Psychology
World War 1 French soldier, playing with dog.
Getting into some psychology here, dog and human!
What do you expect to get out of having a dog?
Many of us expect companionship, some sort of affection, fun, enjoyment, perhaps some exercise….
Hey wait a minute!, We could hope for the same benefits from a human companion. I thought we were talking about a dog?
We might also want our dog to be able to do some specific canine activities or learn some specific canine skills.
Ok so now we might actually need a dog, as it usually takes a dog to perform canine activities and skills. (LOL)
What does my dog need?
Ok, how about something from the dog side of the equation.
Where is a dog coming from and just what does a dog need in a relationship?
If we look toward the findings of various “dog behaviorists” (sort of dog psychologists) we can get some ideas of what dogs need.
When dogs and wolves (which dogs are descended from), are studied in wild and natural settings, three areas seem to be observed in their natural psychological development.
![1024px-Suzisnow[1]](http://mypackofdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/1024px-Suzisnow1.jpg)
SuziSnow: service dog
- Leadership
- Structure
- Affection
And seem to be in that order of importance.
Hmm, we do have some overlap with human psychology, but perhaps not as much as we expected…
If we want our dog to benefit from our relationship as much as we hope to, maybe we need to look a little more closely at the dog’s side of things.
I would just like to leave a coment on the artlcie about wether dogs become jealous.I have a 3 year old staffordshire bull terrier which I rescueday as a puppy.A year ago I rescued a kitten and I have never seen a dogs become so jealous in all my years off owning dogs.I was wondering if its a breed thing or wether its just and insecurity thing with my dogs, has anyone any suggestions as to help with this strange problem.He’s not at all agressive to the cat but I worry that its may be having a negative affect on him.Any sugestions welcome.I love them both from the bottom off my heart.Concerned animal lover.
Hi Princeso, appreciate your comment and question! No, I do not think it is unusual for your dog to be jealous of your cat. I have four dogs and two cats and have seen it many times. Since your dog was there first with apparently no other animals, his jealousy is not unusual, but you can help him with it.
We by nature fell into “instinctual” dog training which is similar to Pack Leader or Alpha dog training. (We did it for years before identifying what we were doing!) You can look them up if you like. Many writers will say that dominance is the basis of that training, but I think it has more to do with clearly protecting and caring for your pack. My pack includes the dogs, my family AND the cats. The dogs leave the cats alone because I have made it clear they are pack members. You could apply this by showing both pets equivalent amounts of affection and clearly showing each that the other is important to you as both are members of your pack. If your dog mistreats the cat, firmly but calmly make him understand that was wrong. Perhaps ignore him for a while. Later show usual affection as dogs live in the moment. This is not an instant fix, but will improve the situation over time when you stick with it. Not sure what cats think, but dogs do better when they know their leader is taking care of things. If there is a vacuum in leadership, behavior problems can arise because the dog feels the pack could be in danger. IMHO. I hope this helps, I’ll be getting more material about this type of care and training on the site, so check back.
Best
Ken