Whats the dumbest thing someone ever told you that actually worked?
Is your dog afraid of the vacuum cleaner? Punish the vacuum in front of the dog. Hit it and tell it how bad it is. Get really mad at it. Put it in its place. I can't believe this actually works, but it does.
Dogs operate on a hierarchy and protection system. If they see the vacuum being loud at you without you responding, they think they have to step in to help. If instead you take charge and scold the vacuum, they think you have it all under control.
Omg, thank you for your comment! I was scratching my head trying to figure out what the outcome was supposed to be until I read your comment and figured out it was to stop your dog being scared
I'm not dog expert, just what I heard from a trainer before.
It's not the hierarchy principle, thats an outdated theory and can be also used for bad/torturous behaviour towards dogs (punishing, paintriggers etc)(everyone follows hierarchy when they otherwise get tortured).
But the rest is correct, the dog wants to make you aware of 'the danger' because of his own unease at the very loud, agressive sound. Dogs see you as their family. The beating of the vacuum cleaner doesnt work for my dog, tbh. But the exception can also confirm the rule.
Dont forget dogs have very much been domesticated far away from how wolfs for a very, very long time now. Cats havent, btw, thats why they work differently and are more stubborn.
My gf is a dog trainer..
But the exception can also confirm the rule.
How does this confirm the rule
it's said a lot in french, it's just to emphasise that it is an exception (to an existing rule).
And since there can't be exception without rules, having one "proves" the rule (it's a bit far-fetched but... idioms...)
I mean it's an idiom in English too, but it has an actual meaning, like "No parking between 10am and 4pm." is an exception that proves the rule, the rule being that you can park there any time between 4pm and 10am.
The exception shows that there is an unstated rule.
The above just seems to be stating it usually works, except sometimes. I don't see the connection between it not working on that persons dog and it being confirmed working for other dogs.
Sorry, I don't mean to be a pedantic or anything I was just curious.
All fine, youre right, i didnt use the idiom in the correct way. Language is important.
It's very interesting like this ngl. Idk in french I've heard it most during grammar lessons (half of our language is about exceptions ngl) so it didn't seem to apply like it does in your example. Though realistically that's actually the only way that makes sense !
Basically you would hear it like "ok it always works this way except 'blablabla' but it's the exception that confirms the rule" (literally in french : c'est l'exception qui confirme la règle). It is indeed possible that it was just people misusing it; or it became a new usage of it; no clue about that actually !
I'm pretty sure that idiom works more like this: A "no parking here" sign implies that parking everywhere else is ok, and thus the exception proves the rule It's also a German idiom and frequently misused (in the same way you did).
I was just saying that it doenst have to mean that it doesnt work for others just because it doesnt work particularly for the vacuum with our dog. In other cases, when our dog gives us a 'warning bark', i go check it out and confirm thats its okay and then she leaves it. F.e. when theres people in the hallway of our apartment, she gives a few 'warning barks', until me or my gf come acknowledge that its okay, and then thats the end of it for her. Shoulda maybe included that in my first comment.
No, if you scold the vacuum cleaner it'll learn its lesson and be quieter next time