Praktična radionica (Practical workshop)

  Danas smo imali prvi sat Praktične radionice na temu Komunikacija sa psima.

  Nekima je prvi dio radionice bio težak (i psima i vlasnicima) gdje smo kroz primirenje, nekorištenje riječi i smanjenu mogućnost korištenja ruku (bilo za frkanje lajne, pucketanje prstima ili sl.) probali dočarati  kako sve možemo komunicirati sa psima na njima bliskije načine, kako je često „manje“ ustvari „više“  i učili se kako počistiti sav višak komunikacije u radu ili odnosu sa psom te na taj način s vremenom riješiti uzrok nekog neželjenog ponašanja umjesto bavljenja samo sa simptomom istoga.

  No bilo je onih kojima je drugi dio, tzv.“pauza nakon radionice“ isto bilo malo teža (psima i ponekom vlasniku) jer su odjednom svi bili pušteni i trčali uokolo što na novom terenu među novim psima i ljudima je ponekad isto izazov.

  Today we had first class of Practical workshop with a theme Comunication with dogs.

  To some the first part of workshop was difficult (both dogs and owners) when we throught appease, without using words and reducing the possibility of using our hands (wheather for twisting the leash, snaping with fingers etc.) tried to demonstrate in how many ways we can comunicate with dogs in more closer ways to them, how often „less“ is „more“ and we strated to learn how to clean up all uneccesary comunication in the work or relationship with a dog and in that way in time to  solve the cause of unwanted behavior instead of dealing just with the symptom of it.

  But there were also a few of them (both dogs and owners) that have found the second part, so called „break from the training“, also a litlle dificult because suddenly everyone was of the leash and running around which as a situation on completly new terrain sorounded with new dogs and new people it can be also challenging sometimes.

 

Manje je više, jednostavnost čuda čini (Less is more, simplicity does wonders)

  U svom poslu najčešće radim sa psima koji ili imaju neka loša stečena iskustva sa ljudima ili nemaju apsolutna nikakva iskustva sa ljudima i našim svijetom tako da jedino što mogu u radu se osloniti na komunikaciju njima blisku i znanu te ih na taj način polako učiti i socijalizirati na svijet ljudi.

  Sa takvim psima uglavnom u početku nema klasične nagrade ili motivacije jer ne uzimaju hranu zbog straha niti imaju znanje što je to igračka, ali zato se nagrađivanje i poticanje vrši na vrlo primaran i jednostavan način kroz određene dodire i uz određene riječi, prateći kroz fizičke mikro signale njihove reakcije, komunikaciju i potrebe i postepeno i strpljivo gradeći odnos  i njihovo razumijevanje o ljudima i njihovom načinu komunikacije koja se uvelike razlikuje od one pseće.

Takvi psi često vole male skučene prostore koji u njima izazivaju osjećaj zaštićenosti i ugode pa se treba voditi računa da se takvom psu omogući taj neki njegov „safe place“ u kojem se može opustiti, zaspati i odmoriti se. Podjednako je bitna i verbalna komunikacija koja se u početku mora svesti na minimum da bi mogli uz dodir stvoriti bazu verbalnih izraza koji isto označuju ugodu ili poticaj/ohrabrenje jer kako psi imaju riječi koje vežu uz određenu fizičku akciju ili poziciju tzv. komade tako se mogu naučiti i da neke riječi znače određeno psihičko stanje.

  Takve pse se nikako ne treba pustiti da se sami opuste, priviknu ili naviknu jer to može biti vrlo dugotrajan proces što je za psihu psa jako naporno i teško, a također takav pristup vrlo lako može otići u sasvim krivom smjeru, bez obzira što je vjerojatno namjera čovjeka u osnovi ljubav prema psima i sažaljenje, njima to ne pomaže. Takvi psi trebaju oslonac koji će ih voditi, postepeno i polako voditi i uvoditi u svijet ljudi i normalnog funkcioniranja.

  U prilogu ispod je Ronny (jedan od starijih slučajeva), pas bez ikakve socijalizacije na bilo koju vrstu ljudskog dodira snimljen nakon nekih 5 dana, 4 tjedna nakon preuzimanja je udomljen kao vrlo veseli psić.

  In my work I'm usually working with dogs  who have had bad experiences with people or have no experience at all with people and our world, so the only thing that is successful is to rely on communication that is close and familiar to them as they slowly learn about and socialize with the world of people. 

  

  With such dogs in the beginning there can be no classic awards or motivation because they are too afraid to take food, nor do they know what a toy is. This means that the rewarding and encouraging is done in a very primal and simple way through touches and certain words, with close and focused attention to the physical micro signals of their reactions, and communication and needs, and then gradually and patiently building a relationship and their understanding of people and human ways which are so different from those of a dog. Dogs like this often prefer small confined spaces that give them a sense of security and comfort, so care should be taken to provide them with that kind of a "safe place" where they can relax, sleep and rest. Verbal communication is equally important but initially it should be minimized and used with specific touches in order to create a fund of verbal expressions that also suggest comfort or incentive/encouragement because if dogs can learn specific words that they associate with a specific physical action or position, they can aso learn words that suggest a certain psychological state.

  These dogs certainly cannot be left to themselves to relax, adjust or adapt because this may be a very time-consuming process and it is a very strenuous and difficult process for the dog and his psychological state, and also such an approach can easily go completely in the wrong direction, no matter if the intent of the person is based on love for the dog and pity for him, which is of no help to them. These dogs need support to guide them, they need a guide to gradually and slowly lead  and introduce them to the world of people and normal functioning.

   Attached below is a short film of Ronny (one of the older cases), a dog with no socialization to any sort of human touch taken after about five days of work; four weeks after he was caught and brought to me he was adopted in a family as a very happy puppy.

Država koja _urcu sviri (The state that doesn't give a _uck)

  Silno me već par dana vuče da napišem jedan mali osvrt apsolutno ne vezan za pse ali vezan za državu u kojoj živim, pa sve nešto bih pa sve nešto ne bih, ali eto moram jer bum inače eksplodirala…

 Prateći tako situacije po Americi, što je za mene vrlo neobično, gdje je trenutačno definitivno vrlo „veselo“, svako malo uleti i poneka priča ljudska, tužna, koja te baš onako štrecne, iz ove moje zemlje. Pa eto nedavno je  baš usputna gospođa prisluškujući u tramvaju saznala da g. Ilija i njegov sin nemaju za dvije kifle jer nisu skupili dovoljno boca i digla na noge cijelu vojsku pojedinaca da pomognu novčano i namirnicama toj obitelji u kojoj otac i njegova nevjenčana supruga, majka njihove dvoje djece nemaju posla i jedva preživljavaju uz dugove državi, međutim uspostavilo se da g. Ilija ima još pokoji problem ili karakternu manu koji dodatno otežava situaciju njegovoj obitelji koja ni ovako nije dobra, paralelno sa time na sve strane se skuplja roba, hrana, higijenske potrepštine i sve ostalo, te i pokoja novčana pomoć za razno razne ljude i obitelji koji jednostavno ne mogu preživjeti ili jedva preživljavaju u uvjetima koje im ova država pruža. Pa onda prije par dana naletim na priču o starijem čovjeku koji sa svoje dvije sestre od kojih je jedna nepokretna živi, odnosno živio je u prizemlju svoje  trošne kuće grijući se kartonima i svime što su valjda našli usput, živeći u smeću bez ičije pomoći i na kraju umrijevši unutra jer se sve skupa zapalilo, naravno vijest su osudili mnogi, mnoge je njihova priča osupnula i način na koji su skončali svoje bijedne živote i zgražajući se kako ni susjedi nisu baš previše pomogli istima.

  

  I tako dok sve to čitam, svaku večer gledam skoro pa ista lica kako skupljaju i pretražuju kontejnere oko mog nebodera, odnosno 6 nebodera u jednom krugu, neki dolaze i po danu neki samo u okrilju noći, neki imaju svog psa kojeg usput nahrane ostacima nečijeg ručka, neki povremeno nađu posao pa ih nema neko vrijeme pa kad ga izgube opet se vrate, svi stari kruh podijele gradskim pticama koje se tamo nađu. Ako ostaviš igračke dječje ili robu to nestane u roku od 5 minuta, jednom sam čak igračke kojih smo se mi rješavali sortirala na licu mjesta sa ženom koja je sa sobom imala kćerku od nekih 10-tak godina i koja jako voli konjiće (Fran je taman izašao iz faze konjića pa smo ih imali cijelu hrpu), žena se cijelo vrijeme pravdala kako ionako imaju previše igračaka doma ali djetetu nikad dosta, priča na koju sam ja pristala jer je ženi tako bilo lakše razgovarati onako svakodnevno kao što majke razgovaraju, iako je pritom po djevojčici bilo jasno da je to samo priča jedne majke koju je sram priznati na što im se život sveo, naravno uzele su sve igračke pa čak i one potrgane i nepotpune. Gledam i starce i roditelje sa djecom kako na hrelić i sa hrelića tegle nekakvu svoju robu koju pokušavaju prodati, djecu koja umjesto da pišu zadaće doma pišu ih tamo gdje njihovi roditelji pokušavaju zgrnuti par kuna za svakodnevni obrok i još možda nešto sa strane…kad počneš promatrati svašta vidiš a sve je teže vidjeti neke lijepe scene, kao da smo upali u neku dramu, neki teški film sumorne tematike…

  Neki dan tako izlazim sa psima van i motam se oko nebodera dok psi njuše i vidim jedno od meni  već poznatih lica kako kopa po kontejneru, uto nekih 50 m dalje dolazi na biciklu drugo lice isto već poznato među ekipom koja redovito pretražuje naše kontejnere, ugleda prvog i požuri na svom trošnom biciklu prepunom stvari prema sljedećem kontejneru jer shvaća da iza ovog prvog nema šanse da išta nađe. Prvi ga ugleda i munjevito trči ne bi li prvi došao do sljedećih kontejnera …igre gladi…možda eto naša državna televizija umjesto da otkupljuje istoimenu seriju može napraviti svoju istog naziva prema stvarnim ljudima i događajima pa možda i na neki način i pomoći onima jadnijima od nas prosječnih ljudi.  

  Skuplja se, donira, kupuje odjeća za tuđu djecu, uplaćuju novci na sve strane i sve od običnih ljudi, sve pojedinci sami od sebe iz neke etike, suosjećanja , morala organiziraju druge pojedince ne bi li se udružili i zajedno skupili više nego što prosječna osoba ove države može sama, jer ruku na srce nitko od nas nema puno. A gdje je tu u svemu tome država? Isprva sam bila tužna zbog sudbina tih ljudi a onda promatrajući sve to sam postala ogorčena i na kraju bijesna. Zašto je postalo normalno i kada da optužujemo tuđe susjede zato što nisu pomogli, zašto je postalo normalno i kada da nas nepoznati prisluškuju i pokreću lavinu pojedinaca koji onda trgaju od svojih usta da bi dali u tuđa, zašto je postalo normalno i kada da imamo osjećaj dužnosti spašavati druge dok paralelno spašavamo i sebe a država pritom da prostiš _urcu  sviri. Dok država donosi zakone i propise koji ne pomažu nikome osim onima povlaštenima i onima na vrhu mi obični ljudi se organiziramo u što veće grupe pojedinaca da pomognemo onima koji su jadniji od nas samih i to je postalo već normalno, ali više nitko ne očekuje od države da nešto poduzme, sad već svi to očekuju od drugih pojedinaca iz svog miljea, kruga, od onih nekih drugih koji eto danas imaju za ručak ali možda ne za dodatne stvari ali bi svejedno trebali to podijeliti sa onima koji nemaju. 

  

  Da ja jesam za dijeljenje, da ja volim ljude, da ja jesam empatična ali zašto me država (i društvo u krajnjoj liniji birajući te neke na vlasti) dovelo u situaciju da se loše osjećam jer svojih 50 kn ne dijelim sa nekom osobom koja ni to nema, zašto država ne snosi odgovornost za dobrobit te osobe, zar smo stvarno spali na to da jadni spašavaju još jadnije dok oni koji bi trebali voditi računa o boljitku i dobrobiti naroda kao takvog i svakog njegovog pojedinca vode brigu samo o sebi na kraju?

P.S. U ovoj našoj zemlji imamo (među ostalim suludim stvarima) i ured za vještačenje osoba sa invaliditetom bez rampe, pa tako često vještačenja vrše vani na dvorištu što je po meni baš ustvari u stilu cijelog stanja naše zemlje i stanja u kojem se nalazimo.

  For a copule of days now a have a need to write a review absolutely not related to dogs and their world but related to people and the state I live in, so I start but then give up, then start again and give up once more, but at the end I have to write it otherwise I would explode

  Following the ongoing situation in America, which is most unusual for me, where is definitely a very lively time, every now and then some personal, sad stories surface about this country of mine (Croatia). So recently a random lady just so happened to eavesdrop on a tram to Mr.Ilija and his son talking have they have no money to bux second bread roll to eat because they hadn't collected enough bottles for recycling and she raised a whole army of people to help with money and food for this family in which the father (Mr. Ilija) and his common-law wife, mother of their two children, have no job and can barely get by with what they owe the state, but then it turned out that Mr. Ilija has a little problem or character flaw of his own that adds to the challenges facing his family, who are not doing very well as it is, parallel to that all around the country people are collecting goods, food, toiletries and everything else, and occasionally even financial assistance for a variety of different people and families who simply cannot survive or barely survive under the conditions this country offers them.

And then the other day I come across a story about an older man living with his two sisters, one of whom was paralyzed, and they live, or rather lived, on the ground floor of their dilapidated house and burned cardboard to stay warm and anything else they'd scavenged along the way, living in trash without anybody's help and eventually dying inside because the whole thing caught fire, of course, the news was condemned by many, many were shocked by their stories and the way their wretched lives ended, horrified that even their neighbors weren't of much help to them.

  So while I'm reading all of that, every night I watch almost the same faces rummaging through the containers around my high-rise, the six high-rise in one cluster, some come by day, others only under the cover of night, some with a dog that feeds on the remains of someone's dinner, some occasionally find work and then they're gone for a while, and when they lose it again they return, they all give the stale bread they find to the city birds there. If you leave toys or children's clothing these disappear within five minutes, once I sorted through toys I was getting rid of on the spot with a women who was with her ten-year-old daughter who really loved little horses (Fran was fresh out of the horses phase, we had a whole bunch of them), the woman apologizing all the time that they already had far too many toys at home as it was bur her child could never get enough, a story that I accepted, because that helped the woman talk in that everyday way that mothers talk, although meanwhile it was clear, looking at the girl, that this was just a story for the mother who was ashamed to admit what their life had come to, and, of course, they took all the toys and even those that were broken and incomplete. I watch the elderly and parents with children who take their things to the flea market and try to sell them, and the children instead of doing their homework at home are doing it where their parents are trying to pull in a couple of kunas for daily meals and maybe something on the side ... when you start to observe you see all sorts of things and it gets harder to watch some beautiful scenes, as if we've all fallen into a play, a painful movie based on grim, gloomy themes ...

  The other day I went out with the dogs and was wandering around the high-rise while the dogs sniffed when I saw one of the already familiar faces digging through the container, and then some 50 meters away on the bike came another person I also knew, one of the crew that regularly rummages in our containers, he saw the first one and hurried on his rickety bicycle laden with things to the next container because he realized that if he came after the first he'd have no chance of finding anything. The first saw him, and instantly ran in order to be the first to reach the next containers ... hunger games ... maybe our national television instead of purchasing the TV series of the same name can make its own with the same title about real people and events, and perhaps in some way and help those more wretched than we average people are.

  Collecting, donating, buying clothes for someone else's children, shelling out money on all sides and all by ordinary people, all of them individuals doing so out of ethics, compassion, morals, organizing others so they can join together and gather more than the average person in this country can accomplish on their own, because frankly none of us are very well off. And where is our government in all this? At first I was sad about the fate of these people and then watching all this I became bitter and finally furious. Why and when has it become normal to blame someone else's neighbors because they didn't help, why and when it has become normal for strangers to eavesdrop of a random conversation and then trigger an avalanche of people who than, to help, take food from their own mouth to give it to others, why and when it has become normal to feel it's our duty to save others while simultaneously saving ourselves and meanwhile the government, forgive me the vulgarity, doesn't give a fuck. While the government passes laws and regulations that do not help anyone except those privileged and those at the top, we ordinary people are organizing in larger and larger groups to help those who are worse off than we are, and this has already become normal, but no one anymore expects the government to do anything, instead we now all expect this from others in our community, our circle, from those others who today have enough to eat for dinner but maybe not for other things, yet they still need to share.

  Yes, I am all about sharing, I care for people, I am empathetic, but why does the government (or society, by electing certain people to government) has forced me into a situation that I feel bad not giving my 50 kunas to somebody who doesn't even have that much, why doesn't the government take responsibility for the welfare of these people? Have we really fallen so low that it's the wretched saving those who are just a little more wretched than they while the others, who should be seeing to the improvement and benefit of the nation as such, and to each individual in it, are looking after only themselves?

P.S. In this country of ours we also have (among other totally crazy things) an expert office for people with psyhical disabilities that has no ramp for the disabled, just the stairs, so they usually give thair expert opinion out side in the yard, which in my opinion fits just right in the style of our country and the state in which we are in.

Dok jedni pričaju drugi djeluju (While ones are talking others are physically acting)

 Ovo je na neki način nastavak prvog, gornjeg, teksta gdje sam spomenula kako količina riječi ili mijenjanje zvuka komande neće utjecati na to da vas pas počne slušati dapače dugoročno ćete postići sasvim suprotan efekt.

 Psi i ljudi nisu isti, način komunikacije, brzina djelovanja, potrebe i sam doživljaj svijeta je bitno drugačiji kod jednih i drugih čak i neke osnovne geste i načini imaju sasvim drugačije značenje kod ljudi, a drugačije kod pasa, pa nam je stoga i komunikacija sasvim drugačija. I dok ljudi pričaju psi djeluju.

 Pas kad nešto hoće jednostavno to i napravi bilo da se radi o zauzimanju  prostora, igračke, igri, šetnji/potrebi za kretanjem i istraživanjem mirisa, pas fizički djeluje, ide u akciju. Pa npr. ako želi rupu koju drugi pas kopa jednostavno će prići sa određenim fizičkom stavom tijela uz koji ide i fokusiran pogled i nametne se, preuzme rupu ako drugi to dozvoli što se isto vidi fizički na tijelu, djelovanjem ili će možda zalajati, zarežati ali će to odmah popratiti i fizičkom akcijom znači opet djelovanjem, tjeranjem od rupe ili pozivom na igru (što je usput rečeno vrlo dobar način za postizanje bilo čega sa psom,igra kao takva) i preusmjeravanjem pažnje na sebe da bi na kraju na jedan vrlo suptilan način opet došao do onog što želi, tuđe rupe u zemlji.

 A mi ljudi?  Mi ljudi pričamo, meljemo, bez kraja i konca u nedogled i naš glas koji tako i tako stalno izlazi van je sve manje bitan, postaje neki konstantni šum i još kad u to dodate emocije koje se javljaju htjeli mi to ili ne, a pas ih osjeti kroz promjenu mirisa našeg tijela (strah, nervozu, nelagodu, ljutnju, lagano veselje jer nam je smiješan ustvari, uzbuđenje, nesigurnost,…) eto ti problema. Ono što nas, ljude, spašava da su psi vrlo prilagodljivi i da im nije bitan put do onoga što žele bitno im je samo da to dobiju i vrlo lako se prepuste i slijede pa kako sam i navela u prvom tekstu mijenjajući svoj način mijenjamo i psa odnosno njegove akcije ili reakcije. Međutim ljudima je nevjerojatno teško riješiti se starih navika, skoncentrirati  se na sebe samoga i izbaciti iz glave sve drugo što danas, jučer ili sutra nosi, ali pobogu zato i imate psa da pobjegnete malo u neki drugi svijet od onog svakodnevnog,  isto kao što im je jako teško da se ne povedu za situacijom odnosno da ponašanje psa ne utječe na njih ili da primijete male sitne promjene na bolje ili gore u ponašanju svog psa u moru nekog naučenog ponašanja.

 Ključ promjene ponašanja vašeg psa leži isključivo u vama i nikom drugome pa tako prije nego počnete koristiti bujicu riječi probajte jednostavno djelovati, naravno kada dokučite što u stvari stvarno želite promijeniti na psu a što vam je ipak malo zabavno, nakon što dokučite kako točno izgleda to što želite i kako ćete to psu pokazati (ne reći ;) ) i nakon što dokučite koje su i kolike stvarno potrebe vašeg psa i što ga motivira (motivacija ne mora nužno biti ista za različite situacije, ali je jako bitna jer u konačnici je to nagrada zbog koje pas slijedi vaš put i vaš način i to je ono nešto što pas silno želi) jer i vi radite to što radite zbog neke motivacije, što je kod ljudi uglavnom novac, a ako ste tip od volontiranja imajte na umu da psi ne volontiraju, oni svime što rade zadovoljavaju neku svoju potrebu.

 In a way this the the follow up of my first text here where I have mentioned how quantity of words or changing the sound of the command will not make your dog more obedient but on the contrary in the long run it will have completely different effect on your relationship with your dog.

 Dogs and humans are not the same, type of communication, the velocity of decisions and actions, needs and the basic experience of the world and surroundings is different  in ones and in the others, even some of  basic gestures and ways have completely different meaning in humans and in dogs.

 When a dog  wants something  he simply acts physically, whether is it about taking a space, a toy, a play, a walk/need for motion (exercise) and exploring the smells, dog physically acts, he goes into action. For example if he wants others dog hole in the ground he will simply approach with specific physical posture of the body with a focused look in his eyes and he will impose himself and take over the hole if the other dog will allow him to which you can also see physically in his body language. The other possible communication is barking or growling but also it will be accompanied with physical action such as scaring the dog away or inviting him to play (which is by the way a very good way to accomplish anything you want with your dog, playing as such) and redirecting his focus on himself so that he would eventually get what he wants, others dog hole in the ground, in a very subtly way.

 And we humans? We, humans, talk, grinding the words endlessly and our voice which is coming out of our mouth constantly becomes less and less important, it becomes a constant noise and if we add to that emotions which occurred whether we want them or not and the dog sniffs them on our changed body odour (fear, nervousness, discomfort, anger, slight joy because in a way he is funny, excitement, insecurity,…) we have a problem. The one thing that saves us humans is that dogs are very adaptable and that they don't care about the path towards something they want, they care only to get  what they want and they easily let them selves go and follow and as I mentioned in previous text by changing our way we change the dogs also, his actions and reactions.  However to humans is incredibly hard to let go of old habits, to concentrate on themselves and to release out of their mind everything else that today, yesterday or tomorrow  brings, but for gods sakes that is why you got a dog in the first place to escape a little bit in some other world different from the one that you are in every single day. One other thing incredibly difficult to humans is not to get caught emotionally in situations, in other words that the dogs behavior does not effect them or that they notice small changes in dogs behavior for better or for worse in a big picture of usual learned behavior.

 The key in your dogs behavior is in you and nobody else and so before you stars to use torrent of words try simply to act physically, of course when you find out which and how big are the needs of your dog and what motivates him (motivation doesn't necessary have to be same thing in different occasions, but it is very important because in the end that is the thing for which your dog will follow your path, your way and that is the thing that he really wants at the end) because you also work for some kind of motivation, that is usually money for people, and if your are a volunteer type of person have in mind that dogs are not, they don't volunteer, everything that they do is because they want to satisfy some need.