Dog Psychology 102

Most of us are familiar with Nobel prize winning behaviorist Ian Pavlov and his famous experiment affectionately know as Pavlov’s dog, but was he a dog behaviorist?  Was Pavlov the first of his kind dog psychologist or dog psychiatrist?

No, of course not.  Pavlov simply used a dog to prove that he could condition an animal to react in a certain way to a particular stimulus; which in his case was a dog drooling at the sound of a bell, but enough about that.  What we want to know is does such a thing as dog psychology or dog psychiatry really exist? Can a dog behaviorist look deep into the subconscious mind of the canine and extract meaningful intelligence to shape theories and conclusions on why a dog acts the way they do?

Maybe to a degree, but in my opinion, doubtful to the extents that are claimed.  Dogs want to please, we just need to show them how.

When I here the phrase dog psychology or dog psychiatry I conjure up images of a dog relaxing on a couch with a cross legged therapist asking about a the canine childhood experience.  It’s hard not to. There is however a plethora, love that word,  of information available on dog behavior some of which is essential while  some is simply what I would scientifically refer to as gibberish.

Is it Just Good Marketing?

Maybe the most well know dog behaviorist, thanks to the media, and of course Animal Planet is Cesar Milan, the famed “Dog Whisperer”, but even the iconic dog whisperer has his critics for his approach to dog behavior.  Are his antics just for the benefit of TV rankings and well placed marketing?…I wouldn’t go that far.
With this or any topic, when faced with doubt of any kind, it should be well recommended to defer to the “experts”, at least those that are more in the know the the average Joe (I’m a po-et and didn’t even know it).  There exists an American Academy of Veterinary Behaviorists, there are self proclaimed dog behaviorists and dog psychologists, I liked her description and there is even a college course for dog behavior if you are so inclined.  These people and organizations, however, don’t exist without there being truth behind their craft.

Maybe the most useful, even if you couldn’t care less about what or how your dog thinks, is this blog post which offers sound advise on how to identify an aggressive dog and what one should do if confronted.  A good read probably for anyone with children.  This notion is superseded by a clinic in Colorado that actually specializes with the most aggressive dogs in changing their behavior.

The Human Canine

The fact of the matter is that although most dog trainers, dog “whisperers”, if you will are the first to tell you that dogs are not human and shouldn’t be treated as such, I would contend that that may be true from a training sense, dog behavior is very closely related to human behavior.  If it weren’t, we wouldn’t have ways of even describing it, or describe it in scientific terms that are meaningless to the average person.  We relate to our dog because we understand their emotions and behaviors.

No, dogs aren’t human, but if you’ve owned one for any amount of time you can attribute dog behavior to the equivalent human behavior.  Fear, shyness, phobias, separation anxiety, aggression, disobedience, etc.  The list goes on.  As with people, we identify the behavior and treat it.  Sometimes the behaviors, be it dogs or people are just too extreme and we divorce the marriage.  Unfortunate?  Yes, but again, it’s the same for dogs and people.  As we saw earlier in this post, there are centers for extreme dog behavior much the same there is for people.  Instead of centers, we call those places jail or the psych ward.

4 Legged Children

My point is this: Although there is extreme merit in the diligent, caring and insightful work of dog behaviorists, dog psychologists, dog psychiatrists or whatever you prefer to call them, I would only call on their expert services for the extreme circumstance, not the normal every day one where your four legged friend just doesn’t listen.

Would you prefer some stranger come to your house and raise your children simply because you haven’t taken the time to bond with them, set boundaries, understand them, interact with them and most importantly maybe, respect them for who they are and allow them to respect you for who you are as the pack leader?  Well, when you put it like that…Hell No!

Nope, dogs aren’t human.  Lets face it, they can get away with walking on all fours and licking themselves in public, (I’m so jealous) but before spending that hard earned dollar on a dog behaviorist or on that dog psychology book, pay attention and bond with your dog and teach them how you want them to act before their insecurities do indeed become behavior problems in dogs.