Understanding your Dog's Psychology to Understand your Dog Better

This time we are going to explore some of the basics of dog psychology. Taking the time to understand your dog's psyche a bit better will prove to be quite helpful in understanding your dog and in applying it when you train your dog.

The Basics of Dog Psychology

Dog psychology is learning to understand why a dog behaves and acts in the way that he does. It is truly fascinating to think about how the dog-a descendant of the wolf-has adapted itself to the human social organization.

Dogs have learned to live with and obey humans through successful training. When you and your dog build a trusting bond, there is a cooperation that is established: the dog behaves well and he will be rewarded.

A Wolf Descendant

To better understand dog psychology it is important to understand how wolves live. Wolves live in the wild in packs of two or more. They use a strictly defined dictatorship system of males and females.

The leader or "alpha leader" of this system is almost always the biggest male in the pack. All of the other wolves in the pack follow the alpha leader eagerly and with the utmost respect.

Wolf Instincts

Wolves were able to adapt domestically with man thousands of years ago because of the similar social organization and instinctive mental or psychological structure. Wolves are accustomed to dividing duties, particularly when it comes to feeding: one determines the track, one stands on guard, one makes the attack, etc. The alpha leader is always the first to feed and when he is satisfied, he allows the other members of the pack to finish his "leftovers."

Part of the Pack - The Hierarchal System

When you introduce a dog to your household, he sees the family as a pack and all the members contribute to the hierarchal system. Your dog will be watching everyone closely until he can figure out who the alpha leader is and exactly where he fits into this new system.

He will be watching for clues such as the physical size of each family member as well as the tone of voice that each person speaks with. He will also notice how everyone interacts with one another throughout the day.

Establishing the Alpha Role

It is essential to establish yourself (or else another responsible adult in your household) as the alpha leader. The sooner this is established, the fewer behavioral problems you will see.

You need to not only establish yourself or someone else as the alpha, but you must also have a clear understanding that your dog is at the bottom of your family's hierarchal system.

If your dog sees that no hierarchal system is in place, he will create one and put himself in charge. This is when a lot of dogs can become overly dominant and destructive. It needs to be very obvious to your dog that he is subordinate to everyone-including children.

It is sometimes difficult for a dog to understand that he is lower ranked than children, because of their small size and their dependency on adults. For this reason, dogs can sometimes become very aggressive towards children, and they might even bite on occasion.

Through disciplined training, you can help your dog realize that his position is subordinate to every other family member. Good quality dog training resources can help you with this process.