I started RUFF-SHOD in the Spring of 2019, but for variety of reasons I shelved it. Mainly I was at the next step where further certifications were going to cost more money than I had available; I didn’t have the resources to get the kit and equipment I would need as well. Things again started with urological health complications and then Covid pandemic is what prevented me from relaunching it.
What I know and bring to this entire field is multiple generations of handed down knowledge and wisdom, along with over 50 years of experience in working with canines – ‘dogging’ as I tend to call it. I cannot really imagine life without a dog next to or nearby, I feel some empathy for those who don’t, and a little frustration as I see the dog population crisis as a responsibility of every human alive. After taking several contemporary online classes to pit my knowledge and experience juxtaposed with today’s working body of data, norms, philosophies, etc. I came away with the clear reality that the intergenerational methods, manners, modes, and family philosophy to be spot on; in particular the philosophy of “gentling” an animal as opposed to “breaking” an animal. These terms and concepts usually are applied in equine matters, but as we had both horses and dogs, the rules applied evenly across the species divide. Even the poultry and livestock on the farm was treated with the same respect. “You get out, what you put in.” applied unilaterally across all practices and activities, even in the garden and fields. Wildlife/Nature was afforded the highest level of respect and adoration above all else. Healthy farms in the healthy forest foster that kind of attention, awarenesses, and respect; not paying such attention can easily prove a final and fatal mistake. The Earth isn’t emotionally invested into anything, including Homo-sapiens-sapiens; beliefs and teachings to the contrary are fundamentally false on all fronts.
As I’ve gotten older, and living with permanent debilitating problems, the reality that I need a dog or 2 trained into helping me out was pretty clear. I’m fortunate enough to have the lifelong experience of living, working, playing with dogs so it just kind of naturally started to come about. The bitch I have working right now just had the natural habits of a partnered dog in so many ways, I’ve had to say many times, “She makes me look good.” More on Faol Cu’s story to come in another piece.
My C.A.S.T. Model is built off of my family’s teachings, our own experiences as well as careful attention to others’ manners and modes of canine communication. I can tell all I need to know about a person by how they interact with their dogs or not interact with them. Hunting with dogs is a team sport, as is agility or any other shared, combined activity we do with them. Whether or not the humans realize, recognize, utilize the fact or not, dogs see family units as packs and packmates, that’s just built into their neurological systems. If it isn’t harnessed and nurtured early on it can fade, and one my think of that as something lower and less interested canines can become, and the psychological impact of base neuro-hardwiring being corroded over time; older dogs who seem to have questionable interests in or attentions to humans have very likely had their ‘group mindedness’ dulled, but it can almost always be restored and reinvigorated by a knowing and dedicated human or/and plan. A lot of times introducing another dog into the mix helps too. Dogs aren’t biological ‘machines’ alone, they’re also as sentient as us.
C.A.S.T. is built on the premise of developing and nurturing the relationship twixt handler and canine as a matched, paired team, simply put as that. Our two species are co-evolved species, we’ve always been together; while anthrozoology is still a newer branch than not, as well as a dearth of good specimens, that prehistoric story isn’t well represented in the strata, but that means little to my premise. We are both hardwired to bond together – full stop. The deeper nuances of the nuts and bolts will require a special, specific writing, but for now, suffice it to say the finer details are case-specific and there’s not a whole lot of ‘hardline S.O.P.’ beyond a few basic parameters, and this pretty much covers that general philosophical introduction.
As something of a (mildly recovered) “Treky”, I have a favorite scene that really sums up my philosophy here; Star Trek: Enterprise, Season 1, Episode 6; “Terra Nova” when Nadine has returned to Earth and has a dog in tow she is asked about it, to which her reply implies she’s been asked a proverbial “duh” question – I’m paraphrasing – but words to the effect of, “..what, Captain Archer said, it’s an Earth child rule, every kid is supposed to have a puppy.”
Cruelty/Harm Free should go without saying, but it is humans this pertains to, so it is as mandatory as it is necessary.
