Dogs Don’t Have Accidents

I hear people refer to a dog’s behavior as an “accident.”  Dogs don’t have accidents.  Certainly not in the way humans do.

As I walked to my car today and noticed yet another they-had-to-know-they-did-this door ding, I said my characteristic “dog gone it!”  Whatever that means.  Having just said the word dog,  I couldn’t help but think about how different we humans are from  animals.

Dogs, like other animals, live in the moment.  They may be territorial, possessive, aggressive, and any or all of the characteristics that could make them excellent door-dingers; however, it’s not something they would do.  If a dog wants you to know they are feeling threatened, irritated, or any number of expressions, it will be in your presence and applicable to that moment.  They aren’t capable of being passive-aggressive.

Living in the moment may not be so great all of the time; however, it would help to lessen those “accidents” we humans may participate in on a daily basis; i.e., forgetting where we put something, hitting someone’s car because we weren’t paying attention, over-reacting to a situation because of something that happened earlier in the day, etc.

I am coining a new phrase – “WWMDD?”  That’s – “What Would My Dog Do?”  I don’t know that it will help me find the keys I can’t find because I was thinking of something else when I set them down; but, if asked often enough, it may help to keep me in the moment and maybe a little less serious.

Accidents do happen (as they say); however maybe if we asked ourselves WWMDD, they would happen a little less often.

If your dog has mentioned you need behavioral modification or you experience mis-placed aggression, send me an email.  I’m happy to help.  I’m better at understanding dogs, but I do fairly well with humans.