Dog Behavior Workshop 1

Welcome to the first instalment of my Dog Behavior Workshop.

In the blogs that follow we will be discussing common K9 myths, doggy cognition and training plus much more! Enjoy!

Let's start with some myths and misconceptions:

Dogs Don't have feelings

Dogs Don't think

Dogs Think like humans

Dogs must be led through fear

Dogs are alpha and must be submitted

Dogs feel guilt

All of the above are FALSE statements, but many hold them to be true.

Facts and Truths:

Dogs think like DOGS!

Simple

Honest

Similar to a young child

Lead through love, understanding and respect.

Don't Anthropomorphize! This means placing human emotions on animals. EX: ("He pees on my bed while I'm gone because he's mad at me!")

Dogs cannot:

Be spiteful

Hateful

Mad at you

Guilty

Understand non tangibles

Dogs can:

Do math (you don't believe me? Take out 3 cookies from the cookie jar and give your dog 2!)

Rico the boarder collie is thought to be the smartest dog on earth. He knows the names of over 200 toys, learns new names quickly and is able to retain them and is able to pick out new and unfamiliar toys.

Duke University conducted a very interesting study on K9 cognition and came to find that dogs are the only species, other than human, that understands what a pointed finger means. Other animals including primates and dolphins look at your finger while a dog will follow the point and look in the direction you are indicating. They believe this comes from the thousands of years of domestication our furry friends have had.

QUIZ:

Your dog jumps on you because?

Your dog pees in the house because?

Your dog gets on your couch/bed because?

Your dog eats your couch because?

Your dog doesn't play well with others because?

Come back next time for the answers and more!