The Importance of Dog Training - Essay Example

1 TO WHAT EXTENT MAY A DOG'S BEHAVIOUR BE TRAINED BEARING IN MIND THE STRENGTH OF THE ANIMAL'S OWN NATURAL INSTINCTS Introduction Time and time again, we read from newspapers that people leave inheritance to their dogs after their deaths. BBC News reported in 2007 that real estate magnate and hotelier Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her beloved dog Trouble, spurning her 2 grandchildren "for reasons which are known to them" and deeming her dog as worthy of inheriting instead. Helmsley's will also provided that the dog be buried alongside her upon its death (BBC News). Three other dogs belonging to Ken Kemper were bequeathed all his estate worth $800,000 consisting of a house and cash and his will provided that upon their deaths, all that is left will be donated to animal charity (lawprofessors.com). Other dogs elsewhere in the world were lovingly inherited by their own masters. Even Oprah Winfrey had written a will endowing $30 million to her 5 dog pets ensuring that they will be pampered throughout their lives even if she has already passed away, Woman's Day reported (Woman's Day, Sept. 10, 2007). Ordinary people care for their dogs as if they're caring for their own children, sleeping, eating and even traveling with them. This hardly can be considered a phenomenon because dogs among all creatures in the universe evince qualities and traits that are even difficult to find in humans and these are purity of heart, unconditional love and devotion, the absence of malice and hidden motives or sincerity, 2 unfathomed fidelity and loyalty and the adherence to his master in all adversity and through all vicissitudes. When one loves his or her dog 50% in intensity, his or her dog returns it 100%. The dog's love is consistent and unfailing. While spouses show affection only in the early years of the marriage, dogs show affection day in and day out, year in and year out. The dog's warmth, devotion and obedience know no barrier nor limits. We often hear of stories of dogs pining for their master's presence even after the latter's death. In Edinburgh, Scotland a Skye Terrier named Greyfriars Bobby spent 14 years guarding his master's grave until his own demise. His saga was immortalised in the Disney movies Greyfriars Bobby (1961) and The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2006) (Atkins 2005, pp.52-256). War stories such as those from World War I are even more replete with stories of dogs refusing to leave their masters' corpses even if they were already in a state of decomposition. Then there was the story of Heidi, the Russell Terrier who sought out her Scottish master, Graham Snell who fell in a cliff and died. Finding him, she traversed down the 500 foot ravine and stayed with Snell until they were reached by a rescue team (dogsinthenews.com). All of these stories are endless, all earning for the dog the sobriquet, 'man's best friend'. Dogs' Natural Instincts Researchers have always claimed that dogs trace their lineage from gray wolves (canis lupus) some tens of thousands of years ago. As a priori evidence, many have adduced as evidence the similarity of structures and the period of gestation between the two species (Richardson 1857, p,18). They were ostensibly domesticated when wolves' pups were taken 3 and bred and tamed by early men and successfully socialized. By the process of intentional cross-breeding, the tamed domestic dog (canis lupus familiaris) emerged (Scott & Fuller 1974, p.140). Since then they had been cherished for their roles as human companions, property guards, beasts of burden or even as source of food and fur. They soon proved themselves as friends to be relied in all adversity and thus they became part of family in the Stone Age era and a place of importance in ancient Egyptian life (Herriot 1987, p.xii). They were even worshipped by ancient Peruvians and Japanese (Richardson 1857, p.27). When human living became complex and differentiated with the onset of agricultural and industrial revolutions as well as urbanisation, there arose a need to create specialised types of pet dogs and working dogs through the process of selective breeding. Because each breed retains its natural instincts, dog trainers became a vogue to deform and modify each breed to conform to the master's intentions and use for his particular dog. Dog trainers became dog psychologists more than anything else, bearing in mind that the dog's basic natural instincts cannot be altogether defaced. The most that they can accomplish is to mitigate and restrain to the maximum dog's bestial instincts, eliminate unpleasant habits and implant desirable and acceptable traits in its lieu. To study the natural instincts of a feral, untamed, wolf-like dog, one just has to take a closer examination of Australia's dingo, locally known as Warraghal. This specie features a natural instinct for savage hunting and for killing for survival's sake, a flight rather than fight instinct, a migratory instinct and a cooperative but untrusting and wary instinct. The dingo is 4 believed to be the ancestor of all dog breeds and the forerunner of some 600 pure dog breeds (Dog Breed Info Center). Its study became important because it was proven that such feral instincts could be obliterated by isolating, nurturing and training the baby dingo that is not more than 6 weeks of age. When it is more than 10 weeks old, its feral instincts are difficult to be uprooted. But the study showed that even with all efforts to train, dog trainers just cannot eradicate the dingo's natural instinct to hunt and its wariness instinct. They would soon realise that such situation goes too with all other dogs. Dogs from breeds with hot temperament most especially Rottweilers, pit bulls and Staffordshire bull terriers have caused vicious attacks among children and other animals in UK. In 2006 alone, reports recounted of an 11-month old baby boy savaged by the family pet Staffordshire bull terrier in Paisley, Scotland causing him serious facial injuries. The next day, a 15-year old paperboy riding in his bike was mauled in the arms and chest by a Rottweiler in Shropshire. Both incidents came in the wake of the fatal mangling of a 5-month old baby girl in a pub in Leicester. These horrific incidents were repeated in many occasions in UK and are far from being isolated events in UK (www.rottweiler.net). Dog experts attribute such kind of attacks to the failure of pet owners to rein in the aggression, dominance, predatory and other offensive natural instincts of such dogs not to mention the contributory fault of the victims themselves and the innocence of children. These experts blame irresponsible owners who secure ownership of aggressive dogs without 5 understanding their natural instincts and without bothering to train them or when training them, train them to attack and yet fail to supervise them thus allowing them to become a ticking time bomb to unwary citizens. The Extent That A Dog's Behaviour May Be Trained Bearing In Mind Its Own Natural Instincts Dog experts emphasise that the natural instincts of dogs may be mitigated and suppressed through training although there are some that are difficult to suppress depending on the dog's breed. "Dog whisperers" or "dog listeners" have been successful in achieving changes in dogs' behavioural patterns by utilising the dog's natural instincts to bring about a state of balance or harmony in each dog. The Amichien method that is utilised is a non-confrontational method whereby dogs are made to cooperate by their own free will in their training (Fennell 2009). It is imperative that dogs be trained because without proper training they may be a source of disturbance, legal damages and frustration. Books, dog training videos and professional trainers are possible options. Upon possession of a dog, pet owner must train the dog to quell its natural pack mentality and dominance instincts and show to him that as master, you are the leader of the pack who wields authority over him. But when one has two or more dogs, the owner will have difficulty controlling one dog from establishing his dominance over the other dogs. This is one limitation he must realise although he may control that dominant dog's overly aggressive behaviour. The pet owner must also cut off the dog's natural instincts derived from his wolf's ancestry to dig holes in the ground and to defecate and urinate in his chosen location which ostensibly marks his territory. But his instincts to bark cannot be completely controlled although 6 it may be mitigated when it becomes too annoying. The owner must simply accept that it is done to warn the owner that trouble is being sensed and that it is meant to keep intruders away. The territoriality instincts of dogs such as German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers and Chow Chows make them dangerous to intruders because they also have predator instincts as well as the instinct to defend their "pack", their own selves and their own perceived "territory". Because of such instincts they are invaluable as guard dogs. But they need to undergo obedience training to diminish their dominant, aggressive behaviour and this is done with the use of a head halter where their heads and thus their own bodies are controlled. The dog should never be permitted to assume a dominant, aggressive stance and when he growls at the trainer, the leash is yanked forward thereby closing his mouth while the trainer keeps on staring at the dog's eyes. When the dog consistently looks away, the battle is half won (Fields-Babineau & Cohen 2000, p.108). Further training in basic and distance commands may then ensue (Meadows & Flint 2004, p.82). We however, reiterate that this merely mitigates their aggression. Natural instincts never completely disappear but it can only be suppressed. Trained dogs still need supervision in the presence of strangers especially children who tend to trigger behaviour that such dogs may perceive as an attack. Supervision is imperative because territorial dogs cannot distinguish between criminal intruders and people who are visiting for legitimate reasons. Dogs' natural reaction is always to defend against a perceived threat. Children tend to provoke dogs' self-defense and chase instincts with all their romping around and poking around which make them prey objects. 7 The natural instincts of dogs can never be uprooted because these are basic elements of their nature. They can only be modified by selective breeding. By cross-breeding aggressive, dominant dogs with gentle, good-natured breeds such as Labrador and Golden Retrievers, unfavorable instincts are diluted. Training dogs never has the effect of eliminating their natural instincts. Instead training merely modifies, manipulates and suppresses dog behaviour and prevents deleterious instincts from escalating into aggression. Behaviour modification training programs are successful if they are able to lessen the motivation for the undesirable trait engendered by the undesirable natural instincts or to strengthen the motivation to engage in an alternate, desirable behaviour or to remove the reinforcement for the objectionable behaviour . These programs are effective if they include desensitisation and counter-conditioning and counter-commanding programs (Case 2005, pp.206,211). A specific example is when dogs are stopped from believing that they are pack leaders and instead are taught to be submissive members of the pack. They are conditioned to believe that their owners are the leaders of the pack. A complete misconception is that physical punishment deletes the natural instincts of dogs. Studies, however point to the fact that corporal punishment only exacerbate the problems because pain elicits more aggressive behaviour. It only succeeds to redirect the dog's aggression to the owner, his family or to another dog or animal and may result to even more dangerous behaviour. Reprimands, on the other hand, directly challenge the dominant dog. Conclusion Natural instincts of dogs can never be obliterated because they are part of their nature. Their behaviour can however be modified by appropriate training and all dog behaviour has been 8 known to be subject to training by means of conditioning, desensitizing and even by "dog listening" or "dog whispering". Therefore all of dog's actuations emanating from undesirable natural instincts are trainable. However, the natural instincts remain where they are- dormant and suppressed although behaviour has been successfully modified. Presuming that the training is 100% effective, it also can be deduced that behaviour is 100% modified at one time. But since the natural instincts are there hidden, right opportunities will allow expression of the undesirable natural instincts. Thus Rottweilers that had been rendered submissive and genial by perfect training can, with the right conditions and circumstances, still pose a threat to unwary human beings because their natural instincts of being predators, aggressive, dominant and territorial are still existent and were never obliterated. BIBLIOGRAPHY Atkins, E 2005, 'Greyfriars Bobby', First World Publishing. BBC News August 30, 2007, 'Lucky dog inherits $12 million fortune', http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6969648.stm Case, L 2005, 'The dog: its behaviour, nutrition and health', Wiley-Blackwell. Dog Breed Info Center 2009, 'Dingo information and pictures', http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/dingo.htm Fennell, J 2009, 'The dog listener', http://www.janfennellthedoglistener.com Fields-Babineau, M & Cohen, E 2000, 'Dog training with a head halter', Barrons Educational Series. Herriot, J 1987, 'James Herriot's dog stories', St. Martin's Paperbacks. Lawprofessors.com Dec. 31,2007, 'Ken Kempers dogs benefit from his will', http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2007/12/ken-dog.html Meadows, G & Flint, E 2004, 'The complete guide to caring for your dog', New Holland Publishers The Scoop July 4, 2001, 'Death and a dog's devotion', http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0107/articles/010704.htm Scott, JP & Fuller, J 1974, 'Dog behavior: The genetic basis', University of Chicago Press. www.rottweiler.net. 2006, 'Another Rottweiler attack, UK, http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/rottweiler-news-forum/63530-another-rottweiler-attack- uk.htrr. Read More