What Fuels Dog Behavior

When it comes down to the reasons why our dogs behave in certain ways, we can often fall victim to misleading or even outrageous stories about the cause.

“He is out to get me”

“She is trying to dominate me”

“He did it because he is mad at me”

The problem with these stories is that they are false but even more problematic is that these stories often lead to the dog being treated and even trained in an unfair, harsh or even cruel way because the story justified the dog's treatment. 

Today I want to give you the tools to evaluate and understand a lot of the reasons why your dog behaves in certain ways and spoiler it is absolutely never because they are trying to dominate you. ( see dominance theory is dead)

Dogs' behavior is often a reflection of five major factors.

Genetics

Just like in us humans, our dogs' genetics can be a driving force in many behaviors. Even if your dog is mixed with dozens of different breeds, they are still likely to display certain behaviors because they are literally hard wired to display those behaviors. This does not mean that we can’t teach our dogs to behave in different ways, but we can understand that sometimes our dogs' brains are telling them to chase those animals, to nip at those humans' heels, to control that skateboarders movements with barking. We can display more compassion for why our dogs are doing certain things and often set up outlets for them to engage in those behaviors but in a safer way.

Learning History

From the moment your dog was born, they were taking in information, even as a tiny puppy whose eyes haven’t opened yet. Your dog is always learning and this can play a major role in the behaviors they display. Sometimes this can work to our advantage, especially when we have the chance to raise, socialize and train puppies from a young age. At this stage we can greatly influence the things they are learning so as they age they behave in more desirable ways. This can always work against us when we have particularly aware and clever dogs. Dogs who usually have an abundance of energy and minimal appropriate outlets for that energy. Dogs who learn that when you leave they can have an epic scavenger hunt and all they have to do is knock over the garbage can. 

Environment 

Something I find my clients don’t consider enough is how big an impact the environment the dog is in has on the way they behave. We can consider all the ways that dogs perceive the world. It's no wonder that when we realize scent is our dog's strongest sense, we can understand why our dogs are always letting their nose take the lead. When we consider how good our dogs' hearing is, it’s no wonder that many dogs struggle with fear and anxiety when they hear loud booms in the sky. Something we often talk about in dog behavior modification is that behavior exists in the environment. Meaning that the way your dog is behaving is a direct result of the environment and when we can learn which specific environments and environmental factors matter to our dogs, we can then set them up for better success or work on behavior modification to help them be more successful. 

Age

Just like babies are going to behave differently than human adults, the same is true for our dogs. I find that dog owners want their puppies to grow up and be well trained adult dogs instead of celebrating all that it means to be a puppy who is learning about the world. Puppies are not dogs yet and they need to be treated with the same tenderness and care that we would a human infant. Puppies need lots of rest and are not capable of big physical exercise. Something else to consider is that your dog's brain is not fully developed nor are their bones until they are between 1-3 years old. Young dogs are going to display more energetic behavior they are going to explore with their mouths more and all of that is normal.  Then when we talk about senior dogs, really any dog over the age of 10 (younger for large breed dogs), they also have changing needs and go back to needing more sleep and requiring less exercise. Always acknowledge your dog's age and the role that has in their behavior. 

Health

This includes both physical and mental health. Imagine having an intense pain in your neck, a pain that is constantly nagging and one that you can not describe to anyone to get relief. Then imagine that someone is touching your neck, even grabbing and tugging at it and swinging around and slapping that person. Now imagine your dog has a pain in their neck, one that you can’t see but they can surely feel. Then you put their collar on their neck and yank them around on a walk. Your dog then whips their head around and gives you a snarl and air snap. This is all too common and instead of addressing the dogs physical pain we label them stubborn and dominant and continue to yank them around by their leash or worse yet we graduate to a metal prong collar to put them in their place. Physical pain and discomfort play a much more significant role in your dog's behavior than you might think. Please give your dog the gift of compassion and address their physical health and avoid using aversive training tools.  

Mental health is much more common in human conversation these days and I am seeing it be more common in the dog training circles that I am a part of. Dogs can also suffer from anxiety disorders and other conditions that are yet to be labeled in dogs. In many of the cases that I work on, dogs display behaviors and it is clear that their brains are not processing information in the typical way. This doesn’t mean the dogs are broken or incapable of learning but it does mean that they may need the help of pharmaceutical interventions to be more successful in their lives. If your dog is displaying intense, repetitive behaviors, seek the help of a qualified trainer in conjunction with your veterinarian.

Dogs behave for so many reasons but when we can acknowledge the role their genetics, their learning history, the environment, their age and both physical and mental health play in their behavior it opens our eyes to appreciate and support the complicated creatures in front of us instead of demonizing them and telling ourselves stories that aren’t true.

-Rachel