Dog Training:

Understanding Your Dog's Nature

Although all dogs are descended from wolves - they're not all created equal. Certain characteristics are only found in certain breeds - and there are an estimated 800 different breeds in Western countries alone.

Even within particular breeds and particular litters - each individual dog has a personality all its own. Some are outgoing; some are shy; some are aggressive; and some are easily frightened. Still, there are some common traits that all dogs share in common.

Dogs are Predators

Although dogs are predators; it doesn't mean they necessarily have the need to hunt and attack every passing cat or mouse. But the capacity is always there. With acute hearing and head muscles that allow precise orientation of their ears; dogs can pick up a wide range of sounds and locate the source quickly and with high accuracy.

A dog has a field of vision that is much higher than that of humans. Their field of view has been estimated from 180-270 degrees - compared to a human's 100-150 degrees. This allows them to track extremely well.

Last, but not least, is there renowned sense of smell. They have up to 25 times more scent-receptor cells and can sense concentrations 100 million times smaller than humans. Golden Retrievers, for example, can smell gophers through two feet of packed snow and a foot of frozen earth. And they'll dig through it to get the gopher. That's a great example of predatory behavior.

Dogs Are Social Animals

Most people are well-aware that dogs are social animals - but many people ignore this fact. Individuals will often lock a lone dog away in a garage or pen, or on a rope in the yard for long periods.

This isolation from contact with humans and other animals naturally leads to fear and/or aggression and other forms of maladjustment. Dogs require companionship in order to develop healthy behavior.

That being said, isolating a dog for brief periods can be a useful training technique - kind of like a child's time-out. Fear of expulsion from the Pack can help to transform an overly assertive, alpha-status seeking dog into alignment with the trainer's goals.

In any human-dog relationship, the human must be the Alpha (leader) of the Pack. It is a key element in dog training. The alternative is property damage, human frustration and unsafe conditions for people and dogs.

But excessive time spent without social interaction with another dog, human or even a friendly cat harms the dog's psychology and leads to unwanted behavior. Even guard dogs have to be able to distinguish between external 'threats" and members of its own Pack.

Dogs Love to Explore

Dogs are kind of like a two-year-old human (at roughly their same mental level) - they learn by exploring their environment. And just like "terrible twos" they can engage in destructive behavior. Dogs don't have much respect for property.

Training and an appropriately selected set of objects; and a suitable area can channel that behavior into something acceptable to humans and healthy for the dog.

Providing toys with characteristics very distinct from human property - such as rawhide bones rather than rubber balls that are hard to tell from children's - leads to less confusion and misbehavior. In many cases, however, the problem is solved by scent. The dog's toys may look like the child's, but smell very different.

Some amount of digging may be inevitable as part of the dogs exploration. So be prepared to patch holes in your lawn if the dog is unsupervised for very long. Plants can usually be protected with cayenne pepper paste, bitter apple and other preparation available online or at your local pet store.

Dogs are Scavengers

Dogs will eat deer droppings, even when they have perfectly sound and ample diets. They'll chew on dead rats, eat grass and ingest a wide variety of things that can cause them stomach upsets. And they'll repeat the behavior day after day.

Dogs don't always learn from their bad experiences. They sometimes have a limited ability to connect cause and effect when those are separated in time. You need to be aware of this in order to protect them from potential harmful behavior.

A Dog's Nature Has To Be Considered

Recognizing a dog's nature, and working within it rather than against it, leads to less frustration for both you and your dog. It will make your relationship with your dog so much more satisfying.