The Mysteries of Dog Behavior
The Dog Trainer explains the mysteries of dog behavior. Turns out — they’re just like us!
Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA
Behavior is always in flux, and that includes our dogs’ behavior – animals aren’t appliances, so it’s not like you can program them once and then you’re done. A behavior you haven’t seen for years, like shoe stealing, might suddenly reappear. Or Dogalini may experiment with a new behavior, and if it gets her something she wants, into the repertoire it goes. One day when he was about 6, my Juniper happened to bark while I was talking to a friend. We both turned to look at him – and, hey presto, we’d created a monster. Now, when Juni’s bored, he often drops a great big woof into the pool, and he almost always makes a splash.
It’s also normal for even well-trained behaviors to fall apart sometimes. Zippy always balances that biscuit on his nose perfectly, but wouldn’t you know it, the day you want to show off his mad trick skillz, he dumps the biscuit on the ground and snarfs it before you can say boo.
When is behavior change a cause for concern? Obviously, developing aggression or fear should be addressed ASAP. And abrupt behavior changes in adult and older dogs scream “Vet visit now!” But most of the ups and downs and sideways turns in our dogs’ behavior remind us that they’re real live individuals who grow and change and make mistakes. Kind of like us.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).