Who is Responsible for Dog Behaviour Part 1

Who Is Responsible For A Dogs Behaviour?

This newsletter will be in two parts.

Dogs that bark continually or howl, some that dig or chew everything or the ones who bite us or are dog aggressive, who is responsible? Is it the dogs, owners, trainers, breeders, lack of education or councils attitudes?

This is a question that is subjective and very hard to answer. I will apologise now if I upset anyone but l see it as something that we have to address.

I believe that we have lost sight of the fact that a dog is a CANINE. It is not a HUMAN being. It doesn’t THINK, TALK, WALK, EAT like us. It is and always will be a WOLFS descendant with thousands of years of heritage and instinct which says Wolf. And as dogs are descended from the Wolf, they are therefore natural predators.

Over the years we have domesticated the dog and made it a part of the family. We have created different Breeds used for different reasons. We have the Herders, Hunters, Guard, Utility dogs used for different types of work. We use them in service work with the Police, Corrective Services, Drug Detection, Bomb Detection, Search & Rescue, Therapy work, to name but a few, however we should never lose sight of the fact it is a PACK ANIMAL with all its heritage & instincts still in place. More education about owning a dog and how to be in control at all times needs to be understood.

People who handle dogs all the time are very aware of what they have. A working farm dog is very rarely kept as a family pet. It is fed, and cared for because he is a working tool. If he fails at his job then he is of no further use to his owner. Harsh but true.

Understanding what makes a dog tick has to be a subject taught to all prospective dog owners. It will take a change of attitude by owners towards owning and living with a dog. The idea that you just have a dog, put it in the back yard and forget about it has to be eliminated.

The breed of dog has to be taken into consideration. Families should discuss this well before any decisions are made. Can we all agree on the size, length of coat, boundaries to be given to the dog, feeding, and general wellbeing be decided before the dog comes home. This is a long term partnership!

A dog sometimes becomes an extension of the owners personality. A macho person, wants a macho image dog, so they go for the stronger more dominant breed, and encourage it to become arrogant, dominant and often aggressive. Many others put human connotation on the dog. They Humanize it and this also causes huge problems.

All dogs need to be given obedience training. It should be for every dog, not just the large ones, and it should start early. While we say we give the dogs the training, good trainers are really people training. We teach the owner how to handle the dog. If the psychology of the dog is included with this training, then the trainer is doing a good job. If however, understanding the dog and what makes it tick is not included in the training, then the job is only half done as dog training is also people training.

There are many new ways of doing things today, and while many prove very successful, it doesn’t mean that the older ways should be cast aside. They too have their place. Some of the “new methods” are old methods couched in different terms.
Think about how you want your dog or dogs to behave and take a look from the outside and see if your achieving this. Take time to see what you might change or need addressed and in the next newsletter some of the content may assist you with this.