Owner and Dog Behaviour - Literature review Example

Owner and Dog Behaviour A number of factors are believed to influence dog behaviour. The differences are not solely a consequence genetic factor (Gazzano et al 2008, p. 122). Many researches have been carried out to determine the factors that might influence dogs behaviour. Other factors include living environment and dog characteristics. When dog owners reported on the behaviour of their dogs; owner experience, living environment, and dog characteristics showed a strong association with behaviour (Wells & Hepper 2000). Since owner experience can influence the manner in which dog owners treat their dogs it can also influence their perception of their dogs. This paper reviews the effects of owner experience, living environment, and dog characteristics of owner reports of behaviour of Chesapeake Bay retriever. The Chesapeake Bay retriever is a breed of dogs that were developed in the US Chesapeake Bay area in the 19th century. This breed is well known for their hunting abilities. The breed is in most kept as pet and hunting purses. Physically the dog can be described as middle sized. Their appearance makes them easily associated to Labrador retriever. However, unlike the Labrador retriever breed which has a smooth coat, they have a wavy coat. Their characteristics include: having a happy and bright disposition, courage, alertness, impressive work rate, intelligence, and love for water. The ability of this breed of dog to swim even in icy water is advocated to the fact that they have webbed feet and strong limbs. The breed is notable by its cheesie that is slightly longer than tall. The breed also has high hind quarters. The breed’scoats are also water proofs. The factors that attribute to its coat being waterproof are its outer coat being harsh and oily and its undercoat being dense and wool. The breed comes in three main colors: dead grass, sedge, or any shade of brown. Figure1: image of a Chesapeake Bay retriever The physical characteristics discussed herein play a very important role for the purpose of this breed of dogs. For instance, its waterproof coat enables it to stay in the water for longer. The wobbly feet and strong limbs are important in their movement in the water. Given that they can even swim in icy water they will need very strong limbs do so. Webby feet also make sure that they are able to find their way through wet places especially muddy ones. Their colour also matches the use for which most people adopt them. They also like retrieving which makes them very usable during hunting. Since they are joyful and playful they also make good companions to human beings. According to researches the opinion of naïve dog keepers is usually very different to the opinion of expert dog keepers when it comes to describing dog behaviour (Blackwell et al 2008, p. 209). One thing about naïve dog owners is that they lack the knowledge and observation skill to understand dogs’ behaviours. This implies that in most cases, they might end up misinterpreting what the real intention of the dogs are(Diverio& Tami, 2014, p. 111). For instance, they might not be able to understand exactly what is behind dog behaviours such as whining, barking, and howling. It would take an experienced dog owner to know that the frequency and length of sound such as whining, barking, and howling are exactly what is used to determine the real cause of such behaviour. Another research on Argentine Dogos in Italy suggested that most of would show discomfort if the owners did not acknowledge their emotional situations. However, other breeds also reacted to such situation by social withdrawal. The manner in which a dog owner treats their dogs plays a very big role in the manner in which the dogs are going to behave towards them (Lit, Schweitzer & Oberbauer 2010, p. 723). However, it should be noted that naivety has some influence on owner’s treatment of the dog. For instance, a man who had recently bought a Chesapeake Bay retriever to use as a pet had conveyed his frustration on the lack of obedience of his dog (Mongillo et al, 2014, p. 76). The surprising thing is that a person who had the same breed in the same neighbourhood had claimed that he had never had any obedience problem with their dogs. This is a simple implication that expert dog owners have the knowledge on exactly how they can be able to train and influence the behaviour of their dogs to fit the way they want them to. Trying to do this without the skills or experience can be characterized by allot of misunderstanding that will eventually lead to frustration (Blackwell et al 2008, p. 214). Management of a dog’s behaviour is a skill that is very important to dog behaviours and various techniques are available to achieve this (Meyer &Forkman 2014, p. 101). The factors that influence whether or not a technique is successful are the context of use and manner of application. Applying the wrong technique for the wrong situation would mean that the result would be that which was desired by the dog owner (Khoshnegah et al 2011, p. 125). This is a reason as to why most naïve dog owners would say that Chesapeake Bay retrievers are disobedient. Dogs owned by inexperienced owners have a greater tendency to aggression. Possible causal factors include: improper socialization during their early stages of life; lack of or improper training; improper use of training methods and techniques; and traumatic experiences (Martínez et al 2011, p. 229). Of these factors, it is easily notable that the naïve dog owners are more likely to fall victim to these aggressions-causing factors as compared to a dog owner who are experienced and skilled owners. Dogs have emotional experiences similar to humans (Arhant et al 2010, p. 136). This is something that most naïve dog owners will not be aware of. A recent study of the University of California showed that dogs were far more likely to snap and push at their owners if they felt they were being excluded from their affection (Tami, Barone, & Diverio 2008, p. 66). In such a situation they might even make the situation worse if they try to correct the situation by punishing the dog. Just like any other animal the environment has a way of shaping the manner in which dogs behave. The term “distractions” is commonly used when discussing the influence of the environment on a dog’s behaviour (Haverbeke et al 2008, p. 62). The level of the dog’s reaction to happenings in the environment will always depend on the intensity of the activity taking place. Generally environments differ in many ways and this can lead to a difference in the way dogs of the same breed behave. As compared to human beings, dogs are usually very sensitive to changes in the environment. They will always react to the slightest change in their environment. They are even sensitive to change in size, shape, and colour. As a result, if this sensitivity a slight change in size, shape, and colour will likely lead to some reaction by the dog (Barrera et al 2010, p. 342). For instance, when you decide to paint a different colour on the kennel of a Chesapeake Bay retriever they will tend to avoid the kennel at first till it dries up. Introduction of a new object will also definitely lead to a similar reaction. When a study was carried out between dogs living in kennels and those living in the human houses there was a notable difference in their behaviour despite the fact that they were of the same breed. For instance, dogs living in kennels were discovered to be more aggressive as compared to those living in the human household (Stephen & Ledger 2005, p. 80). This difference is brought about by the fact that the dog living in the human household will obviously develop social skills as compared to those living in kennels or perhaps the dominance hierarchy is fixed in the home but dynamic in the kennel,resulting in more confrontations. A dog living in the human household will interact with human beings more as compared to those living in the kennels. Because of this interaction, the dogs living in the human household will form social bonds with human beings thus viewing them as social beings (Stephen & Ledger, 2007, p. 89). On the other hand a dog living in the kennel will obviously have limited social attachment to human beings. Without social attachment there will be a lack of trust which will automatically lead to a situation where the dog does not view human beings as social, friendly being but people who are a threat to their social welfare. In the life cycle of a dog, whatever the experience in the first 16 weeks of their lives will always shape their behaviours throughout their lives. One thing that influences what they experience during this period is the environment in which they live (Normando et al 2014, p. 44). Over 80% of a dog’s brain is developed within the first 16 weeks of their lives (O'farrell, 1987, p. 1039). Scientific studies have proved that puppies that are raised in a limited environment usually have smaller brains compared to those raised in rich environments (Marshall-Pescini et al 2008, p. 452). This is because richer environments enable dogs to learn more as compared to limited environments. Dogs with smaller brains are likely to react to certain situations as compared to those with bigger brains. The reason behind this is that the dogs with smaller brains do not have the capacity to cope with certain situations, thus the overreaction (Masters & McGreevy 2008, p. 20). For example, a dog that was brought up in a rural area is likely to find it hard to cope when they are brought to a congested and busy city. Presentation of an environment is also another factor that can influence the manner in which a dog reacts to an environment. For example, a caged dog is likely to show aggression to passersby. This is particularly very true if there is minimal or no distractions within the cage. However, with distractions dogs are likely to get more comfortable with the environment within the cage. Just like human being distractions plays a very important role in concealing the thing that makes the environment unbearable for dogs. Some genetically inherited characteristics can be of influence of the manner in which animals behave. Hereditary characteristics such as being shy, timid, and fearful are observable in dogs. Dogs with such characteristics are commonly referred to as Weak-nerved. In some cases, these animals even have the problem in dealing with life emotions such as excitement (Hewison et al 2014, p. 5). Some have been observed to have responses such as instant urination while others tend to be aggressive when excited. You can find that Chesapeake Bay retrievers being brought up with the same owner in the same environment having different behaviours. In such cases the most likely cause of the difference in behaviour will be attributed to genetic inherited characteristics. For instance, there is always a difference in the ability of Chesapeake Bay retrievers to hunt. People would always want to keep offspring of the dogs that have proved to have hunting prowess. The behaviour of Chesapeake Bay retrievers usually varies with age. The behaviours of the older ones are by far different from that of the younger ones. Younger Chesapeake Bay retrievers have been observed to have characteristics such as protective aggression, excessive body licking, and destructiveness (Gazzano 2008, p. 130). On the other hand the older Chesapeake Bay retrievers were observed to be more aggressive than the older ones. The difference in aggressiveness is brought about by the fact that the older ones are always having the pressure of protecting the younger ones from any kind of risks. Therefore, they always find themselves in a situation where they have to me more aggressive (Baranyiová et al 2004, p. 232). As for younger Chesapeake Bay Retrievers it is always easy to win their trust. There are a number of factors that are believed to contribute to this characteristic. One of the factors is that fact that younger Chesapeake Bay Retrievers have not faced much danger in their lives. Therefore, they do not have the fear of the risks involved with trusting strangers (Alexander, Friend &Haug 2011, p. 153). Another thing is the fact that younger ones are overprotected by the older Chesapeake Bay retrievers. This implies that they are not under any pressure to keep their security. Gender is also another important factor when it comes to understanding the behaviour of a certain breed of dogs and their differences. This is specifically true because there is always a difference in the behaviour of dogs of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed (Takeuchi, Ogata & Houpt 2001, p. 300). For instance, studies carried out to find the difference in protective aggression between the two genders discovered that male members of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed showed more tendencies of protective aggression as compared to the female ones. In most animals just like in this case the male ones have to be more aggressive as they are expected to offer protection to the group or families with which they live (Mariti et al 2012, p. 215). The male animals in this case are always expected to stand for the other members in case of any form of danger. Male Chesapeake Bay retrievers were startled by noise compared to the females. This can mostly be attributed to genetic factors which brings such differences between the genders. Differences were also observed between Intact and neutered dogs, with the intact ones showing more attention seeking behaviours (Tomkins, Thomson & McGreevy 2011, p. 182). Neutered dogs appeared to be more fearful. Behavioural differences are not only notable among dogs of different breeds. Even dogs of the same breed can have allot of difference in behaviour. As discussed here in the factors that contribute to the difference in behaviour of dogs of the same breed include: dog owner experience, living environment, and dog characteristics. Understanding of the manner in which these factors influence the behaviour of dogs of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed can be of importance in understanding the behaviour of dog of this breed. The understandings of these factors will mean that you can be able to use them and alter them so that you can get the desired outcome for your dogs. It will also help in choosing dog characteristics such as age and gender. Therefore, it can be said that knowledge of such information is of benefit to both dog keepers and their dogs. This lead to the simple recommendation that dog owners should consider gathering some dog keeping and husbandry skills before they consider keeping dogs. This will be beneficial to both the dogs and their owners. The factors discussed herein might slightly vary depending on the breed. However, the information can apply to the majority of the breeds. 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