Is it ever the dogs fault ?

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tessybear

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Have been musing this over and discussing it with my sister, is a behavioral issue ever the dogs fault ? I said no surely not, for example a friend has a dog who have chewed all of their chairs to bits, ripped the kitchen floor up and runs away if any door is left open. To me that isn't the dogs fault, its the humans for not training it correctly.

Dog aggression surely that comes from incorrect socialisation as a puppy ? But then there are some cases when a traumatic experience leads to dog aggression.

What are your views on this :)
 
I think a lot of people get dogs / puppies with no idea about how to train them or even that training is required at all. So puppy gets totally spoilt and treated like a toy or a baby. Then it grows and it's less cute boisterous and out of control. So yes I would blame the owners in most cases when the dog misbehaves ..
 
The majority of behaviours that we as humans don't want are simply dogs being dogs. They don't know our rules unless we teach them (train them) so how can they be blamed for not abiding by those rules? (Same as horses being "naughty"). There are some survival behaviours that are hard wired into them, such as chasing, territory defending, separation anxiety etc. and there are some behaviours that are enhanced by bad breeding, for appearance instead of temperament. Aggression can be one of those - dogs who opt for fight instead of flight every time - but it can also be trained into them, either deliberately or accidentally. Dogs in their natural environment as opposed to our human artificial one very rarely fight to the death, it is counterproductive in the survival of their genes or their species. They can squabble over resources, but soon decide who is the victor based on posturing and noise levels, maybe a few bloody ears etc.
Socialisation reduced the anxiety from new experiences, but if you do have a dog who is genetically prone to aggression over issues, you can train a flight response as an alternative - and then allow them to run away by not restraining or cornering them.
The most difficult ones for behaviourists to deal with are those who give no warning - the warning period is an opportunity to modify the behaviour which follows.
 
My dog destroying the kitchen door to open it is certainly his fault! How can I train him out of that one when he only does it when I'm not there? Although double bolts on the other side have at least stopped him getting it open then turning the bin over and raiding MY chocolate cupboard, the little beggar! :biggrin3:
 
The vast, vast majority of issues are cause by us, the dogs tell their own stories.
Yes, the dog may have eaten your Jimmy Choos, but you left them within reach of the dog.
Also, as mentioned, it is really hard to train a dog to not do something, when you are not in the room with it.

Some dogs are genetically inclined to be, or as a result of past experiences can be aggressive. That also has human roots - the dog was bred from those lines in the first place....the human has a duty to manage the aggression etc.

I've met some absolute ******* of dogs, but it's usually the human's fault for not managing or modifying the behaviour or doing the responsible thing and PTS.
 
Sadly, too many dogs are purchased on their looks or on a whim. The keeping of dogs as pets is a modern trend. In the past, dogs were kept because they served a purpose and were not simply fashion accessories or child substitutes. Even the small toy dogs often had a purpose in keeping their owner's hands warm!

A dog is bred for several hundred years to do a job of work, then it is expected to take on the role of the family pet. The next thing we are reading posts on here saying the dog does this or that and how can they be trained to stop it?

Selectively breeding an animal to do a job is one thing but buying one and expecting it to act contrary to it's nature is, in my opinion, totally irresponsible.
 
A well bred dog (and interpret that how you will! Smiley face!) if worked hard and mentally stimulated will rarely, if ever, IMO cause problems of any kind.
 
tessybear said:
Have been musing this over and discussing it with my sister, is a behavioral issue ever the dogs fault ? I said no surely not, .......

Dog aggression surely that comes from incorrect socialisation as a puppy ? But then there are some cases when a traumatic experience leads to dog aggression.

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Click to expand...

I've made five focused and serious attempts to reply to this thread, and scrubbed out all of them. :)

Alec.
 
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