How to Raise the Perfect Dog!

Step 1: Go to your local toy store

Step 2: But a stuffed dog

Step 3: Bob's your uncle

Okay, so by now you've realised that this article has nothing to do with having the perfect dog. But don't go yet. The aim of this article is to offer some insight into why dogs "misbehave" and what can be done about it.

We expect a lot from our dogs - even more than we expect from our children. We expect them to understand us when we use a language they don’t speak, and many of us make no attempt to understand our dog’s language in return. We expect them to go to strange places with strange people and be immediately happy being left there. We expect them to tolerate ear pulls, tail pulls and being sat on by small children, we expect them to walk calmly by our side despite any manner of distractions going on, we expect them to come to us when we ask, exactly when we ask no matter what. We expect them to only go to the toilet where we tell them it’s okay.

But let's take a look at some scenarios in which a dog "misbehaves."

So you're sitting down in the lounge room watching your favourite television show, enjoying a tasty sandwich, when suddenly nature calls and you need the bathroom. You leave your sandwich on the coffee table where you assume it will be waiting for you when you return. But when you come back, you just see the last few crumbs disappearing into your dog's mouth. You're immediate thought pattern is "my dog is naughty. My dog just stole my sandwich." 

Let's take a look at the same scenario through your dog's mind now. 

You're owner is sitting down staring at the box where he keeps his tiny pet people and tiny pet animals and the occasional tiny pet vacuum cleaner (I'm referring to the television), and he's eating a sandwich that smells amazing! Then for some reason you're owner gets up and leaves half of the sandwich behind. "Awesome," you think to yourself, "he must not want the rest because he got up and left it behind. I'll just finish it off for him." 

Let's take a look at another scenario.

Your friend brings over their three year old child for a visit and you give the kid a cracker. The kid munches it for a bit and then holds it down by their side. Next thing you know, your dog comes up to the kid and steals the cracker right out of their hand. Then the kid starts crying because the dog took the cracker and so you get cross at your dog, tell him "bad dog" and put him outside.

From your dog's perspective;

A tiny human came to my house today. It offered me a biscuit which I gladly accepted. Then for some reason I got yelled at and put outside. I'm not really sure why though. Normally when people hold food down at my face level it means they are giving me a treat, I don't know why this time was any different.

Another scenario;

You come home from work to find your dog has raided the garbage bin and left a huge mess. "Bad Dog!"

In your dog's mind;

Hey cool, I found some food. It was yum!

Another one;

You walk in to find your wet muddy dog curled up on your new lounge. "Bad Dog!!!"

Your dog's perspective;

Hey neat. I found a super comfy place to take a nap.

Another one;

Your dog is barking ferociously at the fence every time someone walks by. Your dog is a "nuisance barker."

Your dog's perspective;

There's a stranger on the other side of the fence. I don't know them. They could be a threat. "Don't come in, don't come in, don't come in, go away go away go away." (Person on other side of the fence keeps walking until they are out of sight.) "Phew, lucky I was here to stop them coming in."

Okay, last one I promise, but honestly, I could fill a book with them;

Your dog is out the front when your neighbour's cat strolls by. Your dog sees it and immediately gives chase. Chaos ensues. You're chasing your dog trying to call him off, the cat is meowing in distress, your neighbour is chasing you chasing your dog chasing the cat yelling at you about keeping your dog under control and blah blah blah. Your dog is a VERY BAD DOG!

Your dog's perspective;

I was out the front with my human and all of a sudden I spotted my next meal just strolling by. Lucky I have ninja reflexes because I immediately gave chase. Seconds matter when you're hunting prey. My human was trying to catch it too, but he's a lot slower than me. Lucky he's got me. Another human was trying to catch the prey as well but she was really slow. Looked like it was going to be all mine.

So now you're probably thinking that I'm crazy if I think we should all just let our dogs steal food from babies, put mud all over our furniture and chase cats, however I'm not saying that we should allow these behaviours. What I am saying, is that what owners perceive as "misbehaviour" is actually just dogs exhibiting dog behaviour. When a dog finds food, they eat it, when a dog finds a comfy resting spot, they take a nap, when a potential threat tries to enter the dog's territory, they act to protect it, when a dog sees a potential meal, they hunt it. It's perplexing and yet almost hilarious when you think about it; we want dogs, but we don't want them to act like dogs.

We need to stop labeling our dogs as 'naughty.' It only makes it easier to justify punishing them. Dogs aren't naughty, they are just being dogs! No dog is perfect, just like no human is perfect, so we need to stop expecting them to be.  

When dealing with behaviours that you deem inappropriate, it's important to firstly give your dog a suitable outlet for this behaviour so that he can still fulfill his doggy needs. For example, if your dog chases cats, give them something else to chase instead (such as a ball, frisbee or flirt pole) and teach them a solid recall so that they will come away from chasing something. If your dog likes to take a nap on the couch, get them their own super comfy dog bed and teach them to lie on it using positive reinforcement. If your dog likes to find food and eat it, hide their regular meals for them to find, teach them a solid leave it cue, and don't leave food within your dog's reach. It's all well and good to train a dog not to do something, but your dog still needs to be a dog, so make sure that you give them an alternative outlet for their doggy behaviours. And when your dog makes a mistake, think about how you could set him up for better success next time.

And next time your dog "misbehaves," cut them some slack, because after all, if you didn't want your dog to do dog things, you should have gone to Toys R Us!