Furry Angels

By DeRose

There are many humans who treat their dogs as members of their own family. Others, including dog trainers, think dogs are not people and treat them like animals. For some, dogs are not welcome inside the house and should live outdoors. Whether it is cold or raining, the animal has to deal with it, curled up, shivering, left alone in a flooded doghouse without protection against the wind and inclement weather. What is right or wrong?

This book was written to share all the wonderful tips the author has learned since beginning the education of Jaya, a weimaraner, a large dog breed that has been unfairly accused of being difficult to train. While this book is not intended to teach dog training techniques, the author has managed to get great results, winning a companion for walks, playing around, traveling, hanging out at the beach, visiting friends, being a loved one at work, and company at home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DeRose
• Release date: Mar 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781947162013

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Noticing how well behaved my Weimaraner is, several people suggested that I put pen to paper to share my ‘secrets’ on how I achieved this.

Since Fernanda and I decided to have a ‘baby’ of the four-legged variety, we’ve read Cesar Millan’s book, studied other authors and hired a dog trainer. So, I would therefore like to clarify that there are no secrets and I didn’t create a system of any kind.

However, while learning from those who knew more than us, we did stamp our own personality on how to apply the concepts we learned. This is because our own participation in the education of our pet is essential. There’s no point in handing a dog over to a trainer if their humans do not join in the lessons. Also, it won’t work if there’s a lack of consistency and a lack of daily, ongoing, tireless, methodical training. So, the consistent attention that Fernanda and I have been giving to Jaya, with neither one spoiling her, certainly helped a lot.

I’m convinced that the excellent results we achieved with our pup were also due to her own nature.

The dog’s breed brings out certain tendencies, which also helps. Some tend to bark more; others are more aggressive and so on. However, from very early on, each puppy from the same litter already presents its own unique personality, which is different to all its litter siblings. Therefore, some of the tips I give in this book may be more successful with one individual than another.

FOR DOGS AND HUMANS ALIKE

The tips suggested here work for all mammals, more for some, less for others. As we are mammals too, we are subject to the same principles of positive reinforcement and reward.

The key with dogs, children and all human beings is to cultivate consistency. If a certain behaviour is forbidden, it must always be forbidden. Occasionally allowing a forbidden behaviour sends out mixed messages and confuses the animal or person being commanded, whether it’s a dog, child, girl/boyfriend or employee.

I hope this book will contribute to making the world a better and fairer place.

Julieta, Leandro Sosi and Elisângela Borba’s

beautiful vegetarian little angel.

São Paulo, Brazil.

Lilly, Joanna Griffin and Paulo Pacifici’s vegetarian big angel,

sleeping on my chest when we first met. London, UK.

THE TENDERNESS OF A THOUSAND ANGELS

If you don’t have a dog, you don’t know what it’s like waking up to such a torrent of affection first thing in the morning. No human being is capable of saying:

Please can I cuddle you? Sorry if I got out of hand and licked your face, but it’s just that I love you sooo much!… I spent the entire night watching your every movement, to protect you; observing your every gesture, to see if it was time to give you my look of love and - who knows? - maybe get some kind of attention from you in return. I ask for so little! Just one look from you and I wag my tail to show how happy I am to be yours and to be able to live by your side!

I wake up. Open my bedroom door. Greet Jaya. She rests her head in my lap, as she always does when looking for affection. She looks into my eyes with the tenderness of a thousand angels and wells up with gratitude. And, yet, I owe her more than she owes me.

Jaya, a little older, being introduced to Mila, Jeanine Padilha’s cat.

BEFORE THINKING ABOUT ADOPTING OR BUYING A PUPPY

You are a kind person, not in any way cruel. Therefore, please think carefully before giving a home to a being that is all about emotion and love.

Too many people adopt a puppy only to abandon it at the first sign of economic hardship, illness, educational problems or some other pretext. This is inhumane! An acquaintance of mine found a Weimaraner in