Post by LurcherGirl on Apr 28, 2004 11:22:23 GMT 1
The ideal dog is a happy, cheerful, relaxed and obedient character that loves being around people, feels comfortable in all situations, only barks when necessary and is perfectly house trained. He always comes back when called, doesn't eat anything he shouldn't, is relaxed and friendly with all dogs, doesn't chew furniture and carpets, doesn't jump up, doesn't pull, is good with children and other pets ... the list goes on.
If your dog behaves in a way that you are not happy with, then six main areas need to be looked at when looking for a solution to the problem:
* Medical conditions
* Diet
* Leadership - relationship between the owner and his dog
* Socialisation (incl. habituation) - the relationship between the dog and his environment
* Genetics - certain breeds are bred for certain tasks, certain behaviour can be inherited and certain behaviour is simply what dogs do because they are dogs
* Obedience - owner's physical/mental control over his dog
It is these six areas that need to be balanced and corrected when solving a problem. Just fixing one (ie. going to training classes to learn obedience) does not normally work as these areas are interlinked. Example: if a dog is not obedient, it is often not just an issue of training techniques, but also an issue of Leadership, Socialisation and sometimes Genetics.
Issues primarily caused by a genetic disposition normally means that a problem can only be managed, rather than cured.
Let's have a quick look at the individual areas. This is not a comprehensive essay and is simplified, but will hopefully help to identify issues with your own dog and will also be useful when reading my answers to individual problems:
1. Medical conditions:
This is the first thing to look at. A dog in pain, or just uncomfortable or with chemical imbalances can behave out of character.
2. Diet:
Artificial additives (like colours, flavours, preservatives) and protein levels can have a serious impact on behaviour.
3. Leadership:
The relationship between an owner and his dog should be based on mutual trust and respect. With leadership I am not referring to ruling over the dog with an iron grip or worth an iron bar. I am referring to the owner's responsibility to make sure that their dog is safe and well looked after. As the dog lives in our world and not usually the other way round, the dog needs to adjust to us, rather than the other way round (without of course forgetting about their needs for their physical and mental well being!!!). This means that the owner has to set the rules and make sure the dog sticks to them. But this also means that the owner must not abuse his position as the leader, mutual respect is vital!
4. Socialisation:
A dog should not have to be stressed all the time. This means that he should be comfortable in all kinds of different situations (traffic, crowds, noises etc.) and with other people and animals. Socialisation is easy if you acquire a puppy. It is however often an issue with rescue dogs. Early socialisation is vital. Some catching up can be done at a later stage, an improvement is usually possible, but it is often too late for a 100% cure.
5. Genetics
There is nothing that can be done about a genetic disposition, the dog is born with it. In such cases, a problem can often only be managed, rather than cured. Example: you will never be able to stop a collie from using herding behaviour as you will rarely be able to stop a hound from chasing small furries... Obedience training will help to manage the issue and channel it into more acceptable behaviour, physical restriction (ie. putting on the lead) will of course stop the behaviour - but it will always be there in the background!
6. Obedience:
Obedience is of course a vital ingredient for any dog owner. The dog lives in our world, so we need to be able to guide him through it safely. The more obedient a dog is, the more freedom we can generally grant (e.g. a dog with good recall can run off the lead more often). People however often think that obedience training will cure all problems. It won't. It will help to manage a problem, it will help to improve the owner/dog relationshiop, it will help to relieve bordom (and can therefore help with behaviour caused by under-stimulation), but a good obedience response is only possible if the relationship with the owner is balanced (a dog that does not trust and respect the owner won't want to be obedient) and if a dog is not stressed (e.g. by certain situations - a socialisation issue). So dog training classes are fine, but the other issues generally need to be sorted out first.
Please note: there are of course other important things to take into consideration like exercise levels, domestic set up, history of the dog etc.
As you probably already know, there is rarely a quick fix to problem behaviour. Time, effort and a lot of nerves need to be invested - but the reward of having a happy, well balanced dog is well worth it!
If your dog behaves in a way that you are not happy with, then six main areas need to be looked at when looking for a solution to the problem:
* Medical conditions
* Diet
* Leadership - relationship between the owner and his dog
* Socialisation (incl. habituation) - the relationship between the dog and his environment
* Genetics - certain breeds are bred for certain tasks, certain behaviour can be inherited and certain behaviour is simply what dogs do because they are dogs
* Obedience - owner's physical/mental control over his dog
It is these six areas that need to be balanced and corrected when solving a problem. Just fixing one (ie. going to training classes to learn obedience) does not normally work as these areas are interlinked. Example: if a dog is not obedient, it is often not just an issue of training techniques, but also an issue of Leadership, Socialisation and sometimes Genetics.
Issues primarily caused by a genetic disposition normally means that a problem can only be managed, rather than cured.
Let's have a quick look at the individual areas. This is not a comprehensive essay and is simplified, but will hopefully help to identify issues with your own dog and will also be useful when reading my answers to individual problems:
1. Medical conditions:
This is the first thing to look at. A dog in pain, or just uncomfortable or with chemical imbalances can behave out of character.
2. Diet:
Artificial additives (like colours, flavours, preservatives) and protein levels can have a serious impact on behaviour.
3. Leadership:
The relationship between an owner and his dog should be based on mutual trust and respect. With leadership I am not referring to ruling over the dog with an iron grip or worth an iron bar. I am referring to the owner's responsibility to make sure that their dog is safe and well looked after. As the dog lives in our world and not usually the other way round, the dog needs to adjust to us, rather than the other way round (without of course forgetting about their needs for their physical and mental well being!!!). This means that the owner has to set the rules and make sure the dog sticks to them. But this also means that the owner must not abuse his position as the leader, mutual respect is vital!
4. Socialisation:
A dog should not have to be stressed all the time. This means that he should be comfortable in all kinds of different situations (traffic, crowds, noises etc.) and with other people and animals. Socialisation is easy if you acquire a puppy. It is however often an issue with rescue dogs. Early socialisation is vital. Some catching up can be done at a later stage, an improvement is usually possible, but it is often too late for a 100% cure.
5. Genetics
There is nothing that can be done about a genetic disposition, the dog is born with it. In such cases, a problem can often only be managed, rather than cured. Example: you will never be able to stop a collie from using herding behaviour as you will rarely be able to stop a hound from chasing small furries... Obedience training will help to manage the issue and channel it into more acceptable behaviour, physical restriction (ie. putting on the lead) will of course stop the behaviour - but it will always be there in the background!
6. Obedience:
Obedience is of course a vital ingredient for any dog owner. The dog lives in our world, so we need to be able to guide him through it safely. The more obedient a dog is, the more freedom we can generally grant (e.g. a dog with good recall can run off the lead more often). People however often think that obedience training will cure all problems. It won't. It will help to manage a problem, it will help to improve the owner/dog relationshiop, it will help to relieve bordom (and can therefore help with behaviour caused by under-stimulation), but a good obedience response is only possible if the relationship with the owner is balanced (a dog that does not trust and respect the owner won't want to be obedient) and if a dog is not stressed (e.g. by certain situations - a socialisation issue). So dog training classes are fine, but the other issues generally need to be sorted out first.
Please note: there are of course other important things to take into consideration like exercise levels, domestic set up, history of the dog etc.
As you probably already know, there is rarely a quick fix to problem behaviour. Time, effort and a lot of nerves need to be invested - but the reward of having a happy, well balanced dog is well worth it!