So. The other day, I was talking to a pet parent and I revealed to her that the most natural way to hold her puppy is by the scruff. Yesterday, I was severely scolded such amazing information because it was claimed to “cause great bodily harm”.
The other trainer’s theory was because the neck can’t be supported and because they’re too heavy and even the dog’s mother doesn’t do it after six weeks old, etc. etc. Well, naturally the first thing I did was consult other sources. I have always heard that it’s fine and I have two reasonably trustworthy dogs to confirm such with because mine have always been okay with it. I know a “this hurts me” cry from a “I just don’t like this” cry. Most puppies give off a “I just don’t like this” because scruffing a dog is traditionally a way of showing dominance, per se. I have heard that when you are going out to pick a puppy, picking them up this way will tell you which dogs are dominant and which are not. I don’t know if this is true or not, really, but I do know that the less you pick up your dog by the scruff, the less likely he is to allow you to do it – but that’s rather obvious. It IS a vulnerable position.
However, while I said okay and decided to never say it again, I did consult the internet (no one should ever take someone else’s statement as automatically true – even if someone has a wealth of experience behin them). I googled everything that I could imagine to get the full story on this and I’ve heard things from releasing endorphins to causing extreme pain to I don’t even know what else so alas I was at the point of making my own decision again.
I also, in fact, asked a good friend of mine to which I go to for a lot of dog advice. She’s taught me a lot over the years but namely she has taught me to do my own research. I trust her opinion when it comes to dogs partly because she does her own research and she’s big on behavior. I adore wolf behavior. Whenever I have a dog problem, that’s the first thing I go to.
So anyway. She said it was fine, naturally, because I probably have asked her before (she skipped citing a bunch of sources for once). I asked her when it was appropriate to stop. She was like… when the dog gets too heavy. This seemed legitimate. So then I sat back and started thinking.
- Why would someone figure that it was bad?
- When would it start being bad if possible?
- How would it in any way damage their spinal cord?
- Releasing endorphins or causing extreme pain?
And as I was writing, I realized that each one of these can be their own separate blog post (I am very long winded) so I decided to break them up as such.
Happy Holidays, by the way guys! (I dont celebrate anything, but I know it sounds very not personal).
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