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What is the foundation for my training method?
I believe that the most important aspect of
communicating with a dog relies on understanding this incredibly unique species
for what it is; an artificially selected creature that has been made by
man in man’s image to work for and live with man. Your dog is not a dolphin.
He is not a little, furry human child, but he is not a wild animal, either.
Your dog is the result of purposeful selection of perhaps thousands of years.
The primary intent of that selection was to create an animal that could
peacefully cohabitate with human-beings and even to do his bidding. If we
disregard this important aspect of dog’s character we sell him short during his
training and management and leave him unhappy and socially, emotionally or
physically neglected.
Dogs are members of the canine family and most
experts now believe they are genetically most closely related to wolves. Wolves
live in social structures with a hierarchy that supports peace in the pack and
also provides for opportunities to shift the balance when members leave the
extended family. There is typically a dominate pair. All others in the family
group subordinate to them and also have their own hierarchy amongst themselves.
If the leaders die or leave the group, individuals that were once subordinate
can easily assume the dominate position, it is in their genetic code to do so.
If one watches a group of domestic dogs it is
not difficult to see the resemblance to their wild cousins. Dogs that live in
groups develop their own hierarchies and spend time challenging and also
enforcing them. They use different behaviors to make peace, challenge another
or remind a youngster her place in the pack. The similarities between wild
wolves and domestic dogs are fascinating.
We can speculate how early man began his
relationship with wild canines. The possibilities are numerous. Did man toss
bits of his evening meal into the bush to attract wolves that could then warn
the sleeping humans of impending danger? Did a young boy steal a wolf pup from
a den and take it home and raise it? Did a nomadic tribe come upon orphaned
pups and take them into their family? Regardless of how the pups were first
brought into the hominid community it probably goes without saying that those
individual animals that became overly dominant or vicious were banned or killed
and those that remained subordinate to their humans, perhaps even accompanying
them on hunts, were retained. That is one example of artificial selection; the
picking of individuals for breeding stock that is based on qualities that may
not have been imposed by nature, itself.
If we examine some of the unique breeds that now
serve man, thousands of years after early man first began to domesticate wolves;
we can see examples of the artificial selection that man placed on the breeding
and development of domestic dog as a species. Sight hounds, like
Greyhounds, Salukis or Borzois hunt for man using their extraordinary eye sight.
They take down the prey (often up to a mile away from their handler), but they
do not run into the bush and eat it for themselves. Instead, they offer it
up to their humans. Pointers, Setters, Flushers and Retrievers assist man
on the hunt using their sense of smell. They identifying game or actually
retrieve the fallen
birds. And like their sight hound cousins, they do not run off to consume the
fresh kill, choosing instead to fetch it back to their handlers. Herding
dogs like the Border Collie, Australian Cattle Dog or German Shepherd Dog move
livestock where man directs, yet again, they do not take an animal for their own
meals. And, the livestock guardian breeds like Great Pyrenees, Komondor and
Maramma can be left alone for weeks on end with thousands of sheep or goats to
protect their charges with their lives. If their humans do not provide for
them, they may hunt rodents for their own meals when they could choose the easy
route and take a newborn lamb or kid for a meal, instead.
All these situations are illustrations of
domestic dog’s incredible subordination to man. There are many other examples.
This compliance to human authority is genetically programmed into our current
dog breeds and was accomplished through strict artificial selection. While the
developers of domestic dog tried to eliminate from the population most
individuals that had a natural desire to dominate or harm humans, they left in
tact dog’s need to subordinate to a leader.
That is the basis of my communication with dogs.
I understand how stressful, difficult and sometimes even traumatic it is for a
pup to exist in a human pack that is dysfunctional from his perspective. The
pup is genetically programmed with an intense desire to subordinate to its
human. Unlike his wolf cousins, he does not possess the skills to assume the
leadership role when a leader is missing from the pack. So, when a dog exists
in a situation where no human is equipped to assume the headship role, he may
become terribly conflicted. He aches to exist in a hierarchical society where
someone, other than himself, is in charge. There is no leader. He does not
have the skills to become a leader, but there is such a need for him to have a
chief that he may make the attempt to assume the dominant position in the pack.
The human sees this as naughty, destructive, socially unacceptable behavior and
claims that there is something wrong with the dog. In fact, there is something
terribly wrong with the environment.
Some people object to the words “dominant” and
subordinate” when discussing dog training. I actually read an article by
someone who said she did not “believe in” subordination, which for me is like
not believing that trees exist in a forest. I’m not certain why some of the
contemporary trainers are so opposed to the concept of leadership. I think it
may stem from the misunderstanding that providing domestic dogs an environment
where they can feel comfortable with their position in the human family by
imposing good, fair, sound control, rules and guidance is somehow cruel. I
happen to believe that a home where the dog cannot rely on his humans to
assume the leadership role is very cruel from the dog’s perspective.
We should always remember that humans defined
this species by stripping from him some basic needs for survival (such as
assuming a leadership role when no leader is around) while leaving intact the
species intense need for sound hierarchy and fair leadership. You may not have
taken part in the development of the domestic canine species, but if you own one
you must assume stewardship of it. In so doing, you must be empathetic to its
desires and supportive of its needs.
© 2005 Tammie Rogers - all rights
reserved. For permission to reprint
email Tammie.
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