"Normal" dog behavior?!

[aliki]

There was a post a week ago that was more of a rant about living with two dogs that did not belong to the Original Poster, and how to deal with them. The gist of her rant included living with two dogs that:

1. Begging/stealing food (including jumping on kitchen counter)


2. Jumping on humans


3. Pulling on the leash


4. Excessive barking

And overwhelmingly, everybody in the dog community said it was "normal dog behavior" and the Original Poster (a cat owner living with her boyfriend's parents), was just misguided and should "deal with it".

And I thought: "really?! This is how people think dogs should behave?!"

I expect so much more of our 9-year old dog, Kade.

When Kade was a puppy, he had his share of naughty deeds and mischievous behavior. He stole and ate 3 sticks of butter (and had diarrhea for a day). He dug under the backyard fence and ran away multiple times. He chewed my camera's leather pouch. He pulled on the leash. He barked all night instead of sleeping. He peed all over the house. But by the time he was 6 months old, he was trained. I mean, people still train dogs, don't they? And if they don't, they know to get help, right? Self-help guides, doggy training classes, online videos, etc.?

I don't mean to sound condescending, but is it the case that people don't *see* these behaviors (the four listed above: stealing food, jumping, pulling, barking) as issues in dogs? Or that they don't know how to address the issue in dogs? Because it sounds like the former, and that surprises me!

1. Kade does not steal human food (disclaimer: apparently he thinks cat food is OK, even though I've told him multiple times it is not). We can leave food on a low coffee table and he would not dare. I've told Erika not to leave her snacks unattended, but she occasionally does, and he will not take it.
2. Kade does not jump on people. If he wants their attention, he goes up to them, and sits at their feet. He wags his tail and he may nudge his nose into your thigh, but he does not jump.
3. Pulling on the leash results in the walker heading the other direction. If pulling continues, this can mean up to 30 minutes of walking in a 4-foot radius. He bores of this game quickly. Erika has been able to walk Kade since she was 2 years old because he does not have pulling issues.
4. Kade does not speak in any way (barking, whining, etc) unless instructed to do so with the voice command "speak". The only exception is if someone rings the doorbell or knocks on the door; then he barks until we give the command "that's enough", at which point, he ceases barking immediately.

Other important voice commands that dogs should understand, aside from the basic "sit", "down", and "no", that Kade obeys:
1. "Stay". This includes staying when a toy is thrown, when a treat is presented, or when he is running full speed through a field. This is key if you let your dogs off-leash at all, because this, combined with "come", can determine whether your dog is going to get run over by a car or not. He drops to a down position and waits to be verbally released.
2. "Leave it". This includes poop, dead animals, food, toys, and anything else attractive to a dog. I don't need a tug-of-war game with my dog over this.

Then he knows an assortment of fun commands, like "crawl", "tire", "over", "up", "fetch", "beg", "shake", "high-five", "circle", "over there", and several nouns relating to his toys, such as "kong", "tennis ball", "rope", "stick", and "buoy". He knows words such as "beach", "walk", "woods", and "car" since we use them fairly often around him. One word people find amusing is he knows "dumpster" means the giant trash dumpster in our condo complex. 

Comments

[kaytethinks.livejournal.com]

He sounds very smart, but isn't Kade part border collie? They're the smartest breed, right? I don't think every kind of dog is quite up to this standard. Then again, the hypothetical dog at the beginning of the post sounds especially poorly behaved.

The dog I walk (not my dog) doesn't jump on people (except for one family we occasionally run into who apparently know her, this gets her really excited), and never barks, but she does pull on the leash and steal cat food. She'll "sit," "stay," "come," "high five" but is mostly motivated by treats.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

I agree that dog breeds probably plays a role in it, but I think there is a nurture/nature component too. Not everything can be chalked up to just genes.

[sooshi.livejournal.com]

You have a very well trained dog. If we were to ever have one, we'd definitely train.

My sister in law's dog is a pain. But he gets away with it because she doesn't think it's a big deal. He behaves for her, not for anyone else.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

I think the majority (but not all) misdeeds and misbehaviors, both in humans and dogs, are a result of lack of guidance.

I notice small dogs tend to get away with more than large dogs, largely because a 6-lb dog jumping on you is annoying but a 60-lb dog jumping on you knocks you over. Or a 3-lb dog biting is a nip but a 30-lb dog biting could draw blood.

[tabloidscully.livejournal.com]

No. Dogs should be trained and can be trained in a way that isn't punitive or cruel.

However, I think dog breeding plays a major role in the outcome.

We trained Little Bit, a Pomeranian/Pekingese mix, the same as we did my Savannah, a German Shepherd/Brittany Spaniel mix. But a defining feature of Pekingese and Pomeranians is that they can be incredibly stubborn and demanding. So the outcome has been very different. Savannah would sit, stay, lay down, come. Little Bit refuses to do tricks--he will come when called, and he even understands the concept of the other commands, but I have failed to convince him it's worth his time and investment to do so.

Unfortunately, after Savannah died a few years back, he developed separation anxiety. He doesn't destroy the house, thankfully, but he will jump on us after we get home until we pick him up, which is irritating and not a trait he had previously. I've yet to figure out how to break him of it.

I'm not sure if we'll continue having dogs after Little Bit goes, but suffice it to say, if we do, I will definitely be training them as we did Savannah, who was just about the perfect dog.

[aliki.livejournal.com]

You are right, I'm sure breed plays a role in it. We had a German Shepherd too, and they were very eager to learn.

As an aside, we had a Little Bit too, but he was a cat! :)