Issues
How We Screw Up Our Dogs
Almost all dogs are born naturally balanced. If they live as
they do in nature—in stable packs—they spend their days in peace and
fulfillment. If any dog in a pack becomes unstable, that dog will be forced to
leave the pack or will be taken out by the other pack members. It sounds harsh,
but it is nature’s way of ensuring that the pack survive and continue for future
generations.
When humans adopt dogs and bring them into our lives and
homes, most of the time we have the dogs best interests at heart. We try to give
them what it is we think they need. The problem is that we are making
assumptions based not on what canines need but on what humans need. By
humanizing dogs, we damage them psychologically.
When we humanize dogs, we create what I call “issues”—which
are pretty much the same things a human psychiatrist calls “issues” when
referring to his patients’ problems. “Issues” are negative adaptations in
dealing with the world. As human beings, our issues range far and wide and can
be as simple as a fear of spiders or as complex as obsessive-compulsive disorder
or foot fetishes. For dogs, issues are much simpler. But like human issues, dog
issues are caused by an imbalance.
In this chapter, I want to address the most common canine
issues that I’m called in to help correct. I hope you’ll learn not only how to
address these issues once they’ve formed but, more important, how to prevent
them from forming in the first place.
Aggression
Aggression is the reason that
I’m most commonly called in on a case. I am sometimes considered a dog’s “last
hope” before he or she is given away or even put down. Aggression isn’t really
an issue at all. It’s the outcome of an issue.
Aggression in a dog isn’t natural. Even wolves in the wild are
rarely aggressive toward their own kind, or even toward humans28—unless
there is a clear, specific reason such as threat or starvation. Aggression
develops when a dog’s issues aren’t dealt with, when frustrated energy has no
release. Unfortunately, such aggression always escalates if left unchecked. The
sad truth is that when I am called in to treat an aggressive dog, I usually find
a dog that could easily have been saved from having this problem. She could’ve
been stopped before she got this messed up.
Dog owners are sometimes motivated to seek out help only when
their dog bites someone and they suddenly find themselves with a lawsuit on
their hands. They’ll say things like “She’s a sweetie around the house with the
children,” or “He only acts this way when the doorbell rings.”
I wish every person with a dog would take more seriously early
signs of aggressive behavior, and seek a professional’s help before their
neighbors drag them into court—or worse, before somebody gets hurt.
Dominance Aggression
While aggression isn’t a
natural state for a dog, dominance is natural for some dogs. Your dog may be a
naturally dominant, high-energy animal. Does that mean she’s bound to be
aggressive or dangerous? No. It does mean, however, that you need to play the
role of an even more reliable, calm-assertive pack leader with her. I mean that
you have to play that role 24-7.
Because that’s what leadership means to a dog. A leader is a
leader around the clock. No matter how tired you are, no matter whether you want
to concentrate on a ball game or your magazine, you still send her the same
calm-assertive leadership energy.
Dominance Aggression; Ears Up, Tail Up,
Chest Forward, Teeth Bared
Remember, naturally dominant dogs, pack leaders, are few and
far between. Just as in the human world there are only a few Oprah Winfreys and
a few Bill Gateses, there are a corresponding number of born pack leaders in the
dog world. These dogs, if they don’t get enough physical and psychological
challenges, can indeed become very dangerous animals. They can and might become
problem dogs. We owe it to these dogs—if we bring them into our lives—to provide
the stimulation and the challenges they need.
Contrary to what many people believe, there is no such thing
as a “dominant breed.” Think about it—in a litter of puppies, one will stand out
as the most dominant, and will grow up to run the pack. The others will be
followers. Same litter. Same breed. There are powerful
breeds—pit bulls, Rottweilers, German shepherds, Cane corsos—but it’s up to the
pack leader in the breed to direct that energy into healthy outlets. If you have
a powerful breed dog, you’d better make sure you’re the pack leader.