Understanding Behaviour

A safe way to give your dog the play and exercise they deserve

Learn to communicate in a way a dog understands

Dogs have been domesticated to live in human packs for over 20,000 years. Although we have selectively bred for companion animal characteristics our pets still retain many of the traits of their wolf ancestors.

For pack animals it is essential to be able to communicate. This ultimately increases the survival potential for the species through cooperative living. Cooperation facilitates hunting, rearing of offspring, and perhaps most importantly living in peace with each other. Conflicts are dangerous and costly to the group; they cause physical injuries and weaken the pack, which is something that no pack can afford.

Dogs live in a world of sensory input: visual, olfactory and auditory perceptions. They easily perceive tiny details - a quick glance, signal, or a slight change in another's behaviour. Dogs can be trained to respond to subtle hand signals or a whispered voice. They have to be instantly perceptive to signals and able to initiate the appropriate signal to communicate their own needs.

Dogs have innate behavioural needs this enables the animal to achieve homeostasis. These can be grouped into four sections, each with its own range of behaviours.

  • Safety - anxiety, avoidance, fear physiology, fight, flight
  • Survival - hunting, fighting/playing, chewing, storage/digging
  • Reproduction - finding a mate, scents, roaming, inter-male competition, mounting
  • Social interaction - pack hierarchy, group living
Due to selective breeding, dogs will have inherited different traits to a greater or lesser degree. For all dogs, if their basic needs are not fulfilled, they will attempt to find their own outlet for the behaviours they need to express - often to the dissatisfaction to the owner. Most behaviour problems are natural behaviours exhibited at an inappropriate time or place. Treatment often involves providing for the dog's behavioural requirements, such as satisfying their safety needs, or instinctive drive to live as part of a group. Owners need to fulfil these requirements and offer a substitute to replace the unwanted behaviour. We also need to consider the signals the owner communicates to the dog. Undesirable behaviour may just be the response to the confusing signals we send out.

Owners are often guilty of anthropomorphising the behaviours of their dog. The textbook definition of anthropomorphism is "to assign emotions or thought patterns to animals or objects, which are incapable of achieving such dimensions". People believe that their dogs are able to understand our complicated thought processes and abide by the logic we have. Owners assign human intelligence to their animals and presume that they understand using the same method of reasoning that we, as primates, use. Dogs do not have the capacity to understand human emotions, behaviour and language- however much you talk to them!

Learning how to communicate in a way a dog understands is the most important skill an owner can have. An owner who is able to achieve this will have a calmer pet with a more tolerant disposition. In addition, positively reinforcing good behaviour and knowing when to modify behavioural traits, results in a long lasting cure and a stronger bond between dog and owner.