Canine Psychology
Psychology - The scientific study of all forms of human and animal behaviour. The mental make-up of an individual that causes him to think or act the way he does. Collins English Dictionary Canine - Rather obvious.
When studying psychology, in people, you can ask them questions – how they are feeling, why they think those thought, How often they feel that way, etc. When you are studying DOG psychology you have to rely on what the dog’s owner tells you. You can’t sit the dog down on a couch and ask him why he likes to chase his tail. You can only go on what the owner tells you. Then sometimes you find it is the owner that has a problem, and not the dog. Usually with a lot of talking and observing you can get an idea what the problem is, but the real problem starts when the dog’s owner wants a ‘quick fix’. If a dog has a problem it cannot be cured overnight. Like all things with animals they take time. Everything has to be approached with caution. If you try the wrong thing, that could cause even more problems for the dog. So the main thing you have to have when trying to sort out a dog’s problem is patience and understanding.
You usually find that a dog with problems is a rescue dog. The trouble there is more often than not you don’t know all of the dog’s history, what happened before he came to live with you. Yes, he may have a lovely home now, with a nice soft bed and good food. Yes he may go on three walks a day and play in the fields. But do you know if he had been ill-treated before you had him. I have seen a dog cringe away from his new owner, frightened they are going to beat him. Yet all these people want to do is shower him with love. Sometimes, after a few weeks, the dog settles down and accepts his new humans. But some dogs never forget their previous life and it can mark them for life. In these cases all you can do is give the dog unconditional affection, and hope that one day he can forget his past.
Every case has to be assessed individually. It may be, as I said, the dog’s past, or it could be the way you are training him. Or it could be something in his general make up, the way he thinks, the way his brain is ‘wired up’. Each dog is as individual as you or I. It could even be a case of the wrong dog with the wrong owner. For example, Mrs A wanted a little dog to keep her company and sit on her knee, but she bought an Akita. Yes when it was a small puppy, it was lovely and cuddly, but it GREW. This dog needed lots of exercise, but because Mrs A was elderly, she couldn’t take him on lots of runs across the fields. So the Akita became destructive. Mrs A calls for help as she thinks the dog has psychological problems. But in fact it just needs a lot more exercise than Mrs A can give him. Hence wrong dog for the lady. Therefore every case has to be looked at individually.