Dog Behaviourist

Dog Behaviour Problems

DID YOU KNOW There is no ALPHA, PECKING ORDER, HIERARCHY or DOMINATION. You do not need to shout at your dog or to physically punish your dog. From a dogs point of view they've done nothing wrong. Dogs don't misbehave and they're never naughty. Dogs will only do something if there's something in it for them.

Fear and survival in dogs

Dogs have a natural nervous disposition when it comes to experiencing new things, it is part of their normal survival instinct to protect themselves and their servival resources.  All dogs are fearful, without fear they wouldn't survive. All dog behaviour leads back to the survival instinct, it's the reason they do anything, for example, if they react to other dogs it's because they feal threatened in some way.

When dogs show aggression towards people or other dogs it is a reflex survival mechanism, there is no thought process involved, it's simply a reflex response to a perceived life threatening situation from the dogs point of view..

Insecurity in dogs

Dogs can suffer from emotional problems brought on by insecurity, resulting in; for example, aggression, reactivity on lead, destructive chewing or excessive barking etc. Dogs need to know they are secure.

All dogs suffer from varying levels of insecurity and anxiety, from the hardly noticeable to the extreme. Whether its a new pup, a rescue dog or your family dog, they need to understand you. They need to be comfortable and to know they are safe secure with regular survival recourses being available.

Association

Dogs develop associations because of experiences in life. They associate sounds and situations with good or bad experiences, for example, a dog may associate meeting other dogs negatively after feeling scared or being attacked/threatened when meeting other dogs. The sound of a knock at the door can be associated with alarm or panic because of how people around the dogs react to the event. Dogs have very little memory so instead of remembering things like humans do, they associate events and sounds with positive or negative experiences.