’d make rules, and expect them to be followed because if they weren’t followed it could mean harm to the house, his health, safety, etc. The kid might not like or understand these rules, but if I gain my kids respect he’ll follow them like I did with my parents. You’ve seen Super Nanny, haven’t you? The kids have taken over the house, just like the dogs do if treated like doorsteps. The only difference is that we can’t just talk to our dogs and explain the rules that way; we have to wait for them to start to do what you don’t want and take action.

And I agree — people who let their dogs rot in the back yard and only use them for thier own emotional needs are selfish and shouldn’t have dogs.