Yesterday I went on a follow-up visit to a couple who had called about a dog that was beginning to display aggressive behaviors. I had seen them two weeks ago and had given them some unexpected advice. Their German shepherd mix Sachem was the dog they had called me about, while reassuring me that the other dog, Buddy, was friendly but hyper active. I suggested that Buddy’s hyper activity was what was stressing Sachem, and if they concentrated their efforts on calming Buddy down, Sachem’s behavior would mellow as well.
I demonstrated some techniques to convince both dogs that the humans in their pack are in charge and they’ve implemented those techniques for the last two weeks. There was a noticeable improvement in the behaviors of both dogs and things were going well, though slowly.
The ring of the door bell creates immediate havoc by Buddy and Sachem gets caught up in it. I showed the couple how to produce calmer behavior in Buddy by ignoring his demands for attention and was immediately rewarded by Sachem with some enthusiastic face-licking. He then proceeded to lie down and relax. While we were working with Buddy, Sachem made frequent efforts to calm his pack mate down by mounting and humping, as well as nipping at Buddy’s neck. All of these behaviors were the indicators that verified that Buddy is Sachem’s problem and when the couple has succeeded in calming Buddy down, Sachem will follow suit.
When the couple revealed that they had purchased a back-pack, we loaded it with canned goods and put it on Buddy. The calming affect was immediate and obvious. He was far from completely calm, but vastly improved over previous behaviors. I suggested they have some people come for a visit and put the pack on Buddy fifteen minutes before the expected arrival. I also suggested they put the pack on him any time he started to become too hyper, as well as during the walk.
This profound behavioral change is due to the dog’s understanding of what is being asked of him. In a normal situation he has free reign to choose his own social behavior, but no instinctive knowledge of human social rules. When the humans in his pack become dominant by Buddy’s canine standards, it will convince him that the humans in the pack are qualified to give him behavioral directions. However, this is long-term rehabilitation. Putting the pack on his back gave him a job and he knew he was now required to “carry a load.” This provided some of the behavioral instruction he was missing and had an immediate calming affect on him. Giving a dog a job they can understand will frequently alter their behavior dramatically.
5/31/09
5/23/09
Canine Behavioral Influences
Domestic dog behaviors are subject to three major behavioral influences:
1) The dog’s breed.
2) The dog’s personality.
3) The immediate environment.
The most important of these, and the only one we have control over, is the environment, which includes the presence and emotional and mental states of the dog’s pack members. In the dog’s eyes, this includes us.
We humans have the ability to create “what if” scenarios in our heads and form a plan based on a chain of logic to deal with or alter our environments. The parts of our brains that make these things possible don’t exist in dogs. Canines can only view their environments based on what they perceive through canine senses at that moment, and then react with canine behaviors to that environment. They can’t alter the environment based on what they create in their minds or alter their behavioral options based on “what if I were human” speculations. This means that all of the behaviors dogs exhibit in a human environment are canine reactions to that environment. They can’t imagine a different environment and form a plan to alter their living conditions. They can’t even escape that environment since fences and doors hold them captive. Therefore, every unwanted or dangerous behavior a dog displays is a reaction to the environment we subject them to.
This is all a very round-about way of pointing out that we are responsible for the behavioral reactions of our dogs…even the ones we don’t appreciate. Our dogs can’t alter their environments and thereby create different reactions to that environment.
From the 1997 edition of Webster’s Universal College Dictionary
“environment 1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences…3. the social and cultural forces that shape a person or population.”
Notice the use of the words “social and cultural forces” in this definition. When our dogs interpret our behaviors through canine eyes and choose a canine response to what they perceive, we have provided the social and cultural forces that shape their behavior. We actually create their behavior by choosing how we present ourselves to our dogs. People who lack accurate knowledge of how dogs perceive and react to our human presentation frequently encourage unwanted or dangerous behaviors in their dogs. In order for dogs to be safe in a human environment (and for humans to be safe while keeping a predatory species as a pet) we must realize we are dealing with a species that doesn’t interpret our actions in the same way we do, and therefore won’t respond to our actions the same we would. Canines have their own social and cultural rules of behavior that are appropriate for predators living in wild conditions. It is essential that we understand those rules.
1) The dog’s breed.
2) The dog’s personality.
3) The immediate environment.
The most important of these, and the only one we have control over, is the environment, which includes the presence and emotional and mental states of the dog’s pack members. In the dog’s eyes, this includes us.
We humans have the ability to create “what if” scenarios in our heads and form a plan based on a chain of logic to deal with or alter our environments. The parts of our brains that make these things possible don’t exist in dogs. Canines can only view their environments based on what they perceive through canine senses at that moment, and then react with canine behaviors to that environment. They can’t alter the environment based on what they create in their minds or alter their behavioral options based on “what if I were human” speculations. This means that all of the behaviors dogs exhibit in a human environment are canine reactions to that environment. They can’t imagine a different environment and form a plan to alter their living conditions. They can’t even escape that environment since fences and doors hold them captive. Therefore, every unwanted or dangerous behavior a dog displays is a reaction to the environment we subject them to.
This is all a very round-about way of pointing out that we are responsible for the behavioral reactions of our dogs…even the ones we don’t appreciate. Our dogs can’t alter their environments and thereby create different reactions to that environment.
From the 1997 edition of Webster’s Universal College Dictionary
“environment 1. the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences…3. the social and cultural forces that shape a person or population.”
Notice the use of the words “social and cultural forces” in this definition. When our dogs interpret our behaviors through canine eyes and choose a canine response to what they perceive, we have provided the social and cultural forces that shape their behavior. We actually create their behavior by choosing how we present ourselves to our dogs. People who lack accurate knowledge of how dogs perceive and react to our human presentation frequently encourage unwanted or dangerous behaviors in their dogs. In order for dogs to be safe in a human environment (and for humans to be safe while keeping a predatory species as a pet) we must realize we are dealing with a species that doesn’t interpret our actions in the same way we do, and therefore won’t respond to our actions the same we would. Canines have their own social and cultural rules of behavior that are appropriate for predators living in wild conditions. It is essential that we understand those rules.
5/21/09
Behavior Sources
Although this is grossly simplified, dog behavior can be said to consist of differing amounts of four basic components: animal behavior, species behavior, breed tendencies and personality influences. The differing blends of these components are what make every dog a unique individual.
Animal behavior includes basic survival skills such as a willingness to pursue and grasp prey with the mouth. It also involves the defensive skills, such as the willingness to confront a threat or run from one. In other words, the “fight or flight” instinctive responses all animals rely on for survival.
Species behaviors are those behaviors employed by canines specifically, and in the case of domestic dogs, pack behaviors. These include canine methods of communication and canine social rules. Some were discussed in the posts concerning PIBs.
Breed behaviors are those behavioral tendencies common to certain breeds. It’s important to note that these behaviors are tendencies only and not behavioral rules carved in stone. Animal and species behaviors are behavioral rules carved in stone.
The personality influences are obviously those behaviors that are the result of the individual dog’s physical, emotional and mental characteristics determined by the dog’s genetics.
Every dog is a unique blend of these four behavioral sources. Some dogs are much more primal (animal) than others, while some are more social (species) than others. Some display both behaviors in a placid way while others are more volatile. What’s important here is that all dogs will present animal and species behaviors that are then influenced by breed and personality traits. Most dog owners are well aware of their dog’s personality and many become acquainted with the tendencies of their dog’s breed. For some reason denial sets in concerning animal and species behaviors. We often want our dogs to be little humans so badly that we become convinced they’re not animals at all. However, the animal and species behaviors of dogs are the two behavioral sources that determine what all dogs are most likely to do at any given time. The breed and personality traits are merely influences that affect how the dog will present their animal and species behaviors.
The PIBs discussed in earlier posts are brief descriptions of species behaviors that dogs instinctively rely on and these are the behaviors I most often teach customers experiencing unwanted or dangerous behaviors with their dogs. In my opinion, these are the things rescue groups should be teaching dog owners. This knowledge will result in a much better understanding of dog behavior and how to control it.
Animal behavior includes basic survival skills such as a willingness to pursue and grasp prey with the mouth. It also involves the defensive skills, such as the willingness to confront a threat or run from one. In other words, the “fight or flight” instinctive responses all animals rely on for survival.
Species behaviors are those behaviors employed by canines specifically, and in the case of domestic dogs, pack behaviors. These include canine methods of communication and canine social rules. Some were discussed in the posts concerning PIBs.
Breed behaviors are those behavioral tendencies common to certain breeds. It’s important to note that these behaviors are tendencies only and not behavioral rules carved in stone. Animal and species behaviors are behavioral rules carved in stone.
The personality influences are obviously those behaviors that are the result of the individual dog’s physical, emotional and mental characteristics determined by the dog’s genetics.
Every dog is a unique blend of these four behavioral sources. Some dogs are much more primal (animal) than others, while some are more social (species) than others. Some display both behaviors in a placid way while others are more volatile. What’s important here is that all dogs will present animal and species behaviors that are then influenced by breed and personality traits. Most dog owners are well aware of their dog’s personality and many become acquainted with the tendencies of their dog’s breed. For some reason denial sets in concerning animal and species behaviors. We often want our dogs to be little humans so badly that we become convinced they’re not animals at all. However, the animal and species behaviors of dogs are the two behavioral sources that determine what all dogs are most likely to do at any given time. The breed and personality traits are merely influences that affect how the dog will present their animal and species behaviors.
The PIBs discussed in earlier posts are brief descriptions of species behaviors that dogs instinctively rely on and these are the behaviors I most often teach customers experiencing unwanted or dangerous behaviors with their dogs. In my opinion, these are the things rescue groups should be teaching dog owners. This knowledge will result in a much better understanding of dog behavior and how to control it.
5/19/09
When to be Bossy
There are three critical activities during which human leadership will convince a dog the humans are in charge; during feeding times, on the walk and during shared activities such as play.
Canine instinctive knowledge creates some necessary meal-time rules. The pack leader eats first, undisturbed by the rest of the pack. Failing to understand this is the source of many dog behavior problems. In the canine mind subordinates share their food with more dominant pack members on demand. If we share our food while we are eating, we‘re telling our dogs we are subordinate. A dominant dog will require a subordinate to keep its distance while the dominant one eats. If the dominant dog is willing to share, it will leave some behind when it’s finished and the subordinate dog is free to scavenge the remains. For those of us who insist on sharing human food with dogs, if we wait until we’re finished and leave some behind for the dog we can avoid declaring a subordinate status.
Those people who use automatic feeding devices so their dogs can eat at their whim are making a serious error for their own convenience. In the dog’s mind, possession is control. When the dog is free to possess food whenever it wishes, then it controls the food. Dominance controls, therefore the dog must see itself as dominant. The most obvious clue to this canine attitude is the fact that food aggression only occurs after the dog possesses the food. The dog stands over its bowl and warns others to keep their distance. If we provide enough food for a single meal only, the dog sees that we possess and control the food and therefore we are dominant.
When the pack is in motion, dogs take leadership very literally. If we walk our dogs with them in front and us following, they believe they are the leaders and in control. Taking control away from the dog by making them stay beside us makes us the leader in the dog’s eyes. When the dog believes it is the leader, it also believes it is their job to respond to possible threats, challengers or prey. This is why so many dogs lunge at other dogs or take off after cats, squirrels, etc. When confronted with these conditions, the dog believes whoever takes control is in charge. When a dog lunges at these targets, we must gain control of the dog’s mind and require them to choose a different action in order to convince them we are in control.
When we are engaged in an activity that the dog wishes to join in, we must also control how and when they participate. These are all moments when the big and bossy posture is a positive tool for displaying dominance. A dog’s behavior is always based on who it perceives as being in control and the proper posture at the right moment will convey the message of how we perceive our own status compared to the dogs.
Canine instinctive knowledge creates some necessary meal-time rules. The pack leader eats first, undisturbed by the rest of the pack. Failing to understand this is the source of many dog behavior problems. In the canine mind subordinates share their food with more dominant pack members on demand. If we share our food while we are eating, we‘re telling our dogs we are subordinate. A dominant dog will require a subordinate to keep its distance while the dominant one eats. If the dominant dog is willing to share, it will leave some behind when it’s finished and the subordinate dog is free to scavenge the remains. For those of us who insist on sharing human food with dogs, if we wait until we’re finished and leave some behind for the dog we can avoid declaring a subordinate status.
Those people who use automatic feeding devices so their dogs can eat at their whim are making a serious error for their own convenience. In the dog’s mind, possession is control. When the dog is free to possess food whenever it wishes, then it controls the food. Dominance controls, therefore the dog must see itself as dominant. The most obvious clue to this canine attitude is the fact that food aggression only occurs after the dog possesses the food. The dog stands over its bowl and warns others to keep their distance. If we provide enough food for a single meal only, the dog sees that we possess and control the food and therefore we are dominant.
When the pack is in motion, dogs take leadership very literally. If we walk our dogs with them in front and us following, they believe they are the leaders and in control. Taking control away from the dog by making them stay beside us makes us the leader in the dog’s eyes. When the dog believes it is the leader, it also believes it is their job to respond to possible threats, challengers or prey. This is why so many dogs lunge at other dogs or take off after cats, squirrels, etc. When confronted with these conditions, the dog believes whoever takes control is in charge. When a dog lunges at these targets, we must gain control of the dog’s mind and require them to choose a different action in order to convince them we are in control.
When we are engaged in an activity that the dog wishes to join in, we must also control how and when they participate. These are all moments when the big and bossy posture is a positive tool for displaying dominance. A dog’s behavior is always based on who it perceives as being in control and the proper posture at the right moment will convey the message of how we perceive our own status compared to the dogs.
5/13/09
Being a Leader
Looking at the list of needs in the previous post, it’s clear that the only way to provide for all of a dog’s needs in a human environment is to be the dog’s leader. This isn’t a condition we can just decide exists, however; the dog must believe it. So how do we convince them? Using the same methods dominant dogs use.
When a canine mother is correcting members of its litter, the puppies learn to respect her. She is the source of many of the consequences of the puppy’s actions. She’ll use a series of increasing consequences until the puppy surrenders to her will, and it’s very effective if we create a series of human equivalents to those corrections. First she’ll use direct, sustained eye contact and a bossy posture. If that doesn’t work, she’ll take a step forward while increasing the intensity of her gaze and add a sound (growl, bark, etc.). If that doesn’t work she’ll use physical contact such as a bump with her nose or placing a paw on the puppy. If that still doesn’t convince the puppy, she’ll pin it to the ground until it surrenders.
There are a few important aspects of this process that we should notice. First, the mother takes action to gain control (necessary to be dominant) and persists until she succeeds. Next, she will consistently use the same series of actions so the puppy learns each stage of the consequences of its actions. As the puppy learns this series of consequences and begins to understand that others will follow, it begins surrendering sooner during the process and fewer consequences become necessary with time. Finally, she has demonstrated to us the most successful forms of corrections to use with dogs; posture/eye contact, sound, touch and forced submission. Since every dog is familiar with this series of consequences due to its experiences with its own mother, we can use the same series regardless of the dog’s age and they will work.
There are only two postures needed to train a dog successfully; big and bossy and small and friendly. The big and bossy posture is used to correct or teach and the small and friendly posture is used to reward, play or share affection. The big and bossy posture consists of standing tall with the shoulders back, the chest pushed out and the hands on the hips. The legs should be shoulder width apart and the feet turned slightly outward as if you’re ready to take action. A serious facial expression and direct sustained eye contact should be included. The small and friendly posture consists of getting as close to eye level with the dog as possible with the arms held close to the body. A smile and brief glances should accompany this posture.
The best sound to use is whatever gets the dog to look at you. I use a “shush” sound but other people have chosen “hey” or an “aagghh” sound. It doesn’t matter what sound is chosen, as long as it is used consistently and it always means the same thing; “Look at me!” This sound should also have a slight bark to it indicating a serious need for the dog to pay attention. A wimpy sound is easy to ignore.
The best touching methods are those that dogs use on each other. I use two fingers to simulate the feel of fangs when I touch (not jab or pinch) the side or back of a dog’s neck.
Dogs bump and shoulder each other and a bump with the knee or a push with the hand will simulate these methods easily.
Describing the submission (pinning the dog to the ground) in written words would require a lengthy post that wouldn’t adequately explain it anyway. I described it in my book “Trainer Train Thyself” and never felt it was really a very effective way to pass that particular information to others. The best thing to do is watch the television program “The Dog Whisperer” and see it demonstrated.
When a canine mother is correcting members of its litter, the puppies learn to respect her. She is the source of many of the consequences of the puppy’s actions. She’ll use a series of increasing consequences until the puppy surrenders to her will, and it’s very effective if we create a series of human equivalents to those corrections. First she’ll use direct, sustained eye contact and a bossy posture. If that doesn’t work, she’ll take a step forward while increasing the intensity of her gaze and add a sound (growl, bark, etc.). If that doesn’t work she’ll use physical contact such as a bump with her nose or placing a paw on the puppy. If that still doesn’t convince the puppy, she’ll pin it to the ground until it surrenders.
There are a few important aspects of this process that we should notice. First, the mother takes action to gain control (necessary to be dominant) and persists until she succeeds. Next, she will consistently use the same series of actions so the puppy learns each stage of the consequences of its actions. As the puppy learns this series of consequences and begins to understand that others will follow, it begins surrendering sooner during the process and fewer consequences become necessary with time. Finally, she has demonstrated to us the most successful forms of corrections to use with dogs; posture/eye contact, sound, touch and forced submission. Since every dog is familiar with this series of consequences due to its experiences with its own mother, we can use the same series regardless of the dog’s age and they will work.
There are only two postures needed to train a dog successfully; big and bossy and small and friendly. The big and bossy posture is used to correct or teach and the small and friendly posture is used to reward, play or share affection. The big and bossy posture consists of standing tall with the shoulders back, the chest pushed out and the hands on the hips. The legs should be shoulder width apart and the feet turned slightly outward as if you’re ready to take action. A serious facial expression and direct sustained eye contact should be included. The small and friendly posture consists of getting as close to eye level with the dog as possible with the arms held close to the body. A smile and brief glances should accompany this posture.
The best sound to use is whatever gets the dog to look at you. I use a “shush” sound but other people have chosen “hey” or an “aagghh” sound. It doesn’t matter what sound is chosen, as long as it is used consistently and it always means the same thing; “Look at me!” This sound should also have a slight bark to it indicating a serious need for the dog to pay attention. A wimpy sound is easy to ignore.
The best touching methods are those that dogs use on each other. I use two fingers to simulate the feel of fangs when I touch (not jab or pinch) the side or back of a dog’s neck.
Dogs bump and shoulder each other and a bump with the knee or a push with the hand will simulate these methods easily.
Describing the submission (pinning the dog to the ground) in written words would require a lengthy post that wouldn’t adequately explain it anyway. I described it in my book “Trainer Train Thyself” and never felt it was really a very effective way to pass that particular information to others. The best thing to do is watch the television program “The Dog Whisperer” and see it demonstrated.
5/11/09
True Dog Needs
Since the eight PIBs are important behaviors dogs exhibit instinctively, these are the behaviors we have to make adjustments for in a human domestic setting. These PIBs describe the environmental and behavioral needs of domestic dogs. The PIBs themselves are needs, and each PIB creates a subset of needs that are derived from it. So by examining them, it’s possible to list the needs that people must address for dogs to be comfortable in their homes.
1) Assess, classify and respond- Dogs need a reliable source of information to simplify their lives. The instinctive knowledge data base provided for this PIB is one such source, a list of learned responses could be another and a recognized human authority figure could be yet another.
2) Obsessed attention- Dogs need human guidance and control to prevent their instinctive behaviors from allowing them to harm others or themselves in a human environment.
3) Join a pack- Dogs require social structure, which creates a need for:
a) Sharing risk, responsibilities and rewards. To do this, dogs need:
1) Companionship
2) Behavioral consistency in the pack.
3) Peer approval.
b) Environmental familiarity. To obtain this in a human environment dogs need:
1) Common language.
2) Knowledge of social rules.
3) Knowledge of geographical boundaries.
4) Packs must have leaders- an instinctive need that creates a need for:
a) A higher authority to set behavioral standards.
b) A higher authority to settle internal disputes.
c) A higher authority to enforce status.
d) A source of behavioral consistency.
5) Follow a leader- A hierarchy of leaders and followers creates a need for:
a) A set of responses for leadership qualifications, including:
1) Willingness and ability to set and reinforce boundaries (geographical
and behavioral).
2) Consistency.
3) Guidance in a common language.
b) A set of responses for follower behaviors (passive acceptance).
6) Life is earned- Dogs need a source of self-esteem, which creates a need for:
a) A clear understanding of their status.
b) A clear understanding of their tasks.
c) Participation in daily survival activities.
d) Guidance in a common language.
7) Constant testing- Dogs need to know that the pack and its members are
strong.
8) Life is motion- Dogs need to be in motion, which creates a need for:
a) Physically challenging activities.
b) Mentally challenging activities.
From this list of canine needs, it’s possible to determine what a dog owner should provide for their pet in order for a dog to be safe, secure and happy in a human environment. There is only one critical need that encompasses all of the others, and it is frequently the one owners fail to provide: TIME. It’s impossible to provide for the needs of a dog if an owner is too busy with their own lives to interact with the dog. All too often people claim to love their dogs but don’t have time to share with their pet. A dog in this situation is merely being kept in captivity, and is not enjoying a good and healthy life for a dog. People who lack time to share should consider getting something other than a dog for a pet.
The needs of dogs create the guidelines for what a dog owner needs to be and provide:
1) A dominant leader. To be this we must provide:
a) The willingness to be a source of information about behavioral and
geographical boundaries that will allow the dog to be safe and secure in
a human environment.
b) The control that prevents the dog’s instinctive responses from allowing
it to be a danger to itself or others in an environment it can’t
understand.
c) The willingness and ability to control ourselves, the dog and the
situation.
2) The willingness and ability to provide a structure the dog can understand and feel
secure in. To do this we must provide:
a) The consistency of behavior that creates effective communication with
the dog.
b) The willingness to use methods of communication and guidance the
dog can understand.
c) The willingness to learn what is necessary to understand what the dog is
telling its owner.
d) The patience to allow the dog to challenge, and the assertiveness to
insist the dog must follow the rules anyway.
e) The willingness to provide physical, mental and social challenges for
the dog.
Summarizing this list is easy. Owners should willingly assume the position of dominant pack leader according to their dog’s definition and understanding of that social position. By assuming the role of dominant leader according to canine standards an owner will fulfill all of the needs of their dog, allowing their pets to be safe, secure and happy in a human environment while still being a dog.
1) Assess, classify and respond- Dogs need a reliable source of information to simplify their lives. The instinctive knowledge data base provided for this PIB is one such source, a list of learned responses could be another and a recognized human authority figure could be yet another.
2) Obsessed attention- Dogs need human guidance and control to prevent their instinctive behaviors from allowing them to harm others or themselves in a human environment.
3) Join a pack- Dogs require social structure, which creates a need for:
a) Sharing risk, responsibilities and rewards. To do this, dogs need:
1) Companionship
2) Behavioral consistency in the pack.
3) Peer approval.
b) Environmental familiarity. To obtain this in a human environment dogs need:
1) Common language.
2) Knowledge of social rules.
3) Knowledge of geographical boundaries.
4) Packs must have leaders- an instinctive need that creates a need for:
a) A higher authority to set behavioral standards.
b) A higher authority to settle internal disputes.
c) A higher authority to enforce status.
d) A source of behavioral consistency.
5) Follow a leader- A hierarchy of leaders and followers creates a need for:
a) A set of responses for leadership qualifications, including:
1) Willingness and ability to set and reinforce boundaries (geographical
and behavioral).
2) Consistency.
3) Guidance in a common language.
b) A set of responses for follower behaviors (passive acceptance).
6) Life is earned- Dogs need a source of self-esteem, which creates a need for:
a) A clear understanding of their status.
b) A clear understanding of their tasks.
c) Participation in daily survival activities.
d) Guidance in a common language.
7) Constant testing- Dogs need to know that the pack and its members are
strong.
8) Life is motion- Dogs need to be in motion, which creates a need for:
a) Physically challenging activities.
b) Mentally challenging activities.
From this list of canine needs, it’s possible to determine what a dog owner should provide for their pet in order for a dog to be safe, secure and happy in a human environment. There is only one critical need that encompasses all of the others, and it is frequently the one owners fail to provide: TIME. It’s impossible to provide for the needs of a dog if an owner is too busy with their own lives to interact with the dog. All too often people claim to love their dogs but don’t have time to share with their pet. A dog in this situation is merely being kept in captivity, and is not enjoying a good and healthy life for a dog. People who lack time to share should consider getting something other than a dog for a pet.
The needs of dogs create the guidelines for what a dog owner needs to be and provide:
1) A dominant leader. To be this we must provide:
a) The willingness to be a source of information about behavioral and
geographical boundaries that will allow the dog to be safe and secure in
a human environment.
b) The control that prevents the dog’s instinctive responses from allowing
it to be a danger to itself or others in an environment it can’t
understand.
c) The willingness and ability to control ourselves, the dog and the
situation.
2) The willingness and ability to provide a structure the dog can understand and feel
secure in. To do this we must provide:
a) The consistency of behavior that creates effective communication with
the dog.
b) The willingness to use methods of communication and guidance the
dog can understand.
c) The willingness to learn what is necessary to understand what the dog is
telling its owner.
d) The patience to allow the dog to challenge, and the assertiveness to
insist the dog must follow the rules anyway.
e) The willingness to provide physical, mental and social challenges for
the dog.
Summarizing this list is easy. Owners should willingly assume the position of dominant pack leader according to their dog’s definition and understanding of that social position. By assuming the role of dominant leader according to canine standards an owner will fulfill all of the needs of their dog, allowing their pets to be safe, secure and happy in a human environment while still being a dog.
5/10/09
Life is Motion
This PIB is the result of the lifestyle of canine packs in the wild. Canine packs are migratory and they change locations in response to the changes in seasons, as well as the migratory patterns of their prey. The daily lives of canine packs involve being in motion as well. Hunting and patrolling the territory keep canines on the move many hours of the day. This is another instinctive pattern that many dog owners don’t address, and failing to do so can result in additional stress and anxiety for domestic dogs.
The importance of this PIB is motion with purpose. Dogs instinctively understand the purpose of the hunt and of patrolling a territory in the wild. When dogs are confined to a human yard or house, they frequently seek (and can’t find) a purpose for the motions available to them. Many unwanted dog behaviors are frustrated attempts to perform actions they understand in a restricted environment such as:
1) Barking endlessly.
2) Digging for no apparent reason.
3) Jumping repeatedly for no reason.
4) Running in circles.
5) Sniffing endlessly.
6) Chewing continuously.
Often domestic dogs perform these (and other) behaviors frantically or obsessively. They are frequently performing behaviors they understand, but to an extreme because they don’t know what else to do in a human environment. These otherwise normal behaviors are overdone to relieve the dog’s stress and anxiety. Instinct drives a dog to perform behaviors that contribute to the well being of the pack, but lacking human instruction, they are limited to the behaviors they know how to do. So they overdo those behaviors.
A couple of thirty-minute walks per day and thirty minutes of active play per day will go a long way toward alleviating this kind of stress and anxiety. Frequent visits to places outside of the yard will also help. Opportunities for the dog to socialize with other dogs outside of its own territory provide relief as well. Training and play can occur outside of our yards too. These are all activities with purposes that dogs can understand and they address the instinctive need for the dog to be in motion.
Dogs are provided with the drives and energy levels needed to survive in the wild. If we don’t find ways for the dog to consume its energy, the energy will consume the dog.
The importance of this PIB is motion with purpose. Dogs instinctively understand the purpose of the hunt and of patrolling a territory in the wild. When dogs are confined to a human yard or house, they frequently seek (and can’t find) a purpose for the motions available to them. Many unwanted dog behaviors are frustrated attempts to perform actions they understand in a restricted environment such as:
1) Barking endlessly.
2) Digging for no apparent reason.
3) Jumping repeatedly for no reason.
4) Running in circles.
5) Sniffing endlessly.
6) Chewing continuously.
Often domestic dogs perform these (and other) behaviors frantically or obsessively. They are frequently performing behaviors they understand, but to an extreme because they don’t know what else to do in a human environment. These otherwise normal behaviors are overdone to relieve the dog’s stress and anxiety. Instinct drives a dog to perform behaviors that contribute to the well being of the pack, but lacking human instruction, they are limited to the behaviors they know how to do. So they overdo those behaviors.
A couple of thirty-minute walks per day and thirty minutes of active play per day will go a long way toward alleviating this kind of stress and anxiety. Frequent visits to places outside of the yard will also help. Opportunities for the dog to socialize with other dogs outside of its own territory provide relief as well. Training and play can occur outside of our yards too. These are all activities with purposes that dogs can understand and they address the instinctive need for the dog to be in motion.
Dogs are provided with the drives and energy levels needed to survive in the wild. If we don’t find ways for the dog to consume its energy, the energy will consume the dog.
5/9/09
Constant Testing
The “Constant Testing” PIB is a result of the law of the jungle; the strong survive. This is a necessary canine attitude in a kill-or-be-killed environment and dogs believe it instinctively. Since a human domestic environment isn’t the wild, dogs have toned down this attitude considerably, yet it still influences their behavior. The rough and tumble play dogs engage in is not just entertainment, but tests of each others strength as well. Another manifestation of this PIB is the need to challenge authority, especially if any weakness is detected.
Many customers have said, “I told my dog to stop, but he (or she) didn’t listen, so I gave up.” In giving up, these people told their dogs that the humans didn’t have the strength to win a challenge and therefore weren’t qualified to be the boss. This frequently occurs prior to the walk and the dog bursts out of the door convinced that its human wants the dog to be in charge. Then the human confusingly tries to take control when the dog sees another dog (or cat, squirrel, car, person…etc.). This is one of the major sources of stress for dogs; humans that behaviorally signal that they don’t want to be the boss, and then try to control the dog.
A dogs need to test the strength of their human pack members is instinctive and they can’t help it. This is why people who have an objection to being their dog’s boss experience so many behavior problems with their dogs. They don’t know when they are being challenged or tested and don’t realize when they fail in the eyes of their dogs.
The rules for being a pack leader are;
1) Take action to gain control.
2) Persist until the other pack member surrenders.
Testing the strength of pack members is necessary for survival. If the human surrenders first during testing, the dog is in charge. Dogs can’t see it any other way.
Once a dog becomes convinced it is the leader, its only source of behavioral information is instinct, which is appropriate for a pack of canines in the wild. A dog is not required to take instructions from followers, and is instinctively driven not to do so. When the dog encounters a situation that raises its emotional level (confrontation, sighting prey, excitement, etc.) people don’t matter. Only the dog’s instinctive instructions are important. The obsessed attention PIB kicks in and the dog often becomes uncontrollable.
Many customers have said, “I told my dog to stop, but he (or she) didn’t listen, so I gave up.” In giving up, these people told their dogs that the humans didn’t have the strength to win a challenge and therefore weren’t qualified to be the boss. This frequently occurs prior to the walk and the dog bursts out of the door convinced that its human wants the dog to be in charge. Then the human confusingly tries to take control when the dog sees another dog (or cat, squirrel, car, person…etc.). This is one of the major sources of stress for dogs; humans that behaviorally signal that they don’t want to be the boss, and then try to control the dog.
A dogs need to test the strength of their human pack members is instinctive and they can’t help it. This is why people who have an objection to being their dog’s boss experience so many behavior problems with their dogs. They don’t know when they are being challenged or tested and don’t realize when they fail in the eyes of their dogs.
The rules for being a pack leader are;
1) Take action to gain control.
2) Persist until the other pack member surrenders.
Testing the strength of pack members is necessary for survival. If the human surrenders first during testing, the dog is in charge. Dogs can’t see it any other way.
Once a dog becomes convinced it is the leader, its only source of behavioral information is instinct, which is appropriate for a pack of canines in the wild. A dog is not required to take instructions from followers, and is instinctively driven not to do so. When the dog encounters a situation that raises its emotional level (confrontation, sighting prey, excitement, etc.) people don’t matter. Only the dog’s instinctive instructions are important. The obsessed attention PIB kicks in and the dog often becomes uncontrollable.
5/8/09
Life is Earned
There are a lot of people who insist dogs don’t feel things like self-esteem. I disagree. The PIB “Life is Earned” tells dogs that they must work for their right to be part of a pack. They must contribute to the day-to-day survival of the group in order to earn a share of the food and protection obtained by being in a pack. Their methods of contributing are instinctive knowledge and how well and eagerly they perform those tasks determines the pack leaders willingness to support their status.
Those tasks are the first things that disappear in a human domestic environment. Participating in the hunt and patrolling and defending the pack’s territory are the two major contributions of pack members in the wild. Teaching and protecting the litter are others. When we take these instinctive tasks away by bringing a dog into our homes and replace them with nothing, dogs often become stressed and confused. How do they earn their status? How do they contribute to the well being of the group? Why do they have the right to be with group? In order for a dog to feel comfortable and secure in a human home, we should find some way to answer these questions.
Dog trainers and others have recommended sit-down-stay training for years, and for some reason most dog owners aren’t interested. The best reason to engage in these activities is so the dog can feel it is performing tasks that are required in a human environment and thus earn its keep. I use short training sessions each time my dog gets fed (twice a day), each time she gets a treat and each time we go for a walk. On the walk she carries a back pack with twenty percent of her body weight as a load. Besides the fact that these techniques help convince her I’m the boss, she also earns her way in her own mind. She’s a very happy dog (and well behaved)!
One of the cases I worked on in Albuquerque was a very dog aggressive Husky that everyone (vets and adoption groups) suggested should be put down. I evaluated him as being aggressive to protect himself because of low self-esteem. I recommended a vigorous daily task he could believe was a job. The foster got a pulling harness and had him drag an old tire around her yard every day. A couple of months later I met this dog at a dog park and he was peacefully socializing with other dogs.
Dogs have a very serious work ethic and some effort on our part to provide for this need will always help our canine companions. They aren’t rocket scientists, so any activity done daily can be perceived by them as necessary for the well being of a human pack, even if we typically call it fun. Fetch the ball or Frisbee, if done daily and consistently can be seen by a dog as a necessary contribution to the well being of the pack.
Those tasks are the first things that disappear in a human domestic environment. Participating in the hunt and patrolling and defending the pack’s territory are the two major contributions of pack members in the wild. Teaching and protecting the litter are others. When we take these instinctive tasks away by bringing a dog into our homes and replace them with nothing, dogs often become stressed and confused. How do they earn their status? How do they contribute to the well being of the group? Why do they have the right to be with group? In order for a dog to feel comfortable and secure in a human home, we should find some way to answer these questions.
Dog trainers and others have recommended sit-down-stay training for years, and for some reason most dog owners aren’t interested. The best reason to engage in these activities is so the dog can feel it is performing tasks that are required in a human environment and thus earn its keep. I use short training sessions each time my dog gets fed (twice a day), each time she gets a treat and each time we go for a walk. On the walk she carries a back pack with twenty percent of her body weight as a load. Besides the fact that these techniques help convince her I’m the boss, she also earns her way in her own mind. She’s a very happy dog (and well behaved)!
One of the cases I worked on in Albuquerque was a very dog aggressive Husky that everyone (vets and adoption groups) suggested should be put down. I evaluated him as being aggressive to protect himself because of low self-esteem. I recommended a vigorous daily task he could believe was a job. The foster got a pulling harness and had him drag an old tire around her yard every day. A couple of months later I met this dog at a dog park and he was peacefully socializing with other dogs.
Dogs have a very serious work ethic and some effort on our part to provide for this need will always help our canine companions. They aren’t rocket scientists, so any activity done daily can be perceived by them as necessary for the well being of a human pack, even if we typically call it fun. Fetch the ball or Frisbee, if done daily and consistently can be seen by a dog as a necessary contribution to the well being of the pack.
5/7/09
Follow a Leader
This PIB requires a dog to follow the instructions of pack members it sees as having a higher status then itself. Those people who object to being their dog’s boss should recognize the fact that obedience to authority is instinctive in dogs, and therefore no harm or distress is being caused by humans being in charge. Many of the dogs I’ve been asked to help have exhibited stress and anxiety and had been acting out because there was no other authority in the pack. They were required to lead in an environment they didn’t understand and they needed someone to tell them how they should behave in human environments and human social situations. Being social, they were aware that there should be rules, but no one was telling them what those rules were.
This is one of the biggest differences between human and canine thinking. Humans want to believe in social equality and canines can’t. Instinct tells dogs in a pack that there must be bosses. If we aren’t the boss, dogs believe they must be. For a dog, it isn’t optional.
A pack follower is instinctively driven to follow the leader. One of the clearest examples of dogs following instinctive instructions due to lack of leadership are those dogs that want to pursue prey or fight other dogs during the walk. A follower waits for the leader to act and then either actively supports the leader’s actions or passively accepts those actions. Dogs with no recognized leader act independently and defy attempts to control them. Another example would be those dogs that greet visitors as if the dog is insane, regardless of whether those greetings are friendly or hostile. Lacking leadership, they choose the actions that instinctively seem right to them and express their anxiety through hysteria.
Other examples include dogs that “can’t be trained”. In the dog’s eyes, the humans attempting to train them aren’t the boss and therefore aren’t qualified. Another example is dogs that exhibit aggression toward pack members. Aggression is the last option of a leader whose followers are refusing to learn or obey. If the dog was a follower, it would never exhibit aggression toward a higher-status pack member.
All of these unwanted behaviors are produced by people who refuse to lead because they want to feel like kind dog lovers, but don’t understand canine instinctive needs. They are actually gratifying their own emotional needs at the expense of the dog’s feelings of security and confidence.
This is one of the biggest differences between human and canine thinking. Humans want to believe in social equality and canines can’t. Instinct tells dogs in a pack that there must be bosses. If we aren’t the boss, dogs believe they must be. For a dog, it isn’t optional.
A pack follower is instinctively driven to follow the leader. One of the clearest examples of dogs following instinctive instructions due to lack of leadership are those dogs that want to pursue prey or fight other dogs during the walk. A follower waits for the leader to act and then either actively supports the leader’s actions or passively accepts those actions. Dogs with no recognized leader act independently and defy attempts to control them. Another example would be those dogs that greet visitors as if the dog is insane, regardless of whether those greetings are friendly or hostile. Lacking leadership, they choose the actions that instinctively seem right to them and express their anxiety through hysteria.
Other examples include dogs that “can’t be trained”. In the dog’s eyes, the humans attempting to train them aren’t the boss and therefore aren’t qualified. Another example is dogs that exhibit aggression toward pack members. Aggression is the last option of a leader whose followers are refusing to learn or obey. If the dog was a follower, it would never exhibit aggression toward a higher-status pack member.
All of these unwanted behaviors are produced by people who refuse to lead because they want to feel like kind dog lovers, but don’t understand canine instinctive needs. They are actually gratifying their own emotional needs at the expense of the dog’s feelings of security and confidence.
5/6/09
Packs Must Have Leaders
Instinctive knowledge tells dogs that packs must have a hierarchy. In their minds the issue is unalterable. Those with higher status in the pack have the right and the authority to direct Fido’s behavior and teach new behavioral responses, even though it may require Fido to override instinctive responses. Those with lower status in the pack can be ignored at Fido’s whim and instinctive responses will rule Fido’s behavior. Since canine instinctive responses are designed for living with a pack of canines in wild conditions, many of those responses are inappropriate or just plain dangerous in a human domestic environment.
In order to keep our dogs safe from being hit by cars, electrocuted by household appliances or being deemed dangerous by animal control and euthanized, we absolutely must have a higher position in the pack in the eyes of our dogs. Many dog owners don’t like the thought of being their dog’s boss, but for the animal’s own safety it is absolutely essential. They cannot understand the dangers or consequences of their actions in a human domestic environment.
This PIB instinctively requires dogs to seek and follow a leader. Canine standards for leadership are easily identified and have only two rules. A leader will:
1) Take action to gain control.
2) Persist until the subordinate pack member surrenders to their will.
Any human displaying these behaviors with their dog will be seen as a dominant pack member with the right and authority to direct the dog’s behavior. Those humans who don’t display these behaviors are followers and the dog must take over because there must always be a leader. As the leader, the dog must follow its own instinctive behavioral programming.
That sounds way too simple because there are some conditions attached. First, the dog must see the human as being in control, but canine standards don’t recognize being restrained by a leash as control. We must control the dog’s mind, not just restrain its body. Second, in order to qualify as suitable to control a dog, we must control ourselves. If we appear to be out of control (afraid, angry, impatient, overwhelmed with love, etc.) the dog can’t believe we are controlling ourselves and therefore, we can’t be trusted to control the dog either. Third, the dog must believe we are in control of whatever situation we and the dog find ourselves in. If we freeze in front of an oncoming vehicle, we aren’t controlling the situation and the dog will take over.
According to canine standards there are postures, body language and facial expressions that indicate dominance as well. One of the easiest behaviors to implement with dogs is the use of posture to convey messages. There are only two that matter: small and friendly and big and bossy. When correcting behavior or teaching new ones, big and bossy is the posture to use. For affection, play or getting the dog to come to us, small and friendly is the best choice.
Simply knowing about canine instinctive behavioral requirements allows us to communicate more effectively with our dogs and keep them safe and controlled in a human environment without hating ourselves while we do it.
In order to keep our dogs safe from being hit by cars, electrocuted by household appliances or being deemed dangerous by animal control and euthanized, we absolutely must have a higher position in the pack in the eyes of our dogs. Many dog owners don’t like the thought of being their dog’s boss, but for the animal’s own safety it is absolutely essential. They cannot understand the dangers or consequences of their actions in a human domestic environment.
This PIB instinctively requires dogs to seek and follow a leader. Canine standards for leadership are easily identified and have only two rules. A leader will:
1) Take action to gain control.
2) Persist until the subordinate pack member surrenders to their will.
Any human displaying these behaviors with their dog will be seen as a dominant pack member with the right and authority to direct the dog’s behavior. Those humans who don’t display these behaviors are followers and the dog must take over because there must always be a leader. As the leader, the dog must follow its own instinctive behavioral programming.
That sounds way too simple because there are some conditions attached. First, the dog must see the human as being in control, but canine standards don’t recognize being restrained by a leash as control. We must control the dog’s mind, not just restrain its body. Second, in order to qualify as suitable to control a dog, we must control ourselves. If we appear to be out of control (afraid, angry, impatient, overwhelmed with love, etc.) the dog can’t believe we are controlling ourselves and therefore, we can’t be trusted to control the dog either. Third, the dog must believe we are in control of whatever situation we and the dog find ourselves in. If we freeze in front of an oncoming vehicle, we aren’t controlling the situation and the dog will take over.
According to canine standards there are postures, body language and facial expressions that indicate dominance as well. One of the easiest behaviors to implement with dogs is the use of posture to convey messages. There are only two that matter: small and friendly and big and bossy. When correcting behavior or teaching new ones, big and bossy is the posture to use. For affection, play or getting the dog to come to us, small and friendly is the best choice.
Simply knowing about canine instinctive behavioral requirements allows us to communicate more effectively with our dogs and keep them safe and controlled in a human environment without hating ourselves while we do it.
5/5/09
Join a Pack
Dogs are social animals and the drive to live with a group is very strong. How comfortable the dog feels within a certain group is determined by how well the dog understands the group. The canine pack shares risks, responsibilities and rewards as well as a common language. Unfortunately, instinctive knowledge only allows dogs to understand the canine versions of these things. If a dog joins a human pack and those humans don’t make an effort to share these ideals in ways the dog can understand, the dog becomes anxious, frustrated, confused and uncertain and will begin “acting out” to express its discomfort.
The risks of pack life in the wild involve struggling for the survival of the group. The responsibilities include feeding and protecting the group. The rewards are security and safety within a kill-or-be-killed environment. Obviously, as soon as a dog joins a human group in a human domestic environment everything changes.
If a social animal that believes its position within the pack is determined by how well it hunts and defends the group, should become part of a human pack where these tasks are no longer necessary, how will that animal earn its self-esteem and the right to be part of the group? If that group doesn’t communicate in a language the dog understands how can the dog discover what its new responsibilities are or that its instinctive behaviors are no longer appropriate? If a social animal knows that group-living requires rules of social behavior but it doesn’t understand the rules of that group, how can it avoid becoming stressed and frustrated? If an animal that understands the environment and conditions of living in the wild, should become part of a domestic situation, how can it understand what is necessary for survival in that environment? The answer to all of these questions is: they can’t so we must tell them in ways they understand!
The fact that so many humans don’t explain things to dogs in ways the dogs understand is the source of many unwanted dog behaviors. If we communicate with dogs as if they are human, they won’t understand most of it and they’ll need three forevers to understand the rest.
For example, when a dog wants to wrestle and play with another dog, it will run up and plant both front feet on the other dog. If that other dog wants to wrestle and play, it will stand up and plant its front feet on the other dog as well. When a dog jumps up on a human and that human doesn’t like it, they put their two front limbs on the dog and push them away. The human is saying, “Stop that!” Unfortunately, the dog is hearing, “Okay! Let’s wrestle and play!” A dog can only interpret our behaviors in a canine way. They cannot understand what we do in a human context.
So when that dog jumps on a human and the human responds in the typical way, that dog believes it is being rewarded by getting what it wants; to wrestle and play. The human is actually teaching the dog to do what the human doesn’t want it to do! The same situation arises in dozens of dog behaviors that people don’t appreciate. Frequently we reward them for performing unwanted behaviors by not being aware of how the dog interprets our actions. The dog ends up living in a group that is confusing and unpredictable. They become stressed and frustrated and start acting out.
The risks of pack life in the wild involve struggling for the survival of the group. The responsibilities include feeding and protecting the group. The rewards are security and safety within a kill-or-be-killed environment. Obviously, as soon as a dog joins a human group in a human domestic environment everything changes.
If a social animal that believes its position within the pack is determined by how well it hunts and defends the group, should become part of a human pack where these tasks are no longer necessary, how will that animal earn its self-esteem and the right to be part of the group? If that group doesn’t communicate in a language the dog understands how can the dog discover what its new responsibilities are or that its instinctive behaviors are no longer appropriate? If a social animal knows that group-living requires rules of social behavior but it doesn’t understand the rules of that group, how can it avoid becoming stressed and frustrated? If an animal that understands the environment and conditions of living in the wild, should become part of a domestic situation, how can it understand what is necessary for survival in that environment? The answer to all of these questions is: they can’t so we must tell them in ways they understand!
The fact that so many humans don’t explain things to dogs in ways the dogs understand is the source of many unwanted dog behaviors. If we communicate with dogs as if they are human, they won’t understand most of it and they’ll need three forevers to understand the rest.
For example, when a dog wants to wrestle and play with another dog, it will run up and plant both front feet on the other dog. If that other dog wants to wrestle and play, it will stand up and plant its front feet on the other dog as well. When a dog jumps up on a human and that human doesn’t like it, they put their two front limbs on the dog and push them away. The human is saying, “Stop that!” Unfortunately, the dog is hearing, “Okay! Let’s wrestle and play!” A dog can only interpret our behaviors in a canine way. They cannot understand what we do in a human context.
So when that dog jumps on a human and the human responds in the typical way, that dog believes it is being rewarded by getting what it wants; to wrestle and play. The human is actually teaching the dog to do what the human doesn’t want it to do! The same situation arises in dozens of dog behaviors that people don’t appreciate. Frequently we reward them for performing unwanted behaviors by not being aware of how the dog interprets our actions. The dog ends up living in a group that is confusing and unpredictable. They become stressed and frustrated and start acting out.
5/4/09
Obsessed Attention
When a predator is hunting, the ability to focus on a target and exclude all other distractions determines whether it will eat or not. The same is true when confronting a threat. When a dog focuses on a target, it becomes so obsessed that it will block out sounds, sights or smells that may distract it. When your dog catches sight of the neighbor’s cat, you can stand in front of the dog to try to block its vision and it will simply look around you as if you’re nothing more than a tree or a boulder. You cease to exist as a living entity and become nothing but a distraction to be ignored.
This is the process that occurs when people walk their dogs and their pet focuses on another dog it sees. The dog classifies the other dog as a threat or a challenger (for possession of its pack) and focuses intently on the target. The longer the dog focuses, the more obsessed it becomes. Eventually the dog will become overwhelmed by the need to confront the target and start lunging, barking etc.
This PIB is instinctive, and once again the dog resorts to this behavior due to the lack of other instructions from a dominant pack member. All of you with dogs who exhibit this behavior are saying to yourselves that you take control and it has no effect. In the dog’s mind, hanging on to the leash to prevent the dog’s approach to the target isn’t taking control, but interfering. In order for the dog to see you as being in control, you must control the dog’s MIND, not simply physically interfere with its intent. You must convince the dog to willingly choose a different behavior. It must surrender to your will for you to be in control.
The most effective method for doing this is to do the same thing a dominant dog would do. Bump, block and confront the dog until it’s willing to look at you instead of the target. Interfere with the dog’s FOCUS, not its body. When the dog is willing to focus on you, make it sit or turn its back to the target. This requires the dog to surrender to your will, and in doing so it acknowledges that you are sufficiently dominant to direct its behavior. You’ve taken control of the dog’s mind rather than its body.
The same holds true for dogs that become obsessed about food, prey, etc. If you break the dog’s focus and provide an optional behavior and persist until the dog performs that behavior, you are dominant and in control. Note that the dog must willingly surrender before you are in control. If the dog resists and you give up, you raise the dog’s status in its own eyes and lower your own status. You’ve surrendered to the dog’s will!
Utilizing these techniques to gain control of the dog will be the very behaviors that convince the dog you are a higher status pack member and have the right and the authority to direct the dog’s behavior.
This is the process that occurs when people walk their dogs and their pet focuses on another dog it sees. The dog classifies the other dog as a threat or a challenger (for possession of its pack) and focuses intently on the target. The longer the dog focuses, the more obsessed it becomes. Eventually the dog will become overwhelmed by the need to confront the target and start lunging, barking etc.
This PIB is instinctive, and once again the dog resorts to this behavior due to the lack of other instructions from a dominant pack member. All of you with dogs who exhibit this behavior are saying to yourselves that you take control and it has no effect. In the dog’s mind, hanging on to the leash to prevent the dog’s approach to the target isn’t taking control, but interfering. In order for the dog to see you as being in control, you must control the dog’s MIND, not simply physically interfere with its intent. You must convince the dog to willingly choose a different behavior. It must surrender to your will for you to be in control.
The most effective method for doing this is to do the same thing a dominant dog would do. Bump, block and confront the dog until it’s willing to look at you instead of the target. Interfere with the dog’s FOCUS, not its body. When the dog is willing to focus on you, make it sit or turn its back to the target. This requires the dog to surrender to your will, and in doing so it acknowledges that you are sufficiently dominant to direct its behavior. You’ve taken control of the dog’s mind rather than its body.
The same holds true for dogs that become obsessed about food, prey, etc. If you break the dog’s focus and provide an optional behavior and persist until the dog performs that behavior, you are dominant and in control. Note that the dog must willingly surrender before you are in control. If the dog resists and you give up, you raise the dog’s status in its own eyes and lower your own status. You’ve surrendered to the dog’s will!
Utilizing these techniques to gain control of the dog will be the very behaviors that convince the dog you are a higher status pack member and have the right and the authority to direct the dog’s behavior.
5/3/09
Assess, classify and respond
Assess, classify and respond is the most basic PIB and is used more often than any of the others. Dogs assess the creatures around them, classify them and then choose an instinctive response appropriate for that classification and situation. The basic classifications are:
1) Food.
2) Foes.
3) Friends.
4) Potential friends.
5) Unknown.
Food are the creatures that provide a nutritional resource; prey. Foes are threats, challengers, competitors or intruders. In other words, any creature that could threaten the well-being of the pack. Friends are the creatures that share the dog’s day-to-day struggle for survival; the pack. Potential friends are creatures outside of the pack that pose no particular threat and may be suitable to join the pack. Unknown is self-explanatory.
These classifications are instinctive and not subject to change. If subordinate male and female members of the pack decide to mate, they will be driven from the pack to start their own pack. The original pack cannot classify them as ‘used to be friends.” They become a pack competing for resources and must be classified as foes.
When a dog has chosen how to classify a creature, it then has access to a group of instinctive behavioral responses to that classification. A dog that is always friendly and charming to the family it survives with can become an aggressive threat to someone it classifies as a foe, such as a mail carrier or a meter reader. The instinctive response for foes is to drive them away aggressively, or fight until they leave or are defeated.
Many people believe their dogs become temporarily insane at the sight of other people entering the dog’s territory. That isn’t true. The dog is displaying an instinctive response to someone it has instinctively classified as a threat. So here is the statement that defines the entire purpose of this blog:
When a dog is displaying instinctive behavioral patterns, the dog is lacking instructions from a higher authority within the pack!
Dogs can rely on three informational sources to govern their own behavior:
1) Instructions from a more dominant member of the pack.
2) Learned behaviors that have been taught by a more dominant member of the pack.
3) Instinctive behaviors that are appropriate for living with a canine pack in the wild.
A dog that displays instinctive responses hasn’t been convinced that the humans in the pack are of higher status and have the right to direct the dog’s behavior, or the dog hasn’t been instructed in ways the dog can understand.
1) Food.
2) Foes.
3) Friends.
4) Potential friends.
5) Unknown.
Food are the creatures that provide a nutritional resource; prey. Foes are threats, challengers, competitors or intruders. In other words, any creature that could threaten the well-being of the pack. Friends are the creatures that share the dog’s day-to-day struggle for survival; the pack. Potential friends are creatures outside of the pack that pose no particular threat and may be suitable to join the pack. Unknown is self-explanatory.
These classifications are instinctive and not subject to change. If subordinate male and female members of the pack decide to mate, they will be driven from the pack to start their own pack. The original pack cannot classify them as ‘used to be friends.” They become a pack competing for resources and must be classified as foes.
When a dog has chosen how to classify a creature, it then has access to a group of instinctive behavioral responses to that classification. A dog that is always friendly and charming to the family it survives with can become an aggressive threat to someone it classifies as a foe, such as a mail carrier or a meter reader. The instinctive response for foes is to drive them away aggressively, or fight until they leave or are defeated.
Many people believe their dogs become temporarily insane at the sight of other people entering the dog’s territory. That isn’t true. The dog is displaying an instinctive response to someone it has instinctively classified as a threat. So here is the statement that defines the entire purpose of this blog:
When a dog is displaying instinctive behavioral patterns, the dog is lacking instructions from a higher authority within the pack!
Dogs can rely on three informational sources to govern their own behavior:
1) Instructions from a more dominant member of the pack.
2) Learned behaviors that have been taught by a more dominant member of the pack.
3) Instinctive behaviors that are appropriate for living with a canine pack in the wild.
A dog that displays instinctive responses hasn’t been convinced that the humans in the pack are of higher status and have the right to direct the dog’s behavior, or the dog hasn’t been instructed in ways the dog can understand.
5/2/09
PIBs
While there are dozens (and perhaps hundreds) of canine PIBs, there are only eight that need to be addressed in order to keep a dog safe and happy in a human environment.
1) Assess, classify and respond.
2) Obsessed attention.
3) Join a pack.
4) Packs must have leaders.
5) Follow a leader.
6) Life is earned.
7) Constant testing.
8) Life is motion.
Each of these PIBs describes a pattern of behavior canines have developed to aid survival in the wild. They are necessary behaviors that domestic dogs cannot abandon just because we wish them to. Some of them can be changed if the proper approach is used and others can be controlled, again, with the proper approach. None of them can be changed by the dog without our intervention. They are instinctive and therefore are innate canine behavioral patterns.
1) Assess, classify and respond.
2) Obsessed attention.
3) Join a pack.
4) Packs must have leaders.
5) Follow a leader.
6) Life is earned.
7) Constant testing.
8) Life is motion.
Each of these PIBs describes a pattern of behavior canines have developed to aid survival in the wild. They are necessary behaviors that domestic dogs cannot abandon just because we wish them to. Some of them can be changed if the proper approach is used and others can be controlled, again, with the proper approach. None of them can be changed by the dog without our intervention. They are instinctive and therefore are innate canine behavioral patterns.
5/1/09
Attitudes
When most of us decide to get a dog, we’re usually looking for something to love. Generally, we get dogs for our own emotional gratification. Okay, fine. But all too often we forget to examine the animal we’re acquiring. It’s not a dog, but “a member of the family”, “my child” or “a person in a fur suit”. Unfortunately what we want dogs to be doesn’t determine their behavior. Their behavior is based on what they really are: a social animal (they live in groups) and a carnivorous predator. Every behavior dogs engage in are based on these two facts and when or where those behaviors occur is taught to them by us.
As members of the canine species, dog behaviors are instinctive knowledge developed through evolutionary development in wild conditions. These behaviors are appropriate for living with a pack of canines in a kill-or-be-killed environment. They are instinctively programmed to kill to eat and to defend their territory and pack. Just because we wish them to be “my child” doesn’t mean these instinctive behaviors will go away.
Every unwanted, inappropriate or dangerous behavior dogs engage in are created by us, because in refusing to acknowledge what dogs really are we fail to prepare for what might happen. I was called by a lady who didn’t know how to handle her dogs increasing levels of aggression. When I asked her why she got a dog in the first place she said, “I wanted someone to love who couldn’t tell me I was doing it wrong.” The dogs’ aggression was the dog telling her she was doing it wrong. This woman was trying to love her dog like it was her human child and that wasn’t working for the dog.
Dogs can’t pretend to be something other than dogs. If we learn about what dogs truly are, then it’s possible to love them in a human environment and keep them safe, polite and content.
This brings us to instinctive behaviors. Canines have developed “Patterns of Instinctive Behaviors” (or PIBs) designed to assist pack survival in the wild. These are behaviors dogs must utilize because they are canine. Learning about them provides us with the ability to allow our dogs to be dogs and still behave appropriately in a human environment.
As members of the canine species, dog behaviors are instinctive knowledge developed through evolutionary development in wild conditions. These behaviors are appropriate for living with a pack of canines in a kill-or-be-killed environment. They are instinctively programmed to kill to eat and to defend their territory and pack. Just because we wish them to be “my child” doesn’t mean these instinctive behaviors will go away.
Every unwanted, inappropriate or dangerous behavior dogs engage in are created by us, because in refusing to acknowledge what dogs really are we fail to prepare for what might happen. I was called by a lady who didn’t know how to handle her dogs increasing levels of aggression. When I asked her why she got a dog in the first place she said, “I wanted someone to love who couldn’t tell me I was doing it wrong.” The dogs’ aggression was the dog telling her she was doing it wrong. This woman was trying to love her dog like it was her human child and that wasn’t working for the dog.
Dogs can’t pretend to be something other than dogs. If we learn about what dogs truly are, then it’s possible to love them in a human environment and keep them safe, polite and content.
This brings us to instinctive behaviors. Canines have developed “Patterns of Instinctive Behaviors” (or PIBs) designed to assist pack survival in the wild. These are behaviors dogs must utilize because they are canine. Learning about them provides us with the ability to allow our dogs to be dogs and still behave appropriately in a human environment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)