Perfectly Matched

True or false? A dog’s behavior is only determined by how he has been raised.

A portion of the general public will say true.

But it is false, and ‘only’ is the problematic word here. If we changed it to ‘also’ we’d get it right. Dogs’ behavior is influenced by how they are raised, but genetics plays a role in a big way. Yes, there is this quintessential Dog, that core biogrammar that dictates how Canis familiaris (lets leave ‘lupus’ out because dogs aren’t wolves and haven’t been for a long time) function as a species, but today’s dogs are not all the same. Dogs have been deliberately bred for function, and that they behave accordingly shouldn’t need explaining. Not brand new behaviors, but enhancements of the ones that are of a dog’s natural repertoire. Today we have dogs who come with present-at-birth preferences and dislikes for certain activities, situations, environmental encounters. Dogs with a higher dopamine baseline, which means they are generally more stimulation seeking. Dogs who have a heightened sensitivity to sound, scent, or motion and are then more easily overstimulated by noise, odor, and animation. Dogs who flash react when something moves on the ground or in the air. Dogs who feel good when they can bite, or bite and shake, or jump, or control with their eyes, or bark. There are variations of social behavior by breed alone: dogs who want to be near you or farther away; want to be with people more than dogs or the other way around.

Hardwired tendencies can be significant—something the dog-purchasing public typically minimizes with the result that they end up with a personality they hadn’t calculated for. Being mismatched is where trouble begins. The lucky dogs get a second chance in a more suited for them home. On that note, no one should judge someone who decides to re-home their pooch for whatever reason. What’s best for the dog should always be our collective priority, and sometimes that is a change in address. That’s how we got our Davie at the age of 16 weeks—the perfect match for us despite behavioral problems she exhibited. Davie was our first herder and got us hooked on the herding group. We were forever thankful that her first family realized that they were over their heads with that puppy.

The unlucky dogs live a miserable life without social inclusion, are bounced around from place to place, are treated harshly, or are euthanized. Countless dogs suffer, and not everyone who throws in the towel is callous. Often owners hang in there for months or years, but at one point just can’t do it any longer. I am compassionate with them, but more so with the dog who could have had a shot at a good life in the right for her home.

Sad endings don’t have to happen when people make the right decisions before they get a dog. That requires to be informed. Elaborating on all the many breeds we have is too expansive for this article, but I’ll give you a broad idea of the ones I lived with, or worked with enough times to establish baselines and patterns. For further reading, check out Kim Brophey’s “Meet Your Dog”.

Any dog can learn anything, but what is learned more easily is nature, and with working lines the expressions are more pronounced. I once worked with a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever who fixated on every tall flower, waiting for it to move. When it did she went for it: barking and dancing = tolling. Her targeting moving plants was rather comical, but it can be a big problem when the genetic bias is toward unfamiliar people or other dogs. That is when the ‘aggressive’ label is unfairly assigned. I do not believe that dogs are aggressive by breed alone, but it can seem that way because the have dogs who, through intentional selection, right out of the gate have a bias to certain stimuli they will react to. In other words, that specific environmental encounter isn’t neutral for this dog, but she has a heightened awareness toward it and performs the preset at birth action without pre-investigation. Think about a terrier and rodents. Furthermore, the dog will actively seek these stimuli in order to be able to act on her nature.

Trouble for rookie owners doesn’t only apply to border collies or shepherds, breeds that might first come to mind when we think ‘intense’. One of my earlier clients was a Labrador retriever, the #1 ranked family dog in the US, who was motivated by one thing only: being in the field. She was a working line offspring dumped at the humane society when she faltered under the harsh training methods still commonly used for field dogs. A nice suburban family who had just lost their old Lab adopted her. They were a wonderful companion home, but completely out of their league with a dog who had a one-track mind. Neither food nor play, not any social interaction with her new people, interested her. With dogs who have such strong innate motivation neither external rewards nor punitive measures guarantee longterm success to deter them from acting on their nature—because it is so intrinsically reinforcing.

I get it: watching the skill and aptitude of a Schutzhund trained Malinois, a collie on livestock, or a banned-food detecting beagle at the airport, is mesmerizing. What people don’t realize is that this dog has exactly the kind of life he’s meant to have, and they also don’t take into consideration the hours of training involved to channel the drive. Instead people get a snapshot they base their want on and go shopping, and before long locate a money-above-all-else breeder—there are some for every breed—who sells them a pup. Full of enthusiasm they attend a puppy socialization class, and maybe a beginner obedience one after that, and then expect their pooch to walk nicely on the leash around the block twice a day and otherwise be content alone when they are at work. Because that’s not happening, they attempt to physically exhaust their dog, who might be at the moment if they’re successful but is otherwise still antsy because daycare and fetch for hours still isn’t a meaningful job.

All the many breeds we have today are categorized into groups according to their historic function. It provides a decent broad idea, but within each group there are differences. A border collie isn’t the same as an Australian shepherd as a cattle dog as a German shepherd. A golden is behaviorally different from a Chesapeake Bay from a duck tolling retriever. But there are also similarities. For example, most terriers, and the popular dachshund is by function a terrier, are fascinated with burrows and openings, are determined and gutsy, and like to rip things to get into the guts of things. In lieu of a rodents a dog toy can do. Most terriers, and a number of other breeds, have been selected to work independently from people, which means they aren’t natural owner pleasers—in contrast to some breeds in the sporting group and all herders. Give a Sheltie a training book to read at night and she’ll perform by morning. Ergo, if I’d be manically obsessed with obedience I’d get a herder. I’ll let you in on a secret: not exactly manic, I do like dogs who come with the propensity to connect and cooperate with me. The “what can I do for you” type. That’s why, since Davie who set the benchmark, we owned a herding breed of some sort or another. Or a mix like Will with strong herding genes. The downside, which never was one for us but could be for you, is having to spend a lot of time with the dog who craves social connection with their humans. These breeds suffer in a home where everyone works all day and has dog exclusive interests in the evening and on weekends. Satisfying the stimulation and social needs of a dog who belongs to the herding group at daycare also isn’t a solution. Selected to control the actions of other animals they are quickly frustrated when the other dogs object to being bossed around. Furthermore, although cooperative with people, they typically have a large space bubble and insist that it not be invaded—no matter how friendly the other dog is.

Let’s talk about barking. Barking is innate for every dog. Hello!! It’s a dog. What did you expect? However, there are breeds who innately bark more than others. Miniature schnauzers and Shelties are statistically off the charts; some of the toy breeds bark a lot, and flock guardians and protection breeds can too. Even though the littles are popular apartment dogs, none of the above is particularly suited for a noisy, multi-family, complex. Flock guardians like the Great Pyrenees, and protection dogs like the German shepherd, are compelled to investigate the identity of the sound they heard and, depending on the line, attempt to drive the perceived interloper away. German shepherds close to home, but flock guardians have it in their DNA to roam.

In addition, some of these breeds thrive on stability and are inflexible to change, and overwhelmed when living with a human who has an open door policy.

Despite their larger size, retrievers, Newfoundland and some of the other mastiffs, can fare well in an apartment building as well. By and large they are less sensitive to sounds and less prone to bark, and also typically prosocial with strangers and thus not unnerved when they encounter tenants in hallways and elevators.

Hounds are prosocial, too, and generally have an indoor/outside bias: couch potato inside and active outside. Also good apartment dogs other than some breeds in this group prone to loudly announce: think of the beagle’s bay. Prosocial also doesn’t equal cooperative. Coming when called can especially be a problem, and hounds often get the stubborn label because of this. Which is unfair. Aside from generally having a lower motivation to please their people, they are also biologically disadvantaged to obey verbal commands. Depending on breed, hounds are governed by either their nose or eyes, not ears. That means it is harder for them to hear their human calling than it is for an Australian shepherd. Training a perfect recall isn’t impossible but it takes more effort, which a portion of dog owners aren’t up for and hence they promptly reach for the magic shock collar. Sadly, many hounds are wearing one.

Let’s discuss the white elephant in the room. Actually, there are two: one beloved by the purchasing public and the other despised, and with dog pros it’s the exact opposite. What I am talking about are pit bulls and doodles.

Last, first: the Berner-, Sheep-, Pyr-, Cocker, or whatever-doodles; the merled and one-blue-eyed purebred Australian double doodle. Many of my peers judge doodle producing breeders, the people who spend a ridiculous amount of cash buying them and, by extension, also the dogs. I never joined the doodle-bashing club on social media or otherwise. For starters, it is no one’s business what kind of dog someone chooses and how much they spend on it. The same people who call owners of designer dogs out wouldn’t dare openly question any of their other financial choices, like the vehicle they drive, whether they send their kids to a private school, or book a vacation package at a Swiss ski resort. I couldn’t care less how much money folk dole out for the pup they want. The only aspect that matters to me is how the welfare of the breeding dogs and pups, and the reality is that some doodle breeders are caring and others aren’t—just like with any other breed. Granted, the fact that doodles are trendy means more greedy scum jump on the gravy train, but that, too, isn’t reserved to designer breeds. The question doodle-bashers should ask themselves is why they are so darn popular with the public. My answer: because temperamentally they are great family dogs. That is my experience with just about every doodle I met, and keep in mind that I mostly meet the ones with behavioral issues.

Not so popular with the general public are pit bulls. I am sure there are people ready to pipe up right now to let me know that pit bull isn’t breed. It is, actually, but for this article I take the liberty to use the term broadly and include bulldogs, bull terriers, and Staffordshire bull terriers. Pits are quite possibly the group most stigmatized—and most misunderstood. A bit of history to start: their original function was to control cattle in pens, but people changed employment for the pit bulls quickly from controlling and moving cattle to baiting bulls—a despicable form of entertainment that eventually transitioned into fighting dogs for prize money. Dogs. Not people. Despite common belief, pit bulls weren’t anymore dangerous to humans than any other breed and, for the most part, still aren’t. Some of the sweetest to people dogs I’ve met were pit bulls. You can literally have your whole hand in their sizeable mouth when delivering a treat and not feel one single tooth. But regarding dogs, there is innate heightened awareness and propensity to attack—not because the dog feels threatened but because he has a hardwired stimulus bias that people selected for. For that reason, he will also not respond to the other’s appeasement signals. Simply put, your newly adopted, plucked from a kill shelter where he sat locked up for two years, pibble isn’t aggressing against your neighbor’s maltipoo because he didn’t go to puppy socials with 60 other dogs, but because dogs have an inherent meaning to him and potential playmate isn’t it. And no, he won’t be fine as long as you take him to the dog park every day so he learns how to get along. And it’s not his fault. He is not a bad dog, but he also isn’t the best choice for someone who wants to take their pooch to where plenty of other dogs are. Arguably neither are Chihuahuas, but size matters when a dog acts on that kind of innate motivation. I wish that rescue organizations that live in Lalagroove Land, and not all of them do, could and would acknowledge this and pass the info on to potential adopters.

Of course these are all generalizations. There are couch-potato border collies and aloof Newfoundlands.

One year I saw seven golden retrievers under a year old who bit their owners to the point where they needed medical attention. Unheard of.

One of my all-time favorite dog was an American Staffordshire terrier who belonged to a family that fostered for a rescue organization. This huge in size dude was wonderful with people, and also the nanny and gentle mediator for all the cats and dogs that moved in and out of the home.

But more likely than not, when you choose a specific breed you get the according propensities. How fixed are behaviors that have a genetic basis? There is some flexibility—I’ve met Akitas who, because of the effort their humans put in, were friendly with a larger group than their immediate family. However, what’s hardwired is more than just a little quirk.

Dogs come as a whole package. If you love certain traits about a breed, investigate whether there are others you aren’t equipped to deal with—and don’t believe the run-of-the-mill trainer who assures you that which you don’t like can easily be fixed. It can’t. A shock might bust the bay of the beagle for the moment but won’t eliminate the drive to announce.

Introspectively contemplate what your personality is like and where you live. I love dogs, but am not a fan of carrying one around or having her sitting on my lap all day. That has nothing to do with dominance, it’s just that I have a large me-zone. I love to meet and work with the tiny tikes, but having one is not for me.

Something as trivial as a clean house can become an issue when dirt continues for a decade or longer. I mean, people get divorced over the tooth paste tube the partner regularly doesn’t close, and don’t get me started on the toilet seat left up. Giant dogs leave giant paw prints, and a Saint Bernard isn’t the best fit for someone who is anal about a spic’n’span home.

Recognizing potential perils has nothing to do with judging a person. It is simply information that allows for an intelligent decision before an animal is acquired that will affect the whole family for a decade or longer. Know yourself first and then, instead of spending hours online looking at cute puppies, learn as much as you can about the breed that caught your eye and how it matches your experience and lifestyle. If you are still set on a certain breed, go for it, but now with open eyes. If everyone had clarity before they shopped or adopted, considerably fewer dogs would end up in incompatible homes first, and with a rescue organization or on the euthanasia table next.