24/01/2025
"Nature Versus Nurture"
These two videos show two different dogs' reactions to the same stimulus β the vacuum cleaner β a quite common 'aversive' (unpleasant, scary) thing for many dogs. However, my Oscar and Rosie are the same age, from the same litter, raised in the exact same environment(s), fed the same, trained the same, loved the same.... and yet where Oscar clearly couldn't give a toss, Rosie is clearly the more nervous.
So that raises a big question for me β how much of our dog's behaviour is actually influenced by their learning (i.e. their background, their experiences, what we attempt to teach them through 'training') and how much is inherent in their nature, their personality, their temperament? Of course, all dogs need socialisation from a young age to help them build a certain amount of 'stress tolerance' to life's experiences. And it's of course true that negative experiences in a dog's life can massively affect their ability to 'cope', and by proxy, adversely affect behaviour. However, a certain amount of behaviour is in natural temperament and we sometimes just cannot fight that.
Some humans can be more prone to anxieties than others, we have extraverts, introverts, pessimists and optimists... so it stands to reason that our dogs, (whose brains work in pretty much the same way) are the same.
i.e.... Our dogs are not automatons who can be 'fixed' by A-B-C training techniques. 'Training' helps of course, but it can only go so far. This is why changing behaviour is so much more in depth than just saying "No" or sticking a slip lead on em and yanking. You have to consider all aspects, work with the dog in front of you, love them for what they are and manage your expectations of what they 'should' be, and most importantly advocate for them always. β€οΈ
(and please excuse the mess...)