11/05/2024
Shared ftom Dianne Garrods canine behavioural science and analysis and group.
Did you know the way you train, or 'parent' your dog affects their attachment style?? 😮
It has been long recognised that a secure attachment style is the most optimum attachment style for human children, as it allows the child to feel more comfortable exploring and interacting with the world, and in the long term being able to grow into a well adjusted adult. The same parallel has also been found in dogs, and that secure attachment provides the optimum starting place for a well adjusted canine companion!
There is now even research showing that the pet parenting or training styles you use with your dog similarly mirror the parenting styles used for human children, and how they impact whether or not a secure attachment will form. With human children the styles of parenting are separated into several distinct styles including:
🔹Authoritative (responsive to needs, solves problems together, with clear expectations and rules)
🔹Authoritarian (demands obedience rather than working together, punishment based and little care of the child/learners needs or feelings)
🔹Permissive (no real boundaries or structure, indulgent of wants and needs of the child/learner)
And..
🔹 Neglectful/uninvolved (inconsistent boundaries, generally uninvolved and unresponsive to feelings or needs).
It has also been found that the authoritative style of pet parenting (shown through positive training, supportive and nurturing but not permissive) has the best outcome for producing securely attached dogs, and that the dogs were 'highly social, sensitive to social context and were more persistent and successful on the problem solving tasks'. Whereas authoritarian pet parenting (shown through balanced/alpha based training, strong boundaries and punishment based) had a significantly lower chance of producing a dog with a secure attachment. Permissive pet parenting styles (training with little to no boundaries or structure) also were less likely to have a secure attachment style (this research did not cover neglectful parenting styles).
This is further evidence, backed by scientific study, that punishment based training does not produce the most well adjusted canine companions, and that structure and boundaries taught with kindness rather than fear is the way to go! 👍
You can check out the study mentioned in the graphic for yourself here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36175745/
And learn more about attachment in our previous graphic here: https://www.facebook.com/DogNerdSussex/posts/162929403159046
Attachment! What is it? 🤔
Attachment was first researched in relation to human children/infants, and how they were treated in the first two years of their life affected their emotional bonds later in life. Children whose parents were unresponsive or dismissive to their needs, were irregular with their care, or were outright abusive to the children all developed insecure (avoidant, anxious, disorganised) attachment styles. Whereas children whose parents were responsive and caring to their child developed a secure attachment. This attachment meant the child felt more comfortable exploring and interacting with the world as they saw their caregiver as a secure base who would be there if anything ever were to happen. More recent studies have shown a similar development in dogs, that securely attached dogs will fair better in the environment than insecurely attached dogs.
So what can we do to ensure our dog has a secure attachment to us? Here are some ideas...
🐶 Don't have your dog 'cry it out' as a puppy! This was a large part of the studies with children and ignoring their emotional distress contributed to insecure attachment.
🐶 Make sure you train your dog with positive reinforcement, rather than any kind of punishment. Punishing your dog with certain tools or actions will not make you a safe space for your dog, and can create a confusing hot/cold dynamic for them.
🐶 Be understanding of their needs as a dog. Remember your dog has their own doggie needs and wants, make sure you are attentive to them and give them outlets for these behaviours rather than getting frustrated and simply shutting them down.
🐶 Listen to your dog's body language and react kindly. If your dog is uncomfortable in a situation, get them out of there rather than force them to continue with it. A dog that communicates their needs is not a bad or difficult dog.
It really is vitally important that our dogs feel safe and secure around us, we are their lifeline to the outside world and most things in their life. If they don't feel safe with us, where does that truly leave them?
You can check out the research review mentioned in the graphic for yourself here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4348122/?fbclid=IwAR2xOi1d8fVlsLVYiXlEUVOjSYjr-SevQXMufHvX4IN7HeuyTQMl142ShXk -prbm-8-071
