A man stopped me in a parking lot after I got out of my truck, which had Murphdog Dog Training signs on the doors. He asked me a question about a dog that bites and wanted to know if it was the fault of the dog or the pet’s parents. Rather than giving him a direct answer I gave him a few samples of what I witnessed on my daily visits to train dogs and pet parents. I’m sure you will arrive at your own conclusion as to what is wrong with this picture.
Scenario 1.
I’m called to a home where the small breed dog has a history of biting two guests and one family member. I ring the doorbell and the dog is now jumping at the glass panel on the side of the door and barking endlessly. The door opens and as I enter the home the dog is restrained on a leash, pulling forcefully while barking and snapping at me. The pet parent picks the dog up, hugs it, pets it, comforts it, and says, “It’s ok, good boy, good boy”.
Scenario 2.
We pass several other dogs on a trail with a client and their dog. We are there to practice social skills when mingling in public with people, their children, bicycles, baby carriages, scooters, and of course other dogs. Everything is going rather well, meaning passing everyone on the trail is peaceful and non-reactive. Then one large dog lunges and barks at us from the opposite side of the trail, approximately 15 feet before we try to pass each other. The pet parent distracts the reactive barking dog with treats. If the dog had a dialog bubble over its head it would probably say “If I keep barking and lunging, I’ll get another treat.”
Scenario 3.
While knocking on the door before entering a new client’s house for a consultation, I see a tiny pocket-sized dog standing on the couch in front of the window, barking furiously and jumping at the glass. Upon entering, the same dog is now running along the L-shaped couch and climbing on the back of it to get higher up in his quest to control the situation of having a person enter the home. The pet parents were now in pursuit of catching their dog and of course, it became a game of chase, much to the dog’s delight. One pet parent armed with treats and one pet parent armed with a collar and leash, the dog was restrained but not immediately approachable. The higher a dog is, the more they perceive to be in control and most times they are!
Dog training is not an art. Dog training is a science. Science by definition is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence. That said, Dog Training and Canine Behavior are not creative expressions, nor are they remedied by commonsensible approaches. Many methods used in dog training may not seem logical at all to the pet parent and that’s a small part of the reason why the pet parent will not think of the appropriate approach to training their dog. Furthermore, a large majority of internet information about how to go about training your dog is written by a person who is neither educated nor experienced in the field of canine behavior and is basing their opinion on human logic. Anthropomorphism works well in animal fantasy stories, but you cannot ascribe human characteristics or behaviors to something that is not human, for the purpose of teaching.
Coddling, mothering, soothing, and comforting, equals validating, encouraging, reinforcing, and perpetuating extreme unwanted behavior.
