This episode of the program “Eylül Aşkın İle” (With Eylül Aşkın), presented by Eylül Aşkın and filmed at Corner Kadıköy, features guest Sait Emre Güneş, an expert in dog behavior science.
“I received training in psychology and body language.”
Stating that there was no institution providing education on Dog Behavior Science, Sait Emre Güneş noted that he initially accessed expert trainers in the field and received training in this area: “I am an empath. I researched, constantly improved myself. I took psychology and body language training. I now understand dogs; I suppose that’s my difference.”
“Cats and dogs in our country are high-strung.”
Expressing that cats and dogs in Turkey are highly spirited creatures that cannot be forced into anything, Sait Emre Güneş said: “In another country, for instance, we observe that Persian cats are very affectionate, constantly posing, and not overly active.”
“Dogs do nothing wrong.”
“Dog behaviors are definite. We code wrong things into dogs. We’re raising dogs with constant heart palpitations, perpetual urgency, living with high blood pressure – and this is taught to us as expertise.” Sait Emre Güneş emphasized that dogs’ behaviors are entirely instinctive and tied to specific patterns: “I don’t believe dogs have behavior issues. Humans have behavior issues toward dogs. The one needing training isn’t the dog but the owner.”
“We’re surprised by dogs’ fundamental behaviors.”
Dog behavior expert Sait Emre Güneş stated that people often react with surprise to dogs’ instinctive behavior patterns as if they’ve done something remarkable, leading dogs to perceive their owners as naive and in need of protection – hence ignoring commands: “I’d also want to protect someone I see as naive. If they ordered me around, I’d laugh. That’s the crux.”
“You must know breeds’ characteristic traits.”
Sait Emre Güneş asserted that understanding a dog requires knowing both breed-specific characteristics (cynology) and the dog’s individual psychology: “The true solution to this lies entirely in psychology.”
“We treat dogs like babies.”
“Chihuahuas are one-kilo dogs, yet they’re the most aggressive. Why? Because they’re never taken seriously; they’re treated like babies for being small.” Sait Emre Güneş explained that while dogs don’t distinguish by size among themselves, humans mother/father small dogs like children (or even infants), heightening dogs’ protective anxiety toward owners and causing palpitations/psychological issues.
“Dogs are body language readers.”
Sait Emre Güneş emphasized that dogs observe how we treat them and our facial expressions more than what we say, acting based on these observations. He noted dogs can follow commands in any language and comprehend speech: “We greatly underestimate them; we don’t understand them at all.”
Reach via Instagram:
You can contact Sait Emre Güneş via @evinizdekopekegitimi on Instagram for consultations about your pawed friend. He stated: “It’s slightly hard to reach us now due to our recent popularity, but we’re trying to respond to everyone in turn. If you say, ‘I want to understand my dog,’ not ‘I want my dog to do this/that,’ then call me.”
