時差N小時:訓練小狗 Dog-training

If you read dog-training books or watch dog trainerson television, you've probably learned that tocontrol your dog, you have to display dominance.It's commonly thought that because dogs are packanimals, they live according to dominancehierarchies---either you're the dominant top dog oryou're a submissive underling. So, according tomany popular dog-training methods, you've got toshow a dog who's boss in order to make it sit, stay,fetch and obey other commands.

如果你讀過訓狗書籍或者在電視上看過訓狗節(jié)目,那你可能知道想要控制你的狗，必須展示自己的支配地位。人們通常認為狗是牲畜，所以它們要依靠著統(tǒng)治階級而生存——不論是領頭狗還是順從的狗部下。因此根據(jù)許多流行的訓狗方法，你應該向狗指示誰才是他真正的主人，誰能讓它坐下、停下來、去取東西和服從其它命令。

But a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania suggests that usingconfrontational methods to train dogs often results in pets that are more aggressive andunmanageable. Common techniques include hitting or kicking a dog, growling, rolling a dogon its back and holding it down, staring a dog down and grabbing a dog's jowls and shaking.The researchers' survey of 140 dog owners showed that these aggressive methods resulted inan aggressive response from dogs at least twenty-five percent of the time. So how shouldyou train your dog?

但是賓夕法尼亞大學研究人員進行的一項研究認為，采用對抗方式訓練狗狗往往適得其反，會使狗狗變得更具攻擊性和不易管理。常見的一些對抗式訓練法方法包括：打、踢，對著狗咆哮，拖著狗的背部滾動，盯著狗看，抓住狗的下巴搖晃。調查發(fā)現(xiàn)140名狗主人在展示這些攻擊性訓練方式時，結果至少有25%的狗狗做出攻擊性反應。那么你應該怎么訓練狗狗呢?

Many expert trainers advocate treating a dog much as you would a small child. Gentle trainingtechniques emphasize building a healthy relationship with your dog by opening clear lines ofcommunication and establishing a set of rules and boundaries. This includes rewarding dogsfor good behavior and not expecting your dog to obey all your commands right away. Like mostkids and even many adults, learning to behave takes time and patience.

許多訓狗專家鼓勵人們像對待小孩一樣來訓練狗狗。溫和的訓練技巧注重通過開放透明的交流與狗建立一種健康的關系，同時設立一套規(guī)則和界限。這包括表現(xiàn)好時給予獎勵，但不要期待你的狗狗會立刻服從你的命令。就像大多數(shù)孩子，甚至是有些成年人一樣，學會行事需要時間和耐心。