Back to "Dogs of my own" Contents Back to Home                                                                                               MY DEAR LORDS One by one, as they arrived, my Kuvaszes made me change my views about dogs. They simply didn't accept that I treat them like everyone is told to treat a dog - like books say, like dog-trainers say, like everybody says ... I learnt that living with Kuvaszes was meaning living with friends, with "team mates", with "fellow workers", associates. I learnt that Kuvaszes and mankind are on equal level, and that the Kuvaszes don't accept to be treated as inferiors - but only as equals. I learnt not to give orders but to ask gently, sometimes with negotiation, and to always respect them. For my Kuvaszes are Lords - but some other dogs of mine are also more or less like them, in particular my first Croatian Sheepdog, Fango, whose character is very similar to my Kuvaszes' one. So they are Lords, and they do want that anybody treat them as persons of rank. Kuvasz is known for his great sensitivity - some would say : his great touchiness - for all kind of reprimand, punishment, etc - all kind of lèse-majesté. Corporal punishments are simply inconceivable. In the opposite, their human friend can get anything he needs from his Kuvaszes, but only on a few conditions ... Kuvasz function with love and confidence, not with orders and demands. Asking gently, or even not asking at all, is overall the better way, Kuvaszes generally know by themselves all the needs of their owns, and they do all that seems necessary. When my second Kuvasz bitch, Csele, was about one year and half, she got into the habit of jumping suddenly in the grass after mouse or so, while she was walking on a lead with me ; at the beginning, I was just smiling, and she continued more and more ; but then, I was having a sore arm at every jump. So I said only one word, "Ow !", at every jump ; Csele, like my other dogs, knew the meaning of that word, that it to say that her jumps were doing me harm, and so, without any other action nor word from me, she stopped by herself and lost definitively this habit : just not to do me harm anymore. Kuvasz function with love, not with orders. I know that almost everybody would have told me to make her obey with more or less repressive methods : such methods don't suit at all the Kuvaszes, and they often make them become more and more aggressive. In the opposite, that is so easy to get all we need from them with only love ... None of my Kuvaszes pull (or pulled) me when they walk on a lead, and this without any training : they simply take care of me and they are careful not to make me harm. Fango like my Kuvaszes is a Lord - while my first cat has been the first Lord of my home. They all have chief character - chief soul ! But they are chiefs as Lords. I want to say that they are really lordly in their behaviour. They always look after all their owns and they are able to restrain themselves and give to their inferiors. If they demand respect from all inferiors, they protect them and respect them too. Of course, that is inevitable that some inferiors with poor character copy everything they do :  dogs so often appears like mankind ! Strong characters like my dear Lords don't copy anyone, because they are perfectly able to act by themselves. Those who copy show that they are not able to do by themselves. They need a model. It is quite normal that young beings imitate models to built their personalities - and my dear Lords did too -, but when they become adults, they must be strong enough to live by themselves - but we can notice how so much beings are not ! All those who needs to copy ... My dogs give me examples. When my first Kuvasz bitch arrived at home, she found a Briard bitch and a Newfoundland bitch (and a cat) ; she showed immediately her strong character and became quickly the chief ; my Briard bitch, who revealed poor character, started to amble all the time, imitating the Kuvasz. My first Newfoundland didn't, because she had stronger character, but my second one was ambling in the garden among the Kuvaszes, and no more out of the garden, during walks, although she was often walking with my Mudi (who always amble too) : he was an inferior, so she didn't imitate him, but in the garden she was copying the chiefs, the Kuvaszes ! For reality is so : those who copy choose only superiors as models ! By the fact of copying, all those who crib reveal that they consider themselves as inferiors compared with the model they need - although, of course, that is generally unconscious. Copiers are poor enough characters not to be able to discern right from wrong in things that they copy, they generally copy "blindly" ; for example, my Croatian Sheepdog bitch Snasha takes my Kuvasz bitch Csele - the chief of females ! - as a model, and she imitates her very much ;  at a moment, Csele often banged her head against walls and doors because of a health problem : and I saw Snasha banging her head against open door although, of course, she had not the slightest problem ! Those who copy, who imitate, hope and expect - consciously or unconsciously - to seize the qualities of the model that they covet : but they often do nothing else that make themselves look ridiculous ... ! Of course, only other weak and poor characters can believe in those who copy, the ones who have clear mind prefer the model rather than its copy ! And Snasha must be on heat to really interest males who simply prefer Csele ... My dear Lords of course make some jealous, but it seems that they don't mind at all : they are quite above all of this ! They don't have to copy anyone because they are strong enough to l live by themselves. They are quite able to find by themselves the better answer to each situation. For example, Csele - one more time ! - was exactly 3 months this day when I threw away an empty plastic bottle to make new toy for her ; the bottle moved in the air before crashing on the ground with some noise ; Csele didn't know what was this, it seemed like an object, but normally an object don't move with noise, so she thought it could be an animal too ; a lot of dogs would have searched the answer from their owner, looking at him to know what they had to do ; Csele, as a good Kuvasz, relied only on herself to find the answer to this question : object or animal ? Csele tested the unknown thing during a few minutes, by making all rituals of dog's behaviour, from intimidation to play-provoking : the bottle didn't react at all, so Csele considered that it was an object, and she took it to play with. That is typical Kuvasz behaviour : to be resourceful - even when he is a 3 months old pup ! My dear Lords are so, the others can be indifferent or jealous, that seems to never reach them - they are so much above, like Lords. 21/03/06 Isabelle Coquinot Back to "Dogs of my own" Contents Back to Home