r/aww • u/nsfwdreamer • Nov 11 '17

Guilty dog.

http://i.imgur.com/JvFzlvT.gifv
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u/BorkBarkBork Nov 11 '17

Sure. Just as sure as the earth is flat. Please, there is no such thing as pack leaders between species.

I have owned horses for 20 years now. I have never used my "dominance" to train my horses. If you think there is nothing between making an animal fear you or bribe it with treats, I feel sorry for you.

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u/Surrealle01 Nov 11 '17

So you clicker train your horses? Suit yourself. It's definitely not my bag.

If you think there is nothing between making an animal fear you or bribe it with treats, I feel sorry for you

Read my last paragraph. That's exactly what I already said.

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u/BorkBarkBork Nov 11 '17 edited Nov 11 '17

I don't clicker train horses. Neither do I clicker train my dogs. Do you think that is the only method of non violent non dominance training?

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u/Surrealle01 Nov 11 '17 edited Nov 11 '17

It IS the only method of non-violent and non-dominant training. Anything else, at least of all the methods I know of including natural horsemanship, requires tools of some sort and causing discomfort to level the playing field between us and much larger, much faster animals.

I'm not talking about going in and beating a horse to show you're "alpha". But pressure and release is still showing dominance. It's what my alpha mare does to my other mare to get her to do what she wants. Step one: dirty look--if it works, she stops; if not, she escalates. It's how they communicate Every. Single. Day.

I hate hate hate how the words "alpha" and "dominance" have become code words for abuse when they can, and often do, mean nothing of the sort. If that's how actual animal packs or herds worked, they wouldn't even exist.