The following is a hard, solid truth bomb from Milestone Equestrian, based out of Canada, that I had to share!
I tweaked the original post description here to replace where it said "horse" with "dog;"
An animal who will blindly obey you, no matter the circumstance, and never choose to advocate for themselves, is not an animal displaying intelligence.
They are displaying their ability to learn and follow instructions but if that always comes above their own innate needs, bodily discomfort and overall welfare, they are not making the more intelligent decision.
The act of saying no, while being aware of risk of punishment for it, is an act of self advocacy and is a sign of intelligence.
Having a mind of their own rather than becoming a vessel for their trainer to control is your animal showing you intelligence.
As trainers, we put way too much emphasis on obedience at any cost and this has resulted in a lot of normalized shutdown in (dogs).
It’s resulted in us applauding trainers for having robotically obedient (dogs) who do their every bidding without question. Never having an opinion of their own.
If we want blind obedience without any regard for emotional, physical or mental well-being, I think what we are looking for is a (robot), not a (dog)."
The original post on their Facebook page can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=751322349682806&set=a.590441212437588