Luckily for my friends, since I began studying to be an International Dog Trainer of Europe with pioneering Norwegian,Turid Rugaas, I can spare them the downpour of my obsession by turning to my twenty dog-geek colleagues.
(Anyone who crosses me will be subjected to a video on loop of dogs doing treat searches.)
After a mere three days into the course, my brain is struggling to assimilate all the new knowledge, and every dog I encounter is a subject for observation and rumination.
So much that we accept as normal and good for our dogs is so misunderstood. The ones holding the stakes in massive media presences such as Cesar Milan, or in selling us products like toys, chews and gear, profit from our ignorance.
In many respects we go from extremes - one moment misinterpreting behaviour because we mistakenly impose our human view on a behaviour, the next moment abandoning this to treat the dog in a way we would never dream of treating a person. Education - based on research and facts, not some half-baked theory - is the only way forward in improving our relationships with dogs.
For example, just why are we so hung up on obedience? Yes, we need to manage behaviours to keep our animals and the public safe. But this doesn't mean we have to turn a dog into a command-driven automaton or a clown to amuse us with tricks.
We know full well how intelligent dogs are. How much they are capable of feeling. And yet how often do we give them the opportunity to nurture their brain development? Their emotional well being? It's time we learned their language, their ways. It's time we learned to truly respect them.
One of the first things Turid distributed to her eager students was a short poem by Chief Dan George, summing up her founding belief:
The Song of the Wolf
If you talk to the animals
They will talk to you
And you will learn
To know each other.
If you do not talk to them
You will not know each other
And what you do not know
And feel safe with
You will fear
What you fear
You will try to destroy
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