Below are some of the most common myths about dog training and behavior.
MYTH #1: DOGS ARE PACK ANIMALS
Original beliefs about dogs as pack animals was based on their descendance from wolves. However, recent observations of free-roaming dog populations throughout the world have revealed that dogs are more scavengers than predators, and therefore live much more solitary lives than wolves. After all, it does not benefit a scavenger to share small amounts of food with a large group of other animals.
Dogs are social animals and will gather in groups (generally around available food sources such as garbage dumps), however, the groups are loosely structured with animals joining and leaving randomly and frequently, a trait not found in wolf packs. Further, unlike wolves, male dogs do not stay with the female after mating and do not assist in the care and rasing of the pups.
In wolf packs, the individuals are related, most often being the breeding pair (formerly called "alpha") and their offspring. The pups stay with the pack until 2-3 years of age, at which point they leave to find mates and form their own packs. Any wolf that survives long enough to mate is an 'alpha'.
It is because of their social nature that domestic dogs fit so well into our families. However, all evidence indicates that dogs are not, in fact, pack animals.
This common misunderstanding has been used to justify force, fear and pain as "training" methods, which is why it is so important for dog owners to understand the difference between myth and fact.
Social Behavior In Dogs
What Ever Happened to the Term Alpha Wolf? PDF
MYTH #2: POSITIVE TRAINING DOESN'T WORK ON DOMINANT DOGS
Back when we didn't have the understanding of dog behavior that we have today, people used the word "dominant" to describe a number of behavior problems. Here, we will address the most common uses of the word and why they contributed to this myth.
a) Dominant = aggressive. This common myth stems from a lack of understanding of stress in dogs. When a dog is in a situation where the sympathetic nervous system is engaged (fight or flight), the digestive system shuts down to divert all energy to the muscles for survival. This is what animal trainers call over-threshold. So, if one tries to feed a dog treats while it is over-threshold, the dog will not eat. This does not mean that reward-based methods are not effective, but that they are being applied incorrectly. This often happens when owners or inept trainers expose the dog to a problem situation, wait for it to react and then attempt to train, either with punishment or reward.
Experienced behavior professionals understand the importance of keeping a dog under-threshold, which involves exposing the dog to the person, dog or object that triggers the problem behavior at an intensity at which the dog does not react with fear or aggression. This allows trainers to build the dog's tolerance to the scenario and train the dog to perform a different behavior, such as look at the owner, heel or even choose to turn away from the situation. By rewarding the dog for doing these alternate behaviors, the dog is given another option in that situation, which is highly rewarding, changing the dog's association from negative to positive.
b) Dominant = stubborn. Some breeds were previously considered too dominant or stubborn to train. These breeds include most terriers, hounds and northern breeds, such as Huskies and Malamutes. These highly intelligent dogs just didn't respond well to forceful training methods. With the introduction of reward-based training methods, these dogs are now competing in obedience, agility and other competitions. Whether the reward is food or play (or, in the case of many hounds, the freedom to sniff the ground), these dogs are learning that it is working for their owner that gets them the good things in life.
MYTH #3: CERTAIN BREEDS ARE FRIENDLY/ CERTAIN BREEDS ARE AGGRESSIVE
This myth, alone, could justify its own website. When it comes to dogs and behavior, there is no such thing as "always" or "never", except to say that breed is never an indication of bite probability.
There are many causes for aggressive behavior in dogs, including lack of early socialization, traumatic experience, genetics (fearful behavior is passed from parents to puppies), stress and fear due to illness or injury, and more.
The only indicator of bite probability is the dog's behavior and, more specifically, the dog's body language. Most dogs will give numerous indicators of their discomfort well before biting.
Dog Body Language Diagrams
Body Language in Dogs
MYTH #4: TUG-OF-WAR CAUSES AGGRESSION
Not only is this not true, but in addition to being an excellent training reward, tug games teach dogs self-control and bite inhibition!
A recent study showed that owners who played tug games with their dogs did not experience any problem behaviors.
To Tug or Not to Tug: Seriously? That's Still a Question?
MYTH #5: DOMINANCE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF AGGRESSION
Hundreds, if not thousands, of websites still promote this outdated belief. Much like the "pack animal" theory, this is what was considered conventional wisdom.
Fear and stress are now known to be the most common cause of aggressive behavior in dogs. Aggression directed towards the dog's owner is considered conflict-related, as the dog is conflicted about something the owner is doing and has learned to use aggression to stop the owner's behavior.
Causes of Canine Aggression
Canine Conflict Aggression
Canine Conflict-Related Aggression
MYTH #6: DOGS MUST BE PUNISHED FOR GROWLING
Aggressive displays, such as growling, barking, showing teeth, etc., are normal communicative behaviors in all dogs. Growling is a normal form of communication in dogs that means “I don’t like what you’re doing, please move away.”
Between dogs, growling often diffuses tense situations and prevents fights, as another dog will often avoid a growling dog. Dogs have the same survival instinct as most other animals and avoiding conflict means increased chances for survival.
Punishing a growling dog may stop the growling in the moment, but it does not address the root cause of the growl. It only taught the dog not to growl in that situation. Dogs don't bite when a growl will do, but dogs that bite without warning are very dangerous animals.
Further, the dog may learn that growling does not work, and may feel the need to escalate to more obvious forms of communication, such as biting. Now the dog has learned not to waste time growling, because biting achieves the desired results.
The best approach is to determine what caused the dog to growl, then work with a professional using non-aversive, positive methods to increase the dog's tolerance and change their association in that situation.
MYTH #7: PETTING A FRIGHTENED DOG REWARDS THE FEAR
While there are things that some owners do that can contribute to a dog's fear, petting has not been shown to be one of them.
Can Fear be Rewarded?
We're Not Rewarding Fear
MYTH #8: PUPPIES SHOULD BE ISOLATED UNTIL THEY HAVE COMPLETED THEIR VACCINATIONS
One of the most detrimental myths still being perpetuated today. Puppies that are not exposed to the world until 16 weeks or, worse, 6 months of age, are significantly more likely to be fearful or aggressive. More dogs die due to behavior-related euthanasia or in shelters because of lack of socialization than all other communicable illnesses, combined.
Early socialization can be accomplished without unnecessary risk to the health of the puppy.
Puppy Information
MYTH #9: ONCE A DOG TASTES BLOOD, IT WILL ALWAYS BITE
As stated in Myth #6, once dogs learn that biting works, they may use it more often if growling or even avoiding doesn't work in specific situations, especially if the owners fail to address the cause of the biting.
However, this is not because they have developed a taste for human blood any more than humans who eat steak suddenly develop a desire to slaughter cattle.
MYTH #10: WHEN ALL OTHER TRAINING ATTEMPTS FAIL, SHOCK COLLARS WILL WORK
This myth is generated by the pet supply industry which lists shock collars under "Training Aides" and advertises higher-voltage collars for "stubborn dogs."
The fact is that, for most dogs, a shock collar may temporarily interrupt or suppress a problem behavior. If the dog is barking, a shock collar will interrupt the barking. The difference is that problem behaviors are a symptom. Suppressing the symptom does not cure the dog's behavior any more than cold medicine cures the common cold.
Shock collars seem to offer instant solutions at first, but eventually will fail as the dog either becomes desensitized, requiring greater and greater levels of shock to achieve the same results, or the dog's association to the situations that caused the problem behavior in the first place become so negative that the problem behavior increases.
At least 25% of all aggression cases we see have tried a shock collar on their dog before calling us. Almost all of them report an increase in aggressive behavior within 2-3 months.
Review of Current Research on Shock Collars
Training Dogs with the Help of a Shock Collar: Short and Long-term Effects
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