09/04/2025
Even modern and educated understanding of why behaviour happens can lead us to unhelpful conclusions if we don’t gather all the information about the dog, and why the behaviour exists.
Dogs aren’t trying to rule the world. They just do what works in the moment to meet whatever need is most urgent. They are much better at reading us than we are at reading them, and for the most part, they do ok despite us, not because of us.
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Dogs behave the way they do for many reasons. They don’t act out of stubbornness or a desire to be ‘naughty,’ nor do they try to take control to be the 'pack leader.' Old myths and outdated training approaches harm their well-being and strain the bond between dogs and their caregivers.
🧬 A dog’s breed and genetics shape certain behavioural traits. Genetic predispositions and breed-specific tendencies play a role. Some breeds lean toward behaviours like herding, hunting, or guarding.
The neonatal period and the environment a dog grows up in can impact and influence their emotional responses. Early socialisation period—appropriately exposing puppies using reward-based methods to diverse people, animals, and settings during their key developmental window—builds confidence and shapes emotional regulation, adaptive behaviours, social skills, and reduces fear or aggression later on.
Overstimulation triggers unwanted behaviours by overwhelming a dogs senses. Not enough sleep, loud noises, crowds, or constant busy activity can lead to hyperactivity or erratic/impulsive responses. For example, a dog might jump, bark, or pull on the leash when flooded with too much daily input.
Past experiences and learned consequences shape behaviour. Trauma, especially, can spark fear, anxiety, or aggression.
How caregivers interact and guide their dogs shape their emotional responses and behaviours. Empathy, prevention (environmental management), consistency, and positive reinforcement methods build a more stable and confident dog. Punitive correction-based and intimidation methods can create unpredictability, confusion, and fear, which may lead to aggressive defensive responses.
A dogs health—physical and mental—affects their behaviour. Pain, illness, or discomfort can shift how they act.
Emotions that cause distress, like fear, anxiety, or excessive excitement, drive behaviour or a ‘lack thereof.’ Responses are instinctive and depend on how the dog perceives a threat. They might react defensively (fight), flee to hide (flight), freeze in place, or fawn by showing submissive, appeasing behaviours to de-escalate conflict—like excessive licking or cowering. Some may shut down entirely into learned helplessness after prolonged stress, while others display excessive, out-of-context behaviours (fidgeting), like random ge***al checks, eating grass, scratching, or ‘shaking off.
Unmet mental or physical needs lead to frustration and destruction. A dog with pent-up energy or boredom might chew furniture, dig up the yard, or bark nonstop to release stress.
Diet influences behaviour, too. High-quality nutrition supports steady energy, good mood, and well-being. Poor food choices can cause irritability, hyperactivity, or gut issues.
As dogs age, canine cognitive decline can set in as well as the loss of hearing or eyesight. These changes can lead to increased confusion, disorientation, and altered social interactions in older dogs.
Every dog is unique, and behaviour varies within context, experiences, breeds, and life stages. Dogs express needs, emotions, and intentions through body language, vocalizations, and other signals. Reading these cues gives you insight into their behaviour and how they are feeling, which can help you prevent unwanted situations from happening or help you adjust your approach to challenges.
I’m not humanising dogs—they are sentient beings with emotions (Cambridge Declaration, 2012). Their feelings and needs may not be as layered as ours, but they’re real!
Thanks for reading and learning more about them🐾💜
