How Dog Psychology Can Benefit Both Pet and Owner

What if I told you that I could take virtually any dog, throw a piece of meat on the floor near him and be able to walk away from him and have him not only refrain from taking the food, but wait for me to give it to him. All without saying a single word. Impossible? Surely you could train a dog to do this, but to be able to do this with a strange dog?

I have done this with more than a few dogs that I have never met before. Some in a shelter who were considered dominant and in need of rehabilitation. The reason I am able to do this is because I understand the way the dog's mind works. His psychology. This is true for any species. Ever wonder why men and women have such a hard time getting along? Men have their own psychology, as do women. Cats have their own psychology as well. Cats are not the same as dogs. The best way to relate to somebody is when you understand their psychology. This is why introverts get along with other introverts. Someone who suffers with social anxiety is going to be thought of as awkward and possibly even strange by those who are more socially adept and outgoing. They're not going to understand why these people do not respond well and seem odd in social interactions with them. A psychologist however will have complete understanding of this, because he understands them on a psychological level.

In a nutshell, understanding Dog Psychology helps you to not only communicate better with your pet but also have a much deeper bond with your pet. One of the most common things I hear people say about their pets (not just dogs, but also cats) is that they think they are a person. I assure you that your pets do not think they are little people. Your dog very much knows he is a dog.

A lot of times what people say are that they have to train the dog and as such, the dog will become better behaved. What really happens is that the dog learns how to obey commands, and in getting older it calms down quite a bit. Some dogs however exhibit problems such as being escape artists, biting through their crates, tearing up things in the house, chewing and destroying household items and also barking or whining loudly all day long.

Why does this happen? What makes some dogs different than others? Well for one dogs have different energy levels, just like humans. Some dogs are couch potatoes while others are star athletes. Some people will tell you "Well I have a big yard. He can run around all day long." Okay, well consider this. Think of taking a star athlete and locking him in a small apartment all day, every day, with nothing to do. He would be driven mad. Now think of locking the same athlete in a ten bedroom mansion with a large outdoor area. He is still trapped. There is this whole world going on outside of the area he is locked in that he can never explore.

The whole idea is that dogs really do need more than learning how to follow commands. They need a leader for one-- One who is calm and not angry. A true leader has people follow him because he exudes natural leadership, not because he intimidates his followers into following him. Dogs mirror us. If you are nervous, confused, upset or angry, your dog is going to misbehave or adopt other behavioral problems.

Small dogs are notorious for being aggressive or having other behavior problems. I can almost always tell when a small dog has behavior problems because the owner is always holding the dog in his arms and caressing the dog's head. Small dogs are often carried everywhere and often picked up and coddled after a negative incident with another dog or human. This coddling reinforces the behavior in the dog. In a way it is telling the dog "It's okay to behave this way. Please, continue doing it."

I said before that dogs need a leader. Dogs travel in packs in the wild and there is always a leader of the pack. All the rest are followers. Nature is really good at keeping things balanced, and as such, there are a lot more pack followers than pack leaders. That is, a lot more dogs are born followers than leaders. The ones who are born leaders are tougher to handle. Think of it in terms of horses: A stallion verses your average gentle horse. The stallion requires a much more experienced rider. If a pack doesn't have a leader, one of the dogs will try to take that position. This is what often time happens in the home. The human is seen as weak because of mistakes in body language and behavior and not understanding the dog's verbal and non-verbal cues, and the dog will try to take the role of the leader. The problem is most dogs are not born to be leaders and are not good at it, and also it is not normal for the pack to be separated and obviously the dog has no control over this. This leads to separation anxiety and all those eaten up couches.

These are only several of dozens of examples of why dogs misbehave and are not understood by their owners, and how understanding dog psychology can greatly enhance the relationship between dog and dog owner. There are many, many others.

The philosophy I use with dogs is called Cesar's Way. It is the way of Cesar Millan-- the Dog Whisperer whose show you may have seen on the National Geographic Channel. However, as with most things, Cesar's Way is not some magic bullet that one man discovered on his own that nobody else knew. Have you ever witnessed a dog living on a farm and how it can be kept off leash and it will never stray away from the owner, or never run amuck or cause problems? That is because it is a well-balanced dog due to living on a farm. Dogs on farms have jobs. They herd the cattle, they do other things. They are disciplined and they work every day. They also receive very little affection. When they do receive affection it is after all the work is done and the day is over, because the dog isn't the only one working during the day! Have you ever seen a service-dog? They often have a visible sign on them that says "Please do not give me affection" because they are performing a very important job! Yet they remain well balanced and extremely well behaved. Affection is not the problem; The problem is the lack of the other two ingredients-- Exercise and Discipline. However, in the two latter cases Cesar's Way is not used but it achieves the same thing. It is very similar to how practicing Tai Chi will achieve the same mental state as practicing Yoga or other forms of meditation. They are all quite different yet they take you to the same place. Cesar's Way is but one way of achieving this balance, and if you have the right dog for you energy wise, you will minimize the behavioral problems you have with your dog. Cesar's Way is not a method of dog training, but it will help you get more creative in your dog training endeavors. Cesar's Way emphasizes that no way is wrong so long as it does not harm the dog.

In my opinion, having an understanding of dog psychology and what makes a dog well-balanced is an extremely important part of being a dog owner. For more information on Cesar's Way, I recommend starting by reading he and Melissa Jo Peltier's book Cesar's Way. It is available on Amazon.com and at most major bookstores nationwide. If reading is not your forte, you can check out his Mastering Leadership DVD set.

I also recommend joining one of the Yahoo! groups (which there are about a dozen or so) dedicated to helping pet owners on various needs from behavioral problems to raw feeding. Here are links to the two main lists which can help you form a better relationship with your dog:

1. Problem Dogs– Yahoo Email list for Crisis response support (Primary Basic Level/Cesar 101) by using “Cesar’s Way” Series Books & Dog Whisperer TV program educational materials.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/DogWhispererFans/

2. Pack Leader Relationships Development - Yahoo Email list to work on relationships, energy, personal empowerment challenges which prevent us from being true Pack Leaders in our homes, work community and with family, friends or strangers using the “Be the Pack Leader” Leadership Book/DVDs.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/DogWhispererFans_Relationships/

Both of these lists have a lot of very knowledgeable, caring people on there who are more than happy to help you improve the relationship between you and your pet and they do it out of the goodness of their heart.

Sessions with Cesar is another option for those who may feel they need a little more than an e-mail list. Sessions With Cesar is a streamlined video course where Cesar himself teaches you how to overcome many problems that owners have with their pets. There are course tracks on Fear, Aggression, Dominance, Excitement and any other problem behaviors people experience with their pets.

Another great method that people new to dog psychology can use is the Nothing In Life Is Free method. This is an easy to implement, non-abrasive way to correct a lot of dog problems and also have the dog see you as the pack leader. I recommend putting your dog through doggie boot camp where as NILIF is implemented to the letter. Then as the dog starts to learn that you are the pack leader, then you can start to relax the rules a bit.