Dogs: You and Your Dog
There are reviews of several good books on dogs in Books on Animals.
Rugby at 5 months old |
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See also:
Rugby in the snow - his kind of weather |
Your relationship with your dog is unique, between two individuals. You spend a lot of time with your dog, so have some rapport with him, that you can build on. You can learn from observing your dog about what motivates him. This helps you to get him to do what you want, and helps you to convince him that it's what he wants too! You can become the best kind of leader, one that is followed with pleasure. A good leader initiates activities, provides guidance for the dog, and protects him from dangers, like bigger dogs with bad tempers!
Getting to know your dog helps you to anticipate and deal with potentially tricky situations, which might otherwise trigger bad behaviour. For example your dog may be friendly with dogs of certain types, and only react badly to those of a certain size, colour or sex. Check this out, and it can help you to avoid confrontations. If you know what worries him, whether it's other dogs, bicycles, or men with funny hats, you can anticipate his stress, and help him ignore what worries him. You can get him to focus on you instead of what he fears, and to see you as a safe haven. You can also reward him for being calm when faced with whatever he fears. Rewards for good behaviour help channel your dog's energy into those activities that you want him to do.
You can also observe your dog to see when he behaves well. Perhaps he's nervous of other dogs, but behaves well with calm, older bitches. You can help him by making sure the stress he has to cope with is at a level that he can tolerate – and in this case, socialise him first with dogs he feels comfortable with. This helps you achieve your goal of a well-behaved dog.
What is a well-behaved dog?
A well-behaved dog is a dog that does what you want it to do, and which does not annoy other people and their dogs. There are a number of things you might want your dog to do, like walk nicely, greet strangers politely, and walk quietly past other dogs. For some people, good behaviour includes barking when the door bell rings, while others want their dog to be quiet. There are owners who have very high standards of 'good behaviour', especially if they go in for competitions, but it's a personal thing. It can be fun seeing what your dog is capable of, and can be fun for the dog to be given interesting things to do. But it isn't necessary to turn your dog into a 'robot' that will instantly obey a lot of fancy commands that are usually only used in showrings.
What is a behavioural problem – does my dog have one?
Behaviourists often see dogs that aren't really 'problem dogs', and are just doing what dogs do, like scavenging, and chasing prey, 'normal' things that may be problematic for the owners. Something that's normal for a dog may not be acceptable for humans. The dog doesn't think he's doing anything wrong, so if we find what he is doing unacceptable, we need to teach him what we'd like him to do instead.
One way to look at dog behaviour is to see it as a continuum, from the desirable to the unacceptable, with grey areas in between. Some owners won't let their dogs on the furniture, for example, whereas others are quite happy about this, and even have their dogs sleep on their beds. This is fine if you don't mind muddy paw prints and hairs everywhere! Some owners want dogs to obey them to a very fine degree, others are happy if their dogs obey basic commands.
What's important is that the dog has a consistent set of rules, and that the rules mean that you, the dog, and other people and other dogs are safe, plus other animals he may meet on a regular basis. Playbiting in pups should always be discouraged, since it's very easy to stop pups biting, and they are much less likely to bite and cause serious damage when they are older. Chasing should also be discouraged. Children especially may be terrified if they are chased by a barking dog. A dog that chases traffic may be killed, or cause an accident. You can use your knowledge of your dog to improve recall, by finding out what most makes him want to come back to you - whether it's a particular tone of voice, lots of praise and a cuddle, a treat – and using it. Anticipate danger, and keep your dog on the lead if he is likely to be tempted. It's also useful to practise basic commands at a distance, like 'sit', 'stay' and 'lie down'. They could save your dog's life, for example if he is the other side of a road and you need him to keep still until you can get to him.
Remember, though, the rules are your rules, not the dog's. You are teaching him how to live in a human world, and need to motivate him to do many things that mystify him. Just saying 'no' and expecting him to understand he has done wrong is not enough – he may know you are annoyed, but does not see he is 'wrong'. If he looks 'guilty' it's just that he sees you annoyed, and that worries him – he doesn't feel 'guilt' in a human way! Try giving him something that's more rewarding for dogs to do, in place of what you don't want him to do. It's a challenge, especially if your dog's 'misbehaviour' is linked to something dogs really like doing, like chasing small furry animals. You need to study your dog and work out what else he really likes!
Check with your vet
Veterinary advice is essential if your dog is especially hyperactive or aggressive, especially if the onset of the behaviour is sudden. There may be a medical or diet problem. Brain tumours or hormone imbalances can also affect behaviour. Abcesses and other painful injuries can make a dog tetchy and reluctant to be touched. High protein foods, some additives, and red meat, may be linked to some types of undesirable behaviour.
Will neutering help improve a dog's behaviour?
Some people believe that castration will solve many behavioural problems, but it is no cure-all. Castration may help curb wandering, and fights with other males, but it does initially impose stress on the dog. Hormone levels take a while to go down, though female injections can be administered at the time of castration, to counter the male hormones. Castration may make training easier, but training is still essential. What castration won't do is suddenly make your dog see you as leader – you have to earn this position!
Spaying bitches won't make them less pushy, but does mean that you don't have to worry about seasons, and it gives protection against certain types of tumours. There are also too many unwanted pups in the world, and you can help tackle this problem by making sure you don't add to it. There is some risk of incontinence, which varies from one breed to another, so discuss this with your vet.
Going out with your dog - pockets and bags
You can help improve your dog's behaviour by building training into daily walks. And you need lots of pockets, or a bag that leaves your hand free, for training aids, like treats, balls, frisbees, and leads of different lengths. You may find it useful to take two leads, a short lead for walking in traffic, and an extendible lead to walk your dog in the park. Poo bags are essential too! It's in our interests as dog owners to pick up our dogs' poo, if we want to be allowed to take our dogs out.
Flexileads are extendable and retractable leads that can either be played out to allow dogs a great deal of freedom, or shortened and put on lock to keep the lead short. They can be very useful if dog owners are careful, but they can also be lethal if used unwisely. Some trainers even believe they should be banned. So what is the fuss about?
The main problem is that they can diminish the amount of control a dog owner has over the dog - the opposite to what leads are meant to do! The leads themselves can also cause injuries, because they can become tangled up, around human fingers, or around dogs. More specifically, there are times when owners need to be especially alert when they use flexileads. Here is a guide to some of the key situations when it's safer to be especially alert.
1) Around traffic. There is a serious risk of dogs causing fatal accidents or being killed themselves if the flexilead is not on lock when a dog is walking along the road, or in any area where there is traffic. Motorcycles and other loud vehicles can appear suddenly and startle dogs, and many dogs will rush towards the threat. It's really safer to swap your flexilead for a short lead if you are walking along a road, because it's very easy to forget to put the flexilead on lock.
2) Around other dogs. Flexileads may give dogs too much freedom to approach each other at times when control is needed, and worse than that, dogs and owners can get caught up in the lead. Dogs can dance about, chase each other, and scrap if the lead is too long. A long flexilead can allow them to tangle the cord or belt round owners' legs, and also get caught up in the lead, which can cause friction burns and cuts to dogs' legs, which sometimes take a long time to heal. It's safer to keep your eyes peeled for other dogs, and shorten the lead if you approach any. The belt leads are also much safer than the leads that use cords, in terms of avoiding injuries.
3) Drawing in the lead. Inexpert users often cause themselves serious injuries trying to draw in the lead suddenly. Friction burns can be very serious, especially for children, and it is safer never to allow young children to use a flexilead. Novice users need to practise drawing the dog in, when they are somewhere safe, like an enclosed back garden. It's a knack, which comes automatically after a while, and involves putting one's hand towards the dog, then locking the lead, an action repeated until the lead is short enough. Because this takes a little while, it's safer to stay alert and shorten the lead well before it's absolutely necessary. Otherwise, it's easy to panic and try to pull in the lead by grabbing the rope or belt, which can be dangerous.
4) The whiplash effect. A flexilead that has become detached from the dog can whip back suddenly and catch an owner or dog in an eye, or other vulnerable spot. There are safety loops that can be attached to collars to prevent this.
5) Pulling. Flexileads can encourage dogs to pull, because they exert a constant slight pressure, which means that the dog has to pull a little to go where he or she wants. Owners may also release the lock while the dog is pulling, which is effectively rewarding the dog for pulling, and reinforcing the habit. It helps to ensure that dogs are walked daily on a short lead, and aren't just walked on a flexilead all the time. Dogs should also be asked to sit before the lock is released, and before they are allowed off the lead, so that they are rewarded for good behaviour, rather than for pulling as hard as they can!
6) Walking more than one dog. Some owners can safely walk two dogs on flexileads, but this takes some skill, and is not recommended for novice owners, people with very lively dogs, or people walking dogs in the dark! It's very easy for the leads to become tangled, and virtually impossible for
owners to disentangle flexileads in the dark! It's safer to have one dog on a flexilead, and the other(s) on a short lead.
7) Sudden tugs. It is far more difficult to control a dog which takes off after a cat or other interesting attraction if the flexilead is extended, It's especially difficult if the dog is large and powerful. It's really safer to restrict the use of flexileads to smaller dogs, and only extend the lead in safe places where there are not likely to be serious consequences if the dog does jerk the lead out of your hand.
So why do people use flexileads if they can cause so many problems? They are in fact very useful in certain specific situations, mainly where owners need some control over their dogs, but there is little risk of skateboarders, cyclists, joggers, screaming children, or other hazards suddenly appearing. An example is a large playing field or park area where you have a good line of vision, so can anticipate any trouble, and can safely allow the dog some freedom. Some people also use their flexileads for training. This is a skill best learnt with the help of an experienced trainer.
Flexileads are much safer if you can trust your dog to come back if there is a mishap, and they are no subsitute for good recall. This means repeating recall exercises in all sorts of situations, until your dog comes to you automatically, and then continuing so that he or she doesn't get out of practice. Flexileads can be a very useful supplement to a training programme, when used sensibly.
Enjoy your dog
We have dogs as companions because they are fun. They get you out of the house taking healthy exercise and meeting people. They can act as hot water bottles, confidants, and give us a fellow creature to hug. Their daftness and enjoyment of life can make us laugh. Even toy dogs can be a deterrent to burglars. Train your dog well, and enjoy.
AcknowledgementThanks to Helle Haugenes for comments on this article.
References
See also:
Dogs: Choosing
a Dog
Dogs: Basic Training
Dogs: Behavioural Problems
Dogs: Dogs and Diet
Reviews of books on dogs
