In this issue we’ll be talking more about how dogs think and address some of the questions that often come up when people are comparing dog stories. We’ve all heard some amazing ones about their incredible feats and it’s time to look at some possible reasons motivating them.
We’ve talked about this to a degree in an earlier issue. Scientists seem to agree that they think in pictures, while humans think in both pictures and words, and can articulate what they see both in their minds and with their eyes. So while some dogs are very smart, there is still going to be a difference in how we perceive each other.
Going back in time for a minute, we’ve already seen that dogs and man have been friendly for many generations. It’s likely that dogs decided to be companion animals based on their pursuit of food. They’d find a group or tribe of humans and hang around the campfire because the food smelled good. If the humans actually fed them, then that was a great reason to stay around. It’s been noted that the more wolf-like the breed the greater it’s able to pick up on human signals and commands. Another way to put it is that some dogs remain more puppy-like throughout their lives, while others are sharper and more independent. This probably evolved as a result of some dogs became pets early on because they were so cute, while others were more useful as members of the human pack. All of the differences took thousands of years to develop once man began breeding dogs.
Although scientists have come up with all these theories about dog’s thinking ability, let’s try to imagine for a minute what it must be like for the dog. Let’s say that you spend every Saturday morning with your dog in tow while you do a few chores. You start by making the bed and maybe while you do that you stop and pet Rover and talk baby talk to him and give him lots of affection both verbally and physically. You may even let him up on the bed and let him “help” put all the sheets, blankets, pillows and everything else you keep in place back on the bed. This gets to be a routine with the two of you and may even extend to weekdays if you have time. Rover follows you around the house while you pick up things from the floor and generally make things neat and tidy. You’re in a good mood and you’re feeling especially close to him.
So what happens when you are late getting home? As we’ve discussed, unless you’ve carefully trained him, you may come home to a mess. The bed that you two “made up” together is in disarray. The pillows may be on the floor and the covers are disrupted. Possibly some items like the sofa cushions that he has seen you plump up and place in a certain way are also on the floor. Maybe a shirt or pair of shoes, belonging to you, that he can get to have been dragged to another room and chewed on. It is very possible that while his anxiety increased as he was waiting for you to walk through the door at the usual time and didn’t, he saw a visual of the happy times you’ve had together. Some part of his mind is so stressed at your not being there that he tries in his own way to feel closer to you by retracing the steps and physically interacting with the objects you worked with together. We can actually put this theory to good use when it comes to shaping how we want our dogs to behave.
It’s hard for us as humans to know exactly how this works and imagine precisely what they see. Experiments over the last thirty years or so seem to confirm that dogs remember not only in pictures, but also through scents and sounds. One thing is certain though, if we stop to remember that they aren’t humans in different bodies, we can use what we do know about them to help us communicate with them and teach them appropriate behaviours.
We already know that dogs are by nature pack animals, so by nature they usually will fit in well with a family or group of people and pets. They have intuitive “knowledge” of a social structure and if we teach them efficiently they will be quick to learn in most cases. In a typical dog pack the authority figures train the puppies not to bite hard, eat only when it’s their turn, and generally submit to the will of the pack leaders. They also reward them when they behave well. Rewards include play time, food, and grooming. Just watching a bitch with a litter of pups can give us cues on some ways to structure our own dog training.
Dogs by ancestry are also den animals, which is why we are able to housebreak and crate train them. Their early socialization instilled habits of cleanliness as well as being used to living in close quarters.
Once man started to breed dogs, various characteristics were chosen over others depending on what they wanted the dogs to do for them. Today we find some dogs that are fast learners and others who don’t seem to have the same ability to quickly process the information we give them. They may have been bred more to be a companion animal rather than a hunter or tracking dog. Don’t worry, dogs are meant to be trained given their original history, but some breeds may take a bit longer and more work than others.
One subject that needs talking about is overly aggressive or vicious dogs. They come with strong jaws, sharp teeth, and sharp claws controlled by strong muscles. There are cases where dogs are trained to use these tools aggressively, but often when injuries occur to people it is their own fault. Sometimes an ordinarily well-behaved and even-tempered dog can be riled up for some reason and attack a human. Some common mistakes people make are to think that a dog who is barking isn’t necessarily in a biting mood. Even if you think he’s just being friendly, don’t approach him until he calms down. Another possible misunderstanding can occur when you see a dog wagging his tail. We’ve all pretty much been taught that it means he’s happy and glad to see us. It also signals that he’s excited and we shouldn’t automatically assume that it’s always positive.
There are some behaviours that we should avoid doing around dogs. There are no guarantees that these will always set them off, but if you aren’t used to being around dogs, or especially if you don’t know a particular dog you should always err on the side of caution.
Here are a few that could spark a dog into attacking you:
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Being overly aggressive with another dog
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Taking food away from a dog
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Acting in such a way around a puppy that could appear to be threatening, especially if the mother dog is nearby
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Staring into the dog’s eyes, especially when the person is at eye level
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Going near a dog who is ill or hurt
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Anytime you see a sign telling you to “Beware of Dog”, don’t ignore it. There are some dogs specifically trained to attack people
Some of the things on the list above were addressed as being useful when you are teaching your dog that you’re the alpha dog or pack leader. Training your dog with the stare and teaching it that you can remove his food dish anytime you want, are two of them. These tips are meant generally and shouldn’t be done around a dog you don’t know or before you’ve established your dominance over your own.
The most care should be used when young children are around a dog. Crawling babies for instance mimic the movements of a weaker dog that it would normally attack back in the wild. Children also will pull on a dog’s ears or tails until they are old enough to know better. Until that’s the case, don’t let children be with the dog unsupervised. There’s always the chance that the pack instincts will surface in such a way that the dog will want to dominate the little one. Wait to let them interact on their own when you’re sure that the dog accepts the child and the child knows how to behave appropriately with him.
Most dogs are not going to hurt a human (unless trained to do so), but they do possess the instincts of a predator and it can surface when you don’t expect it. I just want to make sure that you know how and when to be cautious.
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