Basic Training Pt. 1 : Animalistic Behaviors

While Lily was a particularly obstinate dog in her training, Labradors in general catch on quickly with many basic training exercises. As I mentioned before, she had trouble with even the most rudimentary doggy obedience exercises. To start I will go over some basic animalistic behaviors of dogs dating back to their wild and misunderstood ancestors.

In the not too distant past, and a reoccurring present thanks to modern conservation, there roamed pack of wolves and wild dogs. One of the most basic but often overlooked traits in dogs (as well as humans) is a hierarchy system in which there is a constant passive assertive "battle" to be the top dog or alpha. I say passive assertive because while sometimes fights do breakout between a pack, most of the hierarchy stays in place through body language and a passive assertive dominance. Every canine in a pack has his or her place. There is nearly always a dominant alpha dog or an alpha mating pair (however one always still has the top position) in a pack either wild or domesticated. The leader provides for the pack, eats first, and leads the pack to food and water. Lower dogs will avert their gaze, lick the leaders face, lay on their backs, and/or even wet themselves in a preservative submission.

Humans have a similar hierarchy. In most households there is a leader. Not usually an actively proclaimed leader, but look at any family and one can tell who is in charge of the final decisions. Most families it is the father who is in charge. Sometimes if the father cannot fulfill his purposes the mother may take over running the household. In even worse situations, which I plan to come back to in future posts, if the parents cannot advocate their leadership, the children will take over through instinct. This creates little controlling monsters that fight desperately to keep their power. Thus why some children are far more difficult to reprimand.

Having an alpha dog in one's household can be very difficult to break. This is, in my opinion, the number one reason a dog will act out in bad behavior. Dogs are happy to have rules in their lives. It's natural. The whole "wild and free" idea about wolves is true in the state of location, yet every dog in the pack still follows the leader's rules.

In a human to dog relationship, you MUST be passive assertive in all facets of interaction. As stated earlier, a dog is always competing to be the leader. A better way to say it might be, a dog will take over leadership if they think they can do a better job than their owners. Signs of this would be food aggressiveness, direct disobedience, uncontrollable hyperactivity, excessive chewing, and ferocity toward other dogs or animals.