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Dogs A New Undersdtanding of Canine Origin, Behavior & Evolution

Raymond and Lorna Coppinger The Interview

Socialization and what it is!

Dogs need proper exposure to their environment. All puppies need an informed and thoughtful owner to shape a pup’s course toward being a well-behaved adult. Raising puppies--especially raising them for special jobs as adults-- requires attention to detail. When people raise puppies as pets, they often get them at about eight weeks of age, take them home; feed and cuddle them; house break them; take them for walks; and play with them. What they are doing (and they’re usually not aware of it) is providing specialized brain-growing conditions that shape a dog's future behavior.

If I were buying a puppy for a pet, I would check its early environment and make sure it wasn’t raised for the first eight weeks in a kennel or laundry room, with only its mother and littermates for immediate company. I'd be very suspicious of a department store dog that was 12 weeks old, wondering if that dog had time left to grow its brain.  Also, if I locked the pup up in the house alone each day while I went to work, I'd get a small-brained dog without enough connections to be a good social companion. This critical period of a dog’s social development (brain growth) implies so much more than simple animal-to-animal socialization.

My belief system is that six weeks is too young, seven weeks is OK, eight weeks is ideal IF the pup continues to have exposure to his dam, and IF the breeder is stimulating his system with new sights, sounds and smells.  If a puppy is not in an enriching environment, then it is best to get him into a situation where is brain is being stimulated and "grown".

Brains grow, just like legs or any other body parts.

The social critical period for pups means (which is roughly between four and sixteen weeks of age) that during this time, a pup is predisposed to and has the greatest capacity to learn particular social skills. It is in this period when dominance hierarchies are formed, and dogs learn and practice their submissive behavior. They learn to beg for food, whom to beg from, and how to turn begging into social greetings. They learn what species they belong to. At 16 weeks this social learning window closes. After that a dog has very poor abilities to develop or change its social skills. Essentially at 16 weeks, the dog's social personality is set for life.  If a dog is shy of people at 16 weeks, then it will be shy the rest of its life. Can it learn not to be shy with intensive training? It certainly could make some progress, but it will always have a social "accent". After growth stops it's difficult to "change the wiring".

Unfortunately, the critical period is too often poorly understood, even by trainers. For example, a persuasive view describes the social behavior within a pack of wolves as genetic. Because of this, dog trainers reason that dogs are descended from wolves, wolves form packs, and therefore dogs understand wolf-pack behavior. They should respond to the trainer as "alpha" or dominant in the dog’s life. If dogs don’t develop pack social behavior during the critical period, there is no sense in trying to simulate pack leadership after the social window closes. Pack behaviors are much more complicated than just hierarchs of social status. They are learned through social play and care-soliciting behaviors during the juvenile period. For most dogs, attention must be paid to developmental events during one to eight weeks, and then eight to sixteen weeks. What happens during this time is crucial for making a good dog. Many people don't realize how much time that takes."

A trainer who pretends to be the “alpha leader” of a wolf pack—for example, by turning the dog over onto its back, getting down and growling at its throat--is intimidating the dog, no doubt. But to a dog the message is not what the trainer thinks it is. Teaching and learning are seldom facilitated by intimidation. A dog doesn’t learn how to sit from a trainer who intimidates it, simply because the coercion diverts the dog's attention away from the task and toward its social status.

An alpha wolf is not trying to teach a pack member anything, especially to sit. The fact that so many people believe the wolf-pack homology, and use it in training a dog, is really a testament to how little is being understood about canine behavioral development.

People ask…"What kind of dog should I get for a pet?" What they’re really saying is "what kind of dog do you think would benefit us most". The answer… whatever you decide. If the pup is not in an enriching environment as described above, then get a pup before it is 8 weeks old and spend a lot of time with it during the next 8 weeks.

Thinking of the right breed as a package of behaviors that comes prearranged is all that is needed to effect the perfect dog/ human bond is a very common mistake. If you are making the commitment to bring a pup home…Leaving it alone all day while you go to work only to find your place trashed when you come home, is setting you up for failure not success!

Puppies that aren't socialized turn out to be abnormally fearful and/or aggressive as adults. A lack of socialization is no different than subjecting a dog to severe neglect... it is a form of abuse.

A dog's socialization schedule is as follows: 

6 - 10 Weeks: Pup will be more excitable if not given a chance to sort out new smells, sounds, and sights.

8-12 Weeks: Pup will be suspicious of novel stimuli if not given the chance to investigate and develop his own investigative behavior patterns.

By the 12thWeek: Pup MUST be given individual attention DAILY, or Pup will prefer facilitation from dogs instead of from people.

By the 20th Week (5th Month): Pup's ability to handle novel stimuli is established.

Suggestions for breeders:

• It is very valuable for the dam to wean her own puppies.
• Puppies need the opportunity to develop investigative behavior on their own terms.
• Puppies need the opportunity to rehearse many times the decision that novel things in the environment are NOT a threat.
• Through exposure to contact with many people puppies need to learn that people are safe and reliable facilitators of pleasure.
• Puppies need the opportunity to interact with adult dogs as well as littermates.
• Puppies kept by breeders past about the twelfth week need the opportunity to play with puppies other than littermates before the end of their critical facilitation (social) period. Puppies kept by breeders need sufficient individual attention to form facilitation bonds with people

 Suggestions once a pup is removed from the litter:

• Puppies need to be exposed to unfamiliar places and novel stimuli at different times so they are not overwhelmed during their critical facilitation (social) period.
• Puppies need the opportunity to be facilitated in a positive way either by other people or by the owner when other people are around. Puppies should not be expected to like unfamiliar people, just Dot to be afraid of them.
• If a puppy acts fearful removing the pup is more prudent than forcing the pup to cope with fear.
• It is strongly suggested that at all times puppies be given the opportunity to choose to go into a stranger's "space" rather than be forced to accept a stranger coming into their "space".
• Puppies need the opportunity to make positive and facilitating contact with adult dogs as well as other puppies of varying ages.
• Puppies need contact with adult dogs that will appropriately defend themselves.  Defensiveness on the part of adult dogs facilitates puppies learning about the proper behavioral mechanics for interaction within the same species.  They also learn how to be in and to remain in an operant and calm emotional state in the presence of other dogs. This is especially important if his/her dam did not wean a puppy.
• Puppies need the opportunity to play with their peers without human interruption unless absolutely necessary which will allow puppies to learn as many social overture behaviors as possible.

 Dogs cannot take on the responsibility of "trusting" people nor can they "forgive and forget" when harmful things happen.  The responsibility to protect dogs from harmful experiences and provide appropriate nurturing during all stages of development belongs in the hands of people. Chris Bach THE THIRD WAY

Suggestions for adolescent dog owners:

• Major behavioral changes will take place when puppies (starting at 4 1/2  months of age) begin to experience the hormonal changes that result in reaching puberty. For example, play behaviors are often replaced with courtship behaviors.
• "Familiarity" will play an important role in a dog's response to the environment. Adolescent dogs may go through a period in which they act apprehensive and lack confidence around familiar people, dogs and objects.
• Just because a puppy was very playful with its peers does not mean it will continue to view other dogs as good facilitators throughout adolescence and into adulthood.
• As a dog is reaching puberty, exposure to contact with people and dogs must be closely scrutinized and managed for the rest of the dog's life. Dogs' "sociality" must not be taken for granted because dogs respond out of facilitation, not "social" needs.

 Suggestions for adult dog owners:

• The adult dog is a product of many things such as socialization, temperament, proper handling, physical health and structure, diet, and education.  Behavior patterns can be modified, but the dog cannot be changed.
• Some negative experiences cause irreparable damage to a dog's ability to adapt to his environment.

Your puppy should be exposed to everything the adult dog will be expected to work and live around in their environment... Keep these experiences happy and fun; don't do things that make your puppy afraid. The puppy must perceive the experiences as being reinforcing. If you expose the puppy at a young age to many novel experiences, they will be better able to adapt and deal with them as adults. This is a plan of prevention.

Phone Consultations - Ask the Experts:

Need help right away but can't make it to our facility? We can set-up a phone consultation for you with a professional trainer. Phone consultations are useful if you need help immediately but can't make it in for a private lesson. Clients who move out of town find them particularly useful.  

The following issues are some of the most common:

Puppy Selection - Advance planning is the key to a great relationship with your puppy. Discuss which breeds are best for you; learn what traits to look for in a puppy; find out what supplies to have on hand before bringing your puppy home.

Crate Training - If your puppy is keeping you up nights, let our experienced trainers help. They've personally trained hundreds of puppies and know what really works.

Potty Training - This can be one of the most frustrating issues for new puppy owners but it doesn't have to be. Tell us what's happening and we can help you structure your puppy's environment for success.

Introducing a second dog - Not sure how to introduce a new dog to your existing canine (or feline) household? We can design a plan that works for your family.

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 A recent article in the NY times… Dog experts have noticed other signs of a growing concern over bad behavior by dogs, despite all the gourmet biscuits, educational toys and $70 dog sweaters lavished on them. (Perhaps because of that treatment, others argue.) Enrollment in obedience classes is escalating, veterinarians are seeing an increasing demand for help with behavior problems, and ratings for "Dog Whisperer," the National Geographic Channel's dog-behavior program, are rising. Figuring out how to make the dog mind, it seems, has become a national obsession.

The problem, some dog expert’s suspect, is not that there are more bad dogs, only more demanding owners. People expect their dogs to cooperate with their busier lives — to behave at cocktail parties, at real estate open houses and in cafes and shops — and to respect their better-appointed homes. And in a culture that values achievement and excellence, they readily assume that dogs value the same things, especially when there are obstacle courses to master and social graces to display.

Some dog experts wonder whether the focus on behavior is the best thing for the dog or just the latest form of self-help for people: with their furniture, their clothes and their cooking skills already up to snuff, the only way to make their lives better now is by improving the dog.

"This is the generation that invented the gifted and talented kid," said Jon Katz, the author of books on the human-dog relationship, "so now you have the gifted and talented dog."

Mr. Katz, who has written "Katz on Dogs: A Commonsense Guide to Training and Living With Dogs" (Villard, 2005) and "The New Work of Dogs" (Villard, 2003), which discusses the changing role of dogs from outdoor protectors and retrievers to indoor nurturers and soul mates, said there has been an explosion in the number of companion animals, almost a fivefold increase since the 1960's.

This increase, combined with many other social changes, Mr. Katz said, has brought about a revolution in the relationship between people and dogs. Dogs are now expected to play the role of the best friend, confidant or child, who can be taken everywhere, including the mall and a friend's house. "Dogs are a blank canvas," Mr. Katz said. "You can paint anything you want on them."

Chris Hoffman and Ann Shih put Senshi, their American bulldog, through basic dog training, twice. Then, to socialize Senshi, they took her everywhere they could: shopping, the library, cafes. And the better socialized the dog became; the less they left her at home.

Mr. Hoffman, who works in Internet marketing in San Francisco, said Senshi is a bigger part of his life than the dogs of his childhood, dogs that would spend a lot of time in the backyard. "We don't have a backyard, but if we did, she wouldn't spend much time there," he said. "She's more a part of our family."

Annie Teillon and her husband, Geoff, who live in Manhattan, found that formal training was vital for their two dogs — a Lab and a golden retriever — because they are so large and strong. "I live in an apartment with my two dogs," Ms. Teillon said, "and it is necessary for them to be very well behaved."

The number of obedience classes nationwide is not known, in part because dog training is often an informal arrangement, ranging from one-time classes in a schoolyard to intensive home visits from doggy gurus. But many trainers say waiting lists for their classes are growing.

Annette Rauch, a research assistant professor at the Center for Animals and Public Policy at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine of Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass., cited a survey of new pet owners that showed 75 percent wanted counseling on behavior, and 85 percent said they intended to participate in a training course. "Over the past few decades there has been a larger push to train vets in behavior," she said. Behavior problems, she noted, are the leading reason people give their pets away.

"As we've seen an increase in the popularity of large breeds of dogs," Dr. Rauch said, "we've seen an increase in the number of behavior problems."

By far the most popular dog in the country for the last 16 years has been the Labrador retriever, which had 137,867 American Kennel Club registrations last year, more than twice as many as the second most popular dog, the golden retriever, which had 48,509.

Large dogs like these need more exercise than many owners realize. And if they don't get enough, they may chew the furniture or become aggressive.

Ms. Arden said small dogs present a different kind of trouble, which she calls small dog syndrome. Many owners (especially those who think of themselves as parents) treat their Yorkies and Chihuahuas like babies, she explained, and this leads to spoiling. Owners often fail to discipline small dogs when they relieve themselves on the carpet, for example. "Because it was just a couple of drops, owners wipe it up and say, 'Oh he just didn't want to go outside and get his little feet all wet,' " Ms. Arden said. If it was a Lab, she added, the owners wouldn't say the same.

The lack of discipline can lead to aggressive snapping, biting, barking and chewing, Ms. Arden said.

Pet owners tend to respond to bad behavior in two ways, said Prof. Nicholas Dodman, the director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Cummings: by getting rid of the dog or by taking extreme measures to improve the behavior immediately.

Dr. Dodman cautioned owners to be patient, to maintain realistic expectations and to aim to control their dogs without shouting or violence.

Methods of training vary, but most favor rewards for good behavior over punishment for bad. Cesar Millan, who runs a dog psychology center in Los Angeles and is in his second season as the host of "Dog Whisperer," calls for asserting dominance, so that the dog learns that the owner is the leader. Mr. Millan preaches that dogs need exercise, discipline and affection, in that order. He aims, he said, to create a balanced dog, but has drawn criticism for techniques like pinning a dog down or jerking on its leash.

Dr. Dodman said: "My college thinks it is a travesty. We've written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years."

Mr. Millan's response: "Some people don't like me. I know I'm doing good."

Teoti Anderson, a dog trainer in Lexington, S.C., and the president of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, said owners often avoid obedience classes for fear that their dogs will not measure up to the others.

"They are so focused on their own dog acting like an idiot," she said, "they don't notice everyone else is doing the same thing."

Dog owners take consolation from Mr. Grogan's book. "I am the spiritual leader of the bad dog owners of America," he said. "I can't give people tips on how to be a better owner, but I can give them support that they are not alone."

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