Hi everyone, this is Lindsey at Felix and Fido 603. Our Ten-Minute Training Talk this week is about the mismatch between modern life and dog life.
Last week I gave you an overview of the history of dogs and people over the last 30,000 years and I talked about 3 really big shifts in our lives with dogs (from starting to become tame, to the development of breed groups with specific jobs, to being seen as pets). This week I wanted to explore why it matters and how these changes might be responsible for our dog's behavior and our perception about their behavior.
So, Let's talk a little about the kinds of behavior concerns that are often upsetting to pet owners (and sometimes society at large). I want to talk about 3 ideas and think about how modern-day life impacts those categories. OK, so these three broads are…. “Doggie ”, Mental State, and Relationship Imbalance.
I did a google search, and here is what I came up with as some of the most common “dog behaviors” that people report to trainers, vets and shelter staff: As I go through this list I want you to imagine this behavior hundreds of years ago, 100 years ago and then today. #1 Barking, #2 Pulling of the leash and “leash reactivity”, #3 Digging, #4 Chewing, #5 Begging, #6 Stealing things/ Counter Surfing, #7 Jumping up, #8 House training or marking behaviors, #9 resource guarding and #10 separation anxiety.
A lot of these are the very things that turned wolves into dogs (like stealing and counter surfing– which is really just foraging and scavenging– the exact behaviors that brought dogs to human camps),
A lot of these behaviors are things that were valuable to people in previous eras. For instance, Barking (especially barking at people who weren’t family members coming to the camp) was really important and valuable thing for people. But is less desirable now in the time of amazon and door dash deliveries.
Some are behaviors are breed-type behaviors (like herding in collies and digging in terriers) that we bred in for specific jobs, but that no longer really fit well in modern life.
Other behaviors like resource guarding, chewing things, even house training were less problematic to people until recently, because dogs (and their people) spent a lot more time outside in large spaces where these behaviors didn’t matter.
A lot of the time, the best way to deal with these “doggie” and “breed type” behaviors is to “make space for it”. As Max Randell, the owner of MK9Plus, says, “Don’t De-Dog the Dog”. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean letting you dog do run the household– that’s where relationship comes into the picture. But it does mean having reasonable expectations and curating appropriate ways for your dog to fulfill their “doggie behavior needs”. These are often called “enrichment” and we will have a whole 10-minute talk on this idea in a few weeks.
Now, sometimes a dog will exhibit behaviors that are beyond just the normal doggie behaviors. You might sense that not only are you upset by the behavior, but it seems like the dog himself is unsettled as well. These are behaviors that indicate that the dog is experiencing dysregulation in their mental state. The modern world takes its toll on our own mental state, so we probably shouldn’t be surprised that it impacts our dogs as well. Much of my master’s thesis work centered on the impact of nature on the social and emotional wellbeing of people. Dogs, being less able to rationalize, likely have an even greater need for nature. They often experience a greater separation from the experiences of the natural world and more confinement away from nature when compared to their humans. Research suggests that perhaps 30% of American humans will experience clinical anxiety in their lifetimes and that up to 70% of dogs experience some form of anxiety (many of these have specific triggers like fireworks, confinement, or travel– stressors that are more common in the modern world!).
We’ll talk about it more in future 10-minute training talks, but 2 of the best ways to help improve your dog’s mental state are (1) let them dog (and also do things that involve their natural breed type instincts. And also let them spend time in nature sniffing and moving– FYI this is also the best thing you can do for your own mental state too– so win-win!
The last big factor to consider is relationships. This one can be a bit loaded! Our modern culture tells us that our relationship with our dogs should be all sunshine and roses. Saying like “Dogs are man’s best friend”, “a dog is love” and you can’t buy love, but you can buy a dog and that’s kind of the same thing” give the impression that a perfect, loving relationship with your dog is a given– or something must be horribly wrong with you. But this is ridiculous! We are bringing a whole other species into our homes! They have their own needs and want and ways of being. A wonderful relationship is not a given. Just like any other relationship there will be differences of opinion, differences of needs, communication misunderstandings and a whole lot of confusion.
Our idea of the role of our relationship has changed over time as well. In the past dogs have sometimes been seen as animals that man had “dominion over”, sometimes seen as nuisances and sometimes seen as working partners. Now they are generally seen as “pets” (animals who are taken care of but have very little autonomy) and sometimes “Furbabies”-- which is perhaps an exaggerated version of pet with even more doting, but also less autonomy. In truth research shows that our relationships with our modern-day dogs closely mirrors that of parent and child. Owner- guardian and dog dyads have similar attachment styles and parenting styles (and outcomes) to what is seen in parent child relationships. The research of this is really interesting and we'll come back to it another day, but for now know that just like children, dogs do best when caregivers and warm and responsive but also set clear reasonable boundaries. In other words, relationships with dogs require work and understanding, just like any other relationship!
There you have it three big things expectations, mental state, and relationship that have drastically changed for our dogs in modern world. In many ways modern life is a mismatch for our dog's genetic needs– ours too! So cut your dog a little slack– cut yourself a little slack too! And then go for a walk and spend some time in a quiet space in nature with your dog!