Dogs

Posted on February 16, 2004 23:0 PM EST

Hello Friends,

I would like to write about a subject that is quite frequently on my mind - dogs.

I have often heard people say that man is a social being. No doubt man is a social being, but the way in which it is said seems to imply that man has exclusive right to a social structure. But the truth is that there are lots of others who are also social beings like women, ants, dolphins, bees, almost all herbivorous wild animals, and lots of other animals including, wolves and the descendants of wolves, the dogs. And many of them have a much better social structure than men - even if they may not be as evolved mentally.

Well, having made that point, I would not like to give you the standard lines about the joys of having a dog in the house, the absolute devotion and friendship of these creatures, etc. I would rather concentrate on those points which unfortunately don’t find adequate mention in most general discussions about dogs.

Before we go further, let’s all remember that dogs have evolved from wolves and, like wolves, dogs are pack animals in the wild. Now on to the first point.

The first point is about the way you the dog thinks of you and you think of the dog. Always remember that a dog looks on you and your family as other dogs of the pack. So, we should not reciprocate and treat the dog as a human child. I mean, a dog deserves and should be given the same amount of love and care that are given to children, but as it grows, you should not expect it to understand what’s good behavior and bad behavior the way you would expect a human child to. The dog is much more sensitive than humans, very impressionable, and starts learning from the day it’s born. Consciously or unconsciously, it continuously learns from us. So, we must be very careful how we behave around and treat young dogs.

The second point is about the dog’s position in the pack, in the family. Most pack animals exhibit a very strict hierarchy in the pack - wolves and dogs are no exceptions. A pack is generally made of one alpha male, it’s mate an alpha female and lots of other lesser animals. The lowest member of the pack is called the omega. Every member has a distinct role to play in the pack, and the dominance of the alpha is absolute, once he’s established himself as alpha. The alpha member doesn’t become an alpha member just like that, or by birth - it has to practical fight for that position from a very young age. Most of the time, the fight is psychological rather than physical. It’s instinctual for dogs, which are also very territorial, protective and possessive animals to try and dominate. A dog in a family, especially a big dog like a German Shepherd or a Great Dane could be a time bomb waiting to explode if allowed to get away with the dominant behavior during puppyhood.

I’ve mentioned a dog looks at us like members of a pack - as such, it is very important for the human family members to establish themselves higher up in the hierarchy than the dog. There are many ways of doing it, and it should be done from the very first day the pup comes to your house, no matter how young it is. Some of the ways of establishing dominance include: rolling over the dog on it’s back and scratching it’s tummy, holding him between your hands or legs and grooming it’s neck from behind, handling it’s food bowl, etc. These things should never be tried on an adult dog which is unfamiliar with these treatments. Rather, these things should be done right from puppyhood.

There will definitely come a day, when the puppy will challenge you when you try to do this, even if you’ve been doing it from the day you got the puppy. When there is even a slight hint of challenge there must be immediate and firm correction. Correction should always be consistent with the puppy - meaning what is bad behavior today should always be bad behavior. You can’t allow the puppy to sleep on the sofa today and punish it when it does the same thing tomorrow - you may not be consistent in your personal life, but please, please be consistent with your dog, always.

There are many ways of correcting dog - but it’s important to remember that correction doesn’t mean hitting the dog or causing it pain or harm. For young puppies, a rough shout/growl should suffice. If that doesn’t work and you really want to give a firm correction, do what parent dogs do to puppies. Very very carefully, catch hold of the scruff of the puppies neck, very gently lift or shake the puppy - it will squeal, carefully release it. When I mention ‘carefully’ and ‘gently’, I don’t mean slowly. This should be done as soon as you see the puppy doing something you don’t want it to do (including challenge you dominance).

Finally these talks of dominance should not puff up our ego or affect our humility. We should always remember that there are few things about dogs that make them better “persons” than we humans will ever be. Best wishes to all dogs and their families. Thank you.