Course Outline for the Girl Scout Troop: Domestic Cats and Dogs in Our Lives

Course Outline for the Girl Scout Troop

This is what we are going to learn.

Subject: Domestic Cats and Dogs in Our Lives

Curriculum Vitae

Domestic cats and dogs.
• Who they are. Not who YOU are but who THEY are.

Our household with cats and dogs.
• Who YOU and your family are in relationship to domestic cats and dogs. Who YOU are with them and to them.

The natural behaviors of domestic cats and dogs.
• Normal and harmonious behaviors of domestic cats and dogs revealed. “That’s cute or interesting. But why does he do that?”
• Normal but unpleasant or jarring behaviors of domestic cats and dogs. “Make him stop doing that!”

Communication with domestic cats and dogs.
• How they communicate to us and how we communicate to them.
• How to talk to your cat or dog.
• How to have a conversation with your cat and dog.

Overview: There are only two reasons that you cannot have a harmonious and uplifting relationship in your household with a cat or a dog.
• One, because you have not learned how to communicate with your domestic guest and how to accept communication from them.
• Two, because the individual cat or dog has a temperament disparity with the household or a psychological dysfunction due to a medical, biochemical, or genetic source.

This presentation will not address the second of the two possibilities. But we will explore the natural household which is at its best inspirational, deeply meaningful, and harmonious. Domestic cats and dogs in our lives. We can live without them but why?

To prepare for this presentation:
Please turn in questions you have about domestic cat and dog behavior.

Understand the following vocabulary. Look it up in the dictionary.
(Heidi & Patricia: Please help me with a short list of words that the girls should study up on prior to the presentation. Thanks, laura.)
Dominance
Tone (of voice)
Inflection (when speaking)
Visualization (thinking in pictures)
Submission
Obedience
Hierarchy
There are a few questions that I will cover if there is interest:
What do dogs want? (The company of other dogs and we are really good dog substitutes.)
What do cats want? (They want their own way and we are really good servants. I know that sounds funny but it is true. Thank Goodness that, in general, the wishes and demands of cats are fairly easy to fulfill and, in general, pleasant for us too.)
Why does my dog squirm when I pick him up? (You are hurting him and/or he doesn’t like to be off the floor.) (Also, addressing the hugging issue. Holding a dog’s shoulders and ribcage tightly is an inappropriate show of dominance.)
Why doesn’t my dog listen to me? (He doesn’t understand you and/or he understands you but doesn’t feel he needs to comply with your direction.)
Why does my dog like some dogs and dislike other dogs? (Dogs have preferences.)
Why does my dog lunge and bark when I take him for a walk? (Leash aggression.)
Why does my dog pull my arm off when I take him for a walk? (You have taught him to do that.)
Why does my dog bite my fingers when I give him a treat? (He has very poor close-up eyesight.)
Why does my dog howl? (He is communicating. He is saying, “I’m here. Where are you?” Plus, it feels really good to howl. It is a bonding experience with the family.)

How do I get my cat to love me? (Rub your cheek against the cat’s cheek, from lips to ear.)
Why does my cat bite me? (I need to know the circumstances. We have love bites, we have dominance related biting. We have shows of displeasure. We have prey behavior triggered by something you are doing.)