Comments on: Humping on Cue?

By: Wendy

Wendy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:07:33 +0000

“If this had been a human child, and not a Chow named Buffy”…
Sorry but this is a totally irrational way to stage the argument that the cued behavior involving a dog. I couldn’t even read past that sentence as we are *not* discussing a human child, we are discussing an animal performing a self-rewarding behavior on cue. I understand that we all love our dogs like family but this is a real apples to oranges comparison and really devalues your statements.
Deborah wrote a well thought out article, one of the best on this situation that I’ve read. To simplify the humping as a sexual act when it’s really very complex behavior is to totally ignore expert & experienced persons and throw it all out as “sexual abuse”, which I find insulting to those who have actually been abused.
I found it a bit uncomfortable at first watch but acknowledge the training that went into it becoming a cued behavior and frankly even watching some Animal Planet’s Pet Star acts make me a bit uncomfortable with their cued behavior, like eating out of the owner’s mouth or human/dog dancing that looks like humping conga lines. I let my dogs sniff butts & inspect genitals & get flirty & humpy if it’s all done in play, because they know best how to be a dog and who am I to put my human morals on them?
Hang choking a dog, standing on the lead near the collar to force a down, e-collar shocking a dog that’s showing dog aggression… those are abusive training situations. Keep it in perspective.

Wendy
camppitbull.com

By: Kim Blankenship

Kim Blankenship — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:51:09 +0000

Suzanne Clothier’s blog about Jean Donaldson’s abuse of her dog Buffy, is completely on target. Clear. Honest. Calling an abusive moment clearly and honestly for what it was and what it remains: Abusive.

If this had been a human child, and not a Chow named Buffy, I do not for one minute, believe that anyone, would be delving into “art? or not-art!” comments and queries. Instead, Jean Donaldson would be sitting somewhere serious, (police station, perhaps, or in front of a judge), attempting to explain/excuse/turn the “beholder’s eye” from the situation. (after all, Jean Donaldson said in her own video, “I have no shame.”)

There are definitely times, when, if an abuser has no shame, then we, as thinking, knowledgeable human beings, must separate those who harm other living beings apart from those they would harm. An abusive parent, (for example, and I use the example extremely consciously), often still feeds, shelters, clothes the child, both before and after abusing the child’s body, mind, spirit, & soul, in ways that cause lifelong damage.

Those abusers need to be removed, from the living being they are abusing. A lack of shame, is particularly dangerous, as it indicates a willingness to continue the abusive actions.

There are abusive parents, parental figures, in the world, who are considered outstanding professionals in their respective fields. Among other members of their “elevated professions.” For example, doctors, lawyers, church clergy. (I picked those professions because they are positions of authority and power, and their colleagues, often continue to look the other way, even after learning that the colleague-doctor, -lawyer, -church clergy, is sexually abusing his or her son or daughter at home.

I deeply respect Suzanne Clothier for not being willing to “look the other way” when one of her professional colleagues commits an act of abuse to her dog, Buffy. I stand with Suzanne, in calling abuse, what it so clearly is: Jean Donaldson is guilty of abusing her dog, Buffy, by teaching her to hump Jean’s leg on cue. It’s an abuse of body, mind, spirit, and heart, of a supposedly beloved pet, who’s owner has violated a sacred trust.

Absolutely sincerely and serious,

Kim Blankenship
September 15, 2009

By: Donna Jones

Donna Jones — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:51:24 +0000

I guess I must think differently to most people because to be honest I don’t feel queasy watching this. Mainly because I think of all the films that are family titles that have dogs humping in scenes with the main characters. Our kids laugh at that kind of thing, how do you train a canine actor to do that if the whole idea of training it to a cue is so distasteful? Almost every movie that contains a dog being cutely naughty has a leg mounting scene. A certain very well known one with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson springs to mind. No one kicks up a fuss about this, but when an accomplished trainer shows that she has achieved this behaviour, which is actually a natural occurrence, it’s like a huge group of people want to scream “cruelty”, “exploitation” and dare I even write the word, “bestiality”.

I think this reaction, this hail storm of outrage is more a reflection upon those flinging the insults than the actual offending material being the issue. The people witnessing it and strongly becoming objectionable to what she is trying to show are voicing their inner fears regarding what they are seeing and what that means to them within their own moral standpoint, rather than a realistic and fair response.

By: Casey Lomonaco

Casey Lomonaco — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:20:21 +0000

I saw this video a while back and never thought there was anything inappropriate about it. One of the best ways of dealing with self-rewarding behaviors is to put them on cue and bring the cue under stimulus control; from humping to biting, jumping to digging. Not only does this eliminate the unwanted behaviors uncued, but also provides the trainer with a non-food reward for behaviors which is obviously very reinforcing to the dog. I think it’s actually very clever training.

Stimulus control is the critical component in putting any unwanted behaviors on cue. If a behavior is under stimulus control, the dog will offer the behavior when cued and never in the absence of the cue.

By: Edie Jarolim

Edie Jarolim — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:47:51 +0000

Thanks for your analysis; it was really fascinating. I’ve got to admit that the video made me feel queasy and I don’t think it was just the taboo nature of the topic. I think Suzanne Clothier’s comments were a bit over the top but I’ve got to agree that Jean Donaldson was teaching a behavior that is socially inappropriate and therefore somewhat dangerous to encourage. Many people get upset, perhaps irrationally, by dogs humping their legs — which makes them less disposed to be kind to dogs. Demi Moore’s display and Buffy’s have in common social transgression but there’s one key difference: It was Demi Moore’s choice, but Buffy had no say in the matter.

By: Tweets that mention Boulder Dog » Blog Archive » Humping on Cue? -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Boulder Dog » Blog Archive » Humping on Cue? -- Topsy.com — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:31:47 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Edie. Edie said: Fascinating post from @boulderdog1 http://bit.ly/160V6n (gives "Hump Day" a whole new meaning…) [...]

By: Erica Houck Young

Erica Houck Young — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:53:32 +0000

I, for one, am extremely saddened by Clothier’s venomous attack. It was best left for an email directly to Jean Donaldson if she really wanted to address her outrage. Her blog is childish and pangs of jealousy via 7th grade verbal assaults. Also, she turned her blog comments off on her post about this video.

Clothier screams outrage at what a “guru” is supposed to be portraying to other dog trainers – but instead points the fingers back at herself for her kindergarten tantrum/antics.

By: Jenny Ruth Yasi

Jenny Ruth Yasi — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:49:44 +0000

I participated in those Twitter conversations, and find it an interesting topic, much as you describe here! This post leaves me smiling. I often encourage “nose to butt” dog greetings, and it never occurred to me before that maybe people are a bit embarrassed by that and tend to want to discourage that! OH! Funny how when we work a lot with dogs, we just get used to their butt-sniffing ways!

The part of the whole story that bothered me was just the condemnation, the tone. It’s scary to see how easily something we post on the internet can suddenly unleash that sort of “punitive” condemnation. Far better to let it unleash a conversation.

By: barrie

barrie — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:47:02 +0000

You bring up a lot of very interesting points! I was in high school when the Demi Moore photo came out and I remember it well: fwiw all my friends and I thought it was empowering.

I really had no reaction to the humping video other than, huh, what an odd behavior to bother to put on cue. But I remember assisting with an artificial insemination among dogs quite a while ago and while I understood what AI was it was a totally different thing to stand there holding the male dog during the process and for two weeks after his AI that dog would rub against any person’s leg and air hump next to you which was just flat out icky.

I would be interested to see how some other cultures where people don’t have the same hang ups about sex that American’s seem to feel about the video and how they react when one dog begins to hump another.