Dogs are really amazingly complex creatures and in order for you to have a good relationship with your dog you need to learn a bit about his nature.
Dogs are descended from wolves and therefore have many of the same characteristics, although some behaviors are the result of thousands of years of interaction with humans. Understanding these characteristics can make your dog’s life easier.
First of all, dogs are very social animals and thrive in a group or pack environment. In the wild, isolation is a form of punishment of the individual by the pack and is not a comfortable state for your dog. While there are times when isolation for short periods can be used as part of training to stop unwanted behavior, confinement of your dog for extended periods will result in unwanted behavior problems.
Isolation from contact with humans and other animals invariably leads to fear, aggression, and other forms of “bad” behavior. Dogs need company to develop healthy behavior patterns. In any human-dog relationship, the human must be the alpha dog, the leader of the pack. Your dog must look to you for how to behave and you must be consistent in what you expect from your dog and in what you teach him.
Do you know the saying “Curiosity killed the cat”? Well, dogs are also very curious animals and will explore their surroundings to the fullest. Unfortunately, they don’t know the limits of their environment (until you teach them) and will happily wander off to explore your neighbors’ yard.
Exploration, for dogs, involves more than looking and smelling, they love to taste and chew almost anything. This can be deadly for your dog. You should give him some healthy alternatives to chew on and a safe area where he can explore and not cause damage to the garden or himself.
Digging is another part of exploration and in some dogs, like my terriers, it’s a very strong instinct. I have areas of the yard where I let them dig (where the mice are) and others where I stop them if they start which they rarely do. It doesn’t take them long to dig a two-foot hole. I leave it until they lose interest (the mice have moved on) and then I fill it up and put some grass on it.
The reason my terriers dig is that the dogs are predators and are hunting mice. They have incredible hearing and sense of smell and can tell if a mouse has been there in the last few days. They will quickly dispatch them when they can catch them. It’s not particularly nice to watch them dispatch the mice or squirrels and if I can distract them long enough for the critters to get away, all the better. My dogs have had the thrill of the hunt. When they have fasted too long for their prey, I take their favorite treat and trade the victim for the treat and praise them for giving up their prize. They haven’t done anything wrong, they’re just doing their job.
One final trait I want to mention is that dogs are scavengers and will eat just about anything. Some of my terriers’ favorites are rabbit pellets (droppings), horse manure (apparently very tasty), and dead animals. They don’t seem to associate what they eat with how they feel afterwards and will repeat the action that upset their stomach over and over again. Keep this in mind when trying to keep your dog safe and healthy.
If you have a good understanding of your dog’s true nature and work with it rather than against it, you’ll find that there is less frustration for both you and your dog.
