What is the true nature of a dog?

Dogs are really surprisingly complex creatures and for you to have a good relationship with your dog you need to learn a little about their 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 life with your dog easier.

First of all, dogs are highly social animals and thrive in a group or pack environment. In nature, isolation is a form of punishment of the individual by the pack and 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, confining your dog for long 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 companionship 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 what you teach him.

Do you know the saying “Curiosity killed the cat”? Well, dogs are also very curious animals and will explore their environment to the fullest. Unfortunately, they don’t know the limits of their environment (until you teach them) and will happily wander off to explore their neighbors’ garden.

Exploring, for dogs, involves more than looking and smelling, they love to taste and chew just about anything. This can be deadly for your dog. It should give you some healthy alternatives to chew on and a safe area where you can explore and not harm the garden or yourself.

Digging is another part of exploration and in some dogs, like my terriers, it is a very strong instinct. I have areas of the yard where I allow them to 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) and then I fill it up and put some grass on it.

The reason my terriers dig is that the dogs are predators and they are hunting mice. They have incredible hearing and smell and can tell if a mouse has been there in the last few days. They’ll dispatch them quickly 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 so much the better. My dogs have had the thrill of hunting. When they have fasted too much 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 are just doing their job.

One final trait I want to mention is that dogs are scavengers and will eat almost anything. Some of my terrier 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 afterward 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 sound.

If you have a good understanding of your dog’s true nature and work with it rather than against it, you will find that there is less frustration for both you and your dog.

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