Hard-Wired

Here is an article a friend wrote about his experiences with and about dogs and people.
I think it is well worth a read. enjoy.




HARD-WIRED

How many children must be mauled & scarred by dogs before we understand this: we don't understand. We think that correct rearing & training is everything, that we can repair & control anything about a dog. Unfortunately even most dog trainers and supposed canine experts subscribe to this belief, the very people we look to for advice and knowledge about these animals.

Let me illustrate some things I know, by telling a couple of stories.

Story #1: A New York City apartment dweller decides to get a dog, and chooses a Border Collie, because he heard they are smart, and athletic. (Ordinarily I would comment on the lack of wisdom in this choice, but that’s not what this story is about.) He raises the dog, cares for it, walks it, plays with it, trains it in obedience. He is a responsible dog owner. But the dog never sees anything but pavement and tall buildings for 5 or 6 years, aside from an occasional leash walk in the park. The owner is kept very busy with his job and his life, and is pretty much city-bound, but loves his dog and gives the dog every minute he can spare.

There comes a day when his friend up in New Hampshire invites him up to visit for a long weekend, and he goes. His friend has a small farm, and the first thing they do is take a walking tour of the acreage. The Border Collie is off-leash and has a chance to run free in tall grass and smell the country for the first time in its life. As they take their walking tour, they go through the gate into the sheep pasture, where the man's friend keeps a small flock, to cut across to the barn. Suddenly the Border Collie is all business, it goes into a low creep, eyes riveted on the flock at the other end of the pasture. The man & his friend are talking, not paying much attention, and the next thing they know, the flock of sheep are in front of them, clustered together. The Border Collie is in a lie-down, on balance, 180º opposite the men, on the other side of the flock. Before they even realize what's happening or can say anything, one of the sheep begins to leave the flock, and the Border Collie has cut it off and returned it where it belongs, and gone into another lie down. The dog’s owner is still speechless.

Where does this come from? This dog has never seen anything but the depths of a huge city; never seen another animal except other dogs and maybe cats & rats & pigeons. Yet there it lies, the flock gathered & brought, contained, and the dog is waiting for the next thing we want the sheep to do. How is this possible?

Hard-wiring. It can't help itself. We bred for this specific purpose for hundreds of years in this dog, as we have bred other dogs for other purposes. Hard-wiring doesn't just go away. It isn't something you can train out of an animal. It goes much deeper than environment and training. All canines have hard-wiring of a less specific nature also, things that apply to dogs in general.

This brings me to story #2: You decide to get 2 puppies, and raise them together. What breed they are is not important in this story, pick any you want. You are a responsible, dedicated dog owner, you train them and care for them, and they are a joy in your life. They are also the best of pals with each other, playing, walking, whatever. And in any situation that ever arises, they have each other's back. They are pack-mates.

One day you are at an off-leash dog park, dogs of all kinds are running and playing and chasing, typical dog park activity. You are chatting with other dog owners while the dogs run and play, when suddenly you hear loud growling and the sounds of a dog fight. You look, and several dogs have begun attacking one of your dogs. You see your other dog heading in the direction of the commotion as you start running that way too, and you feel comforted knowing that your dog that's under attack will soon have the support of his pal. But when your other dog arrives at the scene of the fight, to your complete dismay, it joins the other dogs in the attack of its pal, instead of trying to help it.

I have seen this happen many times. Not with my dogs, because I know pack behavior, I know what potentials exist within canines, and I avoid or pre-empt these situations. In fact, I avoid dog parks precisely because people don't pay attention to what's going on while they chat, and because they don't understand dogs in general, and because they don't control their own dogs well enough to suit me.

I will never spend a lot of time saying that some people simply should not own dogs, it’s time wasted. It will never change. People will never stop getting that cute little furry puppy so their kids can have a cute furry thing, then throw it away like a used-up doll when it grows up and becomes too much responsibility, when it becomes “inconvenient”. It's not cute anymore, the kids have lost interest, so just get rid of it.

No, I'm simply asking, again -- how many children, and adults, must be mauled by dogs before we realize that we don't understand all we should about canines? I haven't counted, but I know I am shocked at the number of articles about dog attacks I have seen over the past 10 or 15 years. What will it take to change this? The first step is admitting our ignorance.

Other than the general things that apply to all dogs, what specific hard-wiring might have come with the dog you have, or the one you are considering? What types of situations or stimuli might trigger the potential behavior that lies within your dog? Do you understand the prey drive, and what factors can trigger that? Do you have an understanding of pack behaviors & protocols? Will you concentrate and pay close attention at all times in situations where your dog will interact with humans, or other dogs?

If you are unwilling or unable to consider these questions, and do your best to answer them, then I would recommend you stick with pet rodents, or something else kept in a cage. Dogs are advanced pet ownership.

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you know what it’s like to be a dog. It doesn’t matter what breed we’re talking about, this is wolf DNA. The wolf – left in a natural state, one of the most intelligent and successful carnivorous predators on the planet. See that. Know that. Respect that in your pet wolf. That would be a good place to start.

G. Davis
Phoenix, AZ