Why does a dog do what it does?

Why does my dog sit by the back door perfectly and then when I tell it to sit, it doesn’t?

Why does my dog carry its food bowl to me but if I ask it to hold something, it looks at me like I am crazy? Why the barking? Why the leash pulling? 

Why? Why? WHY??

We as humans do this thing where we create stories and try to rationalize our dogs behavior when we don’t know what’s actually going on.  “Oh he is whining because I left the room, he must miss me.”  It’s natural and we fill in the blanks because many of us have no idea, but we think we might know what’s going on in our furry friend’s mind.  “Anthropomorphism is the use of human characteristics to describe or explain nonhuman animals.”  It’s where we as humans make up stories to explain why the dog does what it does.  It’s a topic that’s discussed a lot with scientists and advanced dog trainers. It’s an important point I discuss with my clients because once you break yourself of this habit and understand actually WHY a dog does what it does, your training will excel.

Here’s the real answer: a dog does what it does to better its situation and to find its advantage.  It wants to feel good, it wants to avoid stress. It’s that simple.

In any behavior your dog taught itself, it did it to better its situation or to find better, more positive feelings.  An easy example of this is when your dog comes inside from playing on a hot day and lays in a specific spot in your house.  Maybe it’s in a room with a fan or near your AC vent.  That dog taught itself that when I pant a lot, I can get relief from some air source and that made her feel good! 

Once you start looking at every annoying behavior your dog does from this angle, you will start to feel a lot less frustrated.  Next time your dog grabs your shoe and takes off for the back bedroom, instead of getting instantly angry, try to think what’s the cause and effect that’s making that dog think it is bettering its own situation to make off with your shoe?  What’s your usual reaction when things like this happen?  

Now the big question in dog training is HOW do we help a dog find its advantage?  That is the secret sauce and where I start with all clients who train with me.