BEHAVIOR
how dogs do NOT learn—at least, they don’t learn good things
sympathetic nervous system
When dogs have their freeze-fight-flight-fawn system activated, they are acting out of instinct, not making free choices about their behavior. Most dogs would flee if they could but have learned that they cannot get sufficient distance quickly enough because they are captive (fences, leashes, doors, etc. keep dogs from moving away when they need to). Our first goal when we are ready to train is to figure out how to keep our dog from going “underwater” into survival mode behaviorally.
basic needs
When the dog has basic needs that are not met, we may experience problems with the dog’s ability to learn and perform basic skills. There are different ways to think about these basic needs—they are generally a network of interconnected needs when we are thinking about human needs, and there is no reason we should not think of animals’ needs in a similar way. If you have heard of the “FIVE FREEDOMS”, this is a similar concept.
Most commonly, needs are still discussed as a “hierarchy” from most to least important for survival. When we meet all the dog’s needs, they move from barely surviving to thriving. Please know that social needs can be met even for the many dogs that do not want to play with most unknown dogs. Generally we want to check these boxes to start:
*quality nutrition
*physical health
*quality sleep
*cardiovascular exercise
*mental stimulation
*social interaction/stimulation
*autonomy/security
*pain
If a dog is in physical pain, this can be a real roadblock in our training. Dogs cope with pain with minimal signs that they are uncomfortable. Here is an assessment tool. Something as simple as an ear infection, allergies or a cracked tooth can create problem behaviors: this is because chronic pain can interrupt sleep and increase irritability; while intermittent pain can cause associational learning that is not healthy (the mail carrier closing the mailbox causes infected ears to hurt = people walking past the house are scary).
This is why we want to make sure we have the correct training gear for our dogs as well: using ill-fitted harnesses or collars only on dogs when they are still learning how to move safely with us can cause pain, frustration and sometimes physical damage. The dog’s neck is a delicate thing. Here is more detail on what can happen.
