Solving Your Dog Training Problems at their Root

Your Dog Can't Feed Itself

If a person were to bring a dog home to live with them and then failed to feed the dog, that dog would very quickly begin to experience two things. First hunger, because of the lack of food, then curiosity about where they can find some food. 

This new dog may then begin sniffing around and discover there is some butter to eat up on the counter. Then they might smell some snacks behind one of the kitchen cabinet doors. Lacking the hands to open it, they end up chewing through the corner of the door to gain access to what’s inside. After helping themselves to that food, they may discover the person they live with eating their dinner and decide to try and share a meal with them. 

If this person were to see this as “misbehavior” on the dog’s part, and attempt to correct these behaviors directly, the dog would quickly begin to view them as an obstacle to the attainment of their survival needs. Depending on if the person used punishment to change the dog’s behavior, the dog might even begin to see them as an enemy. Either way, the dog isn’t going to be incentivized to follow this person’s instructions, nor are they going to view their new home as a safe environment.

If this person then called a dog trainer and said, “My dog desperately needs obedience training! They keep stealing food off the counter. They chewed through the pantry door and ate all my snacks. They are always trying to steal my food while I eat. They get aggressive when I try to take my food back from them. They are constantly barking at me and trying to escape out the front door. They are totally crazy and are completely out of control.” 

This person would be telling the truth, but entirely missing the point. 

Here you can see that the dog’s behavior is not the root of the problem, but the fruit. That is to say, it is an outcome based on the fact that their pack leader is failing to feed them. The dog is simply trying to survive. They can’t feed themselves, so if their pack leader doesn’t do it, conflict is created  within the pack. 

It is obvious that the solution to this problem is not obedience training to fix the dog’s “behavioral issues”.  

To solve the problem at its root the pack leader needs to start feeding the dog and establishing themselves as the source of what their dog needs. Depending on how long the dog starved and struggled to feed themselves, this can be a very easy or a very difficult process. 

Once the dog’s need for food is met, their hunger satiated, and they have a clear understanding that their pack leader will make sure they’re fed, their challenging behaviors will quickly disappear. 

Your dog’s behavior is always the result of their needs (met or unmet), their beliefs, their environment, and their current emotional state. And you are the only one who can help them meet their needs and help shape their beliefs so that they can have a clear understanding of how to thrive in your home and in the human world at large.  

Now, let’s see how this example might translate with different needs, which will in turn create different “hungers”, and thus result in different challenging behaviors. 

If your dog is starving for some control over their daily walks because you don’t let them stop to sniff interesting things, this might result in your dog constantly pulling on the leash. 

If your dog is starving to be understood because they can’t go online and teach themselves better communication skills, they might bark, whine, or paw at you constantly. 

If your dog is starving for some peace and quiet because they can’t turn down your music or TV, they might become cranky and reactive from a lack of sleep. 

If your dog is starving for mental stimulation because they don’t have Netflix or Instagram to keep themselves from feeling bored all day, they might go berserk every time someone walks past the front of your house. 

Every need creates a hunger in your dog. 

A hunger for connection. 

For consistency and structure. 

For competition and play. 

For guidance and understanding. 

For freedom and new experiences. 

For attention and appreciation. 

For socialization and friendship. 

The list goes on and on.  

If your dog is starving in any respect, they are going to suffer. That suffering will lead them to behave in ways that can be extremely challenging for those they live with. Obsessiveness, stubbornness, violence, anxiousness, and depression, just to name a few.  

Once you recognize the reality of your dog’s extreme dependency on you, it becomes clear that their “misbehavior” is never their fault. Why? Because your dog’s behavior is a response to the environment you are creating for them.  

So what does that mean? 

It means only you can address the root of the problem. Not because it’s your fault, but because you are the one with the big brain who understands the complex world your dog lives in. You control all the resources your dog needs to be successful and fulfilled. Believe it or not, this is great news because once you understand and own your role in your current situation, you instantly gain the ability to do something about it.