Behavior Myths: Busted!

Dogs have been by our side for thousands of years, so we’ve had plenty of time to come up with all kinds of wild myths about how they think and behave! Despite the wealth of incredible research coming out every year on behavior and learning, there are still some sticky wives’ tales that seem hard to shake. We asked you all on our Instagram account for myths you’ve heard about behavior, and now we’re gonna start busting them!

1. Dominance

We see “dominance” used left and right as a catch all explanation for dog behavior. You may have read that if your dog jumps, humps, pulls on leash, gets up on the furniture, door dashes, mouths, barks at other dogs, or looks at you sideways, it’s because he’s “dominant.” You may have also read that in order for you to regain control of the household, you need to display your own dominance by eating before your dog does, walking through doorways first, or rolling your dog onto their back any time they do something you don’t like. 

Lucky for us, this is all complete hogwash. Unlucky for our dogs, however, dominance is still a pervasive myth held onto by pet parents and pet professionals alike. Even in wild wolf packs, there is no strict hierarchy or flashy displays of dominance. Not to mention that our domestic dogs are a far cry from wolves, dogs are not pack animals and don’t form packs even in feral conditions, and they certainly know that humans are not dogs! There is plenty  of research  out there to back this up, but we promise that your dog isn’t spending every waking moment trying to stage an elaborate coup to overthrow humanity. (We can’t promise your cat isn’t, though.)

2. R+ doesn’t work for _______ . 

“Positive reinforcement is fine for teaching cute tricks, but you could never use it for: [insert specific breed, behavior problem, or goal.]” If only we had a dollar for every time we heard this one! The best part about behavior science and learning theory is that it’s true for anything with a brain! Every organism that can process stimuli and respond can learn through positive reinforcement. If it’s true for butterflies, snakes, and fish alike, then it’s certainly true for shih tzus, labradors, and Dutch shepherds alike! Positive reinforcement has been successfully implemented by countless professionals in working with aggressive and reactive dogs, training working and competition dogs, and teaching all kinds of species in zoos and aquariums all over the world. Check out the You Don’t Have To website for tons of video examples of amazing R+ training!

3. Chewing/destruction of objects is spiteful

We get it. It feels extremely personal when your dog rips up something you hold dear. As tempting as it is to assign some deeper meaning to destructive behavior, (your dog is “getting back at you” for leaving on a trip, they’re mad that you didn’t take them to the park, etc), it’s definitely not true. Your dog might be anxious and shredding grandmama’s quilt helped relieve stress. Gnawing on the legs of an antique grandfather clock might soothe a teething puppy’s sore gums. They might be bored and ripping a hole in the couch cushion was a fun way to pass the time! There could be lots of reasons your dog is destroying things around the house, but spite just isn’t one of them. 

4. Comforting a scared dog rewards their fear.

This one breaks our hearts. Try to think about the last time you felt afraid. Really truly afraid. Like, body trembling, heart pounding and clammy palms afraid. Do you think that if in that moment, a loved one handed you a cup of tea and assured you everything would be alright, you’d be more afraid? Of course you wouldn’t! Fear is an involuntary and extremely aversive emotional response. It’s impossible to reward fear. If your furry best friend is afraid, please for the love of dog, comfort them! (And then contact us or another certified professional trainer so we can help your dog overcome that fear in a safe and healthy way.) 

5. If you don’t correct bad behavior, the dog will think it’s okay.

Dogs don’t operate with an internal compass of “right” and “wrong.” They just do what works. They know what is safe, and what is unsafe. We don’t need to set our dogs up for failure and then correct their “bad” choices. It is much more humane and effective to teach our dogs what we do want them to do! A dog does not need to learn that jumping will lead to a correction in order to learn that sitting will lead to attention from the person. (Just like a child doesn’t need to explicitly learn that shouting obscenities is rude to learn than “please” and “thank you” are polite.)

6. A dog who looks guilty knows they did something wrong.

See above! Dogs don’t see the world in the moralistic way humans do. The “guilty look” pet parents often report seeing (crouched body posture, low wagging tail, grimacing or “smiling”, averting eye contact) is actually just plain old fear. Studies have shown that dogs will display the “guilty look” in response to a reprimand from their person whether or not they had actually stolen the cookie placed on the ground by the researchers. Your dog is more likely than not responding to your emotions about the situation than the misdeed itself.

7. Playing tug causes aggression.

We hear this one all the time from clients, often in the form of a sheepish confession that they’ve been playing tug with their dogs even though they know it’s bad. Well good news, tug is perfectly fine to play with your dogs! It won’t “release the beast” within them and awaken unprecedented aggressive behaviors, and your dog won’t automatically assume they can rip and tug everything in sight. Many dogs get really into the spirit of tug and may growl, shake their heads, and throw their weight into the toy. None of these behaviors are inherently a bad thing, and if you’re ever concerned, you can always ask us! Of course, we always recommend teaching a few rules so the game can go smoothly. Only play with designated tug toys, work on your “take it” and “drop it” cues, and take a break every so often to make sure your dog is still able to listen and isn’t getting too excited. 

Did your myth not make the list? Don’t worry! We’ll be posting PART TWO next week with even more. If you have any myths you’d like to see us bust, send us a message on Instagram or email us at clickstartdogacademy@gmail.com.