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Be the Moose-what is she talking about? You hear a lot about be the pack leader, be the alpha, be dominant but there is another way to look at dog behavior and issues and that is to be the moose. Where did I come up with that idea? Natural Dog Training. They use the prey instinct to resolve problem behaviors in dogs and elicit obedience behaviors. I'm just going to give you a little nutshell explanation. For more detail, you can go to
www.naturaldogtraining.com
or
www.leecharleskelley.com
Also check out two books by Kevin Behan-"Natural Dog Training" and "Your Dog is Your Mirror". Very interesting and a different way of looking at your dog.
Why a moose? A moose is a high value prey animal. And what do our dogs have a lot of-prey drive! It's also big and powerful and has lots of PREDATOR energy as well.
"The moose also has characteristics that will be helpful for you, as you imagine yourself to "be" one. The moose is strong. The moose is rooted firmly on the ground - you couldn't push a moose over. A moose can be nimble when it has to be nimble, but it can also be a frightening adversary if confronted." (from Be the Moose-NDT)
"The whole idea is that by being like the moose you will:
1. Be the most attractive thing in the universe to your dog. Nothing is more appealing to your dog than the moose.
2. Engage your dog's naturally SOCIAL instincts (along with obedience behaviors). All of your dog's behavior will revolve around you, and your dog will, eventually,
look to you to resolve the FEELING that they get of wanting to "make prey" - on bike riders, other dogs, the neighbors children, squirrels, etc.
3. Develop facility with prey AND predator energy. The predator energy is what zaps your dog into action - it's what stirs up the stress inside them, gets the motor revving. The prey energy is what allows your dog to resolve that stress, giving them an outlet for all of the potential revving up inside of them.
4. Most importantly, by "being the moose" you will also be able to break some of your habits, habits that you didn't even know you had, but which are associated with "being the alpha", and which might, ultimately, be unproductive in your relationship with your dog. Being the moose allows you to see the world through a different lens, and you will start to notice different things about your dog's behavior, developing different, more productive patterns of interacting with your dog." (from Be The Moose NDT)
Because in our human upright walking, big eyes and big hands, we look like a predator anyway, we need to spend more time building up the prey energy. You want to be the high value prey object in your dog's life. So when you call your dog to come-he'll come speeding to you-the most attractive thing in the world to him.
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