We can easily observe that canines are a different species of animal than we are. What is more difficult to observe and understand is that, although they appear to exhibit similar thought patterns and emotions to humans, canines are still incredibly different when it comes to their psychology. Behavior that is unacceptable for a person is often normal in canine terms.
Think about the fact that we do not speak the same language. It is an attractive idea to think that because I am speaking to my puppy and they appear to be engaged, they must understand what I am saying. In reality, this is not the case. Just like a human infant child who comes into this world without the slightest idea of how to speak or create words. A puppy is in the same boat and although they will never ( maybe never ) be able to articulate their emotions and thoughts back to us linguistically, like our human babies, they are in fact able to grasp a basic understanding, with time, of words and their meanings.
In fact, the average dog can learn up to 165 words, according to psychologist & canine researcher Stanley Coren PhD. A canines mental capabilities are equivalent to that of a two and a half year old child. They can count up to five and even understand errors in simple computations.
Instinctively puppies/canines will jump, dig, scratch, nip, bark and chase. These are typical behaviors. One of these behaviors may be more emphasized than the others depending on what breed I have, this should be taken in to consideration.
This does not mean we have to tolerate behavior we do not like BUT it helps us to understand why it is happening in the first place. My dog is not being stubborn or defiant because they want to chase every squirrel and I tell them no, they are just answering their DNA.
Gregory Berns, a professor of nueroeconomics at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, completed research that demonstrates canines use the same regions of the brain as humans do to "feel".
One of these regions is the Caudate Nucleus.
This region of the brain responds in anticipation of things we enjoy like, food, people, money & love.
In dogs this region of the brain responds to hand signals conditioned to food and to the smells of familiar humans. The caudate nucleus even responds to when a human the dog knows walks out of site and back into sight!
Our canines are feeling and emotional beings with with about the sentience of a human child. This is important information to consider when adopting training regimes.
So why train my dog?
They are not born knowing how to live with us, as we mentioned above, they are a different species and they come with species specific behavior. These behaviors can often clash with human expectations of proper behavior.
Growing up I was taught life skills by my family and peers. I had good examples and not so great examples but all in all I learned how to behave behind closed doors at home and out in public. You could call it conditioning. Some things that are acceptable in my environment may slightly differ in another persons environment but in general I have learned how to adapt to my surroundings ( or at-least I would like to think I have haha ).
Now I need to make sure my canines learn this exact concept & the earlier I begin the better chances I have of guiding my canine into being a well refined citizen. Part of being a responsible dog parent is teaching them good family manners, making sure they are not a public nuisance and making sure they are well loved.
By training my dogs using incentive based techniques I am helping them to achieve these goals.
Remember, A well trained canine is often welcome in other places and easy to live with.
Although it is nice to start with a puppy, it is never too late to begin training!
Now that we have discussed how our canines operate and why they do what they do, head on over to our "MANNERS' blog post to begin implementing some rules at home and outside.
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