TopDog Headquarters, LLC

Keller, TX
ph: 817-917-5391

A Dog's Nature

A DOG IS A DOG

A dog is a dog; it is not a person. Dogs are animals and you need keep pounding this into your head. The reason that I stress this is that understanding this concept that they are animals should govern your approach to how you live and train your dog. We need to think of this concept and its implications whenever you are dealing with your dog.

 

Dogs that are treated as furry little people are not usually happy dogs, for they subjected to the consequences of their handler's unrealistic expectations. Understanding what makes a dog tick is one way of avoiding many misunderstandings, hurt feelings, dog bites and unnecessary strife with our relationship with them.

 

Golden Rule: Treat your dog the way he wants to be treated, not the way you want to be treated!

 

DOGS ARE AMORAL

 

Dogs are amoral.  They are not governed by a moral code of ethics.  They won’t think in terms of this a right or wrong action to take. This can be good because dogs won’t do things out of spite. However, it also can be not so good in that they have no problem disciplining an underling, when they are lower on the hierarchy and weaker…not much compassion there.

 

DOGS DON'T LIVE TO PLEASE

Dogs are extremely self-absorbed and really largely governed by self-interest.  Dogs don’t really live to please us; they live to please themselves. As a result, praise in and of itself is not necessarily a strong motivator. However, if you can associate through classical conditioning good things like food with praise, then praise becomes more meaningful and motivational for the dog.

 

DOGS DON'T HAVE HUGE AGENDAS

Like their ancestor the wolf, they have some fundamental drives like prey, pack, food and defense drives.  Their motives are never that complex or devious: they usually just want to get attention, food or exercise! Above all, they want to be happy in their pack.

 

 

We will need to understand these qualities and how they affect our interaction and training with our dogs.  They also can very easily train you if you are not careful, but overall their agenda is well defined and the same for all dogs.

 

 

DOGS EXHIBIT MANY WOLF BEHAVIORS

Behaviors such as jumping up, chewing on things, marking, digging and so forth are all natural for a dog and part of their genetic make up. These instincts most often have their roots in survival or reproduction. These behaviors that dogs exhibit are for the most part natural wolf-like traits; however, they are not behaviors we many times find endearing or desirable.  Since these are natural behaviors, all dogs will come with these traits pre-wired and they will not outgrow these behaviors, so eliminate that from your thought process now.  For the most part, these and other behaviors will need to be modified by us or otherwise they will continue. You will need to work to either eliminate or modify these behaviors with well  thought out plan. This is especially apparent with aggression, for the most part dogs won’t grow out of aggression.  In fact, it usually just gets worse not better if left to itself.

Now behaviors that we do desire such as sit, come, down are pretty much useless behaviors for a predator.  Of course, dogs do perform these behaviors just not always when we desire them to. So why would they come with these commands preprogrammed to perform on command? Of Course not! And since they do these naturally we can relatively easily train them to do these on cue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DOGS ARE PACK ANIMALS

Dogs are very very social animals. Dogs are decedents from wolves, so many of the characteristics of wolves are found in dogs.  One analysis found that dogs and wolves share 71 of 90 behavior patterns.

A wolf is a carnivore, a predator that lives in packs to help ensure survival. Wolves daily life is governed and guided by behavior and interactions that occur between other pack members. Living in a pack helps to ensure survival, for by working together helps to ensure a constant supply of food. 

 

For dogs, being part of a group of dogs has provided them with many benefits. Much of their natural instinctive behavior revolves around learning how to deal with or interact with other members of the pack. This is why they make such good companions for humans.  They are very intelligent and require a social structure.  Again this is good and can be not so good. Obviously, this is a good trait for dogs from an evolutionary perspective because just look how well they have done as a species. There are millions of dogs living in society.  However, it can cause challenges within the human family unit members.

 

To preserve some sort of order in the associations, a social hierarchy is established. To prevent constant and potentially harmful battles for who gets what or who is allowed to breed, the individual dogs learn their relative position in the pack. Rather than have vicious battles on a daily basis, these positions are maintained through behavioral interactions.

 

 

Dogs soon learn what submissive and dominant actions are and how to play the game. Specific postures and facial expressions are used as signals to maintain this order. Still, because of their instinctive will to survive and do what is best for themselves as an individual, most animals constantly try to improve their rank in the pack and this can lead to brief skirmishes. This is their way of life, the best way for their species to survive.

 

DOGS AND EQUALITY

Equality is not in a dog's vocabulary...if you have ever been around an older dog disciplining or correcting a puppy you know what I mean.  When a dog interprets our behavior as a reaction to theirs their natural inclination is to feel more assertive and dominant. This is why many trainers subscribe to the theory of No Free Lunch for their dogs.  This basically means that the dog needs to always perform a command before gettting something it desires.  For example, if the dog want to go outside, they make him sit first.

 

DOGS ARE OLFACTORY DRIVEN

 

Dogs and humans are different in the approach they use to capture or sense information concerning their environment.  In people, we use our eyes and ears to sense what is going on around us. They share about 75% of what we sense and process in our environment. With dogs have a very strong sense of smell and about 80% of their processing of information in their environment comes from their nose.  They use their nose to identify everything they come in contact with. Dogs can find their way, recognize people, tell if animals or people are relaxed or afraid all using their perceptive nose. Their nose is much more powerful than ours.  This fact of course affects our interactions with our dogs.  For example, in our training and games we should leverage this whenever we have a chance.  Odors have unparelled importance to dogs; they play tunes in their heads.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keller, TX
ph: 817-917-5391