Basics How does a dog thinck?

If you can't find what you are looking for in this page please have a look at the Frequently asked questions (FAQ) page.

 

As you have realized this web site has two main reasons for existence. Advertisement and basic knowledge. There isn't a lot of depth detail in the site. This is due to a few certain reasons. Firstly training dogs is how we make a living and as all people we protect ourselves by limiting shared information. However we do share a certain degree of information. The information that we share is what we believe you should know for the good sake of you're dog whether you are a customer of ours or not. People who do attend classes or send us their dog for training do receive detailed information. Another reason is that certain things can not be performed by an amateur whilst training a dog. I.e. if I were to explain in detail how to get a dog to do protection work it would most definitely result as someone getting hurt. Small mistakes would result as a frightened dog or as question marks causing stress to the dog.

This part of the site contains information that pop up in our oral and written exams that musty be successfully completed by handlers for certain training titles such as the K-9 training program.

I strongly advice all to read this part because it will give you a better understanding of your dog whether you are to train get trained or leave him/her as is.

 

 

To understand how a dog thinks I believe the best way is to look carefully at a dog's life close-up. So let's start with birth.

When a dog is born it is born in a sack which tears open on its own or is torn open by the puppy's mum. Once born the mum will tear open the sack, tear the puppy's cord that connects it to the after birth and then will eat the after birth. The puppy will be brought to life by its mum licking it. The puppy will be licked clean from fluid and blood that it is covered with. Mum was never taught this but she knew what she had to do and without harming her pup she accomplishes it. The puppy is born with its eyes and ears closed and cannot walk but can crawl and by instinct will crawl beside its mum and will locate a nipple and will start sucking milk. Only a few seconds are required for the puppy to realize that using its front feet will help extra milk to come out and make it easier for them o pull their heads back. As the puppy's siblings are born they to go through the same procedure. Eventually all will fill their tummies and depending on the outside temperature they will find a place to snuggle up to sleep. If it is cold they will stay close to mum and will all snuggle up together. If it is hot they will get further away from mum and siblings before getting to sleep yet they are only a few hours old! Mum will message each puppy's stomach to get them to discharge and will eat it all clean.

All this that goes on in a few hours points out to something. Dogs are born with very strong instincts. Humans to are born with instincts people argue differently however when it comes to us humans, some believe that we are born with little instinct due to the way we evolved saying that being unnecessary we have lost much and that left is not as strong as before. Others believe we never had more natural instinct before. Others say that it's their but us grown ups don't realize. Whatever the reason is at the end of the day we have natural instincts but no way near that of a dog.

They know where milk is. Some say they can smell it. OK they know what milk smells like then. They know they have to crawl for it, they start using their brains to solve problems as soon as they are born giving them a higher chance for survival, they manage to do what they can in order to keep their body's at the most comfortable temperature. Mum knows to eat the after birth which would have caused bacteria and attracted prey, she broke their chords at they right spot, she liked them clean from everything that would encourage bacteria and prey, she eats their discharge which would attract prey and bacteria etc.

A day or so later the pups would have sussed out which tit provides the best milk and will fight for it. This is when and were they actually star to learn how to survive and protect themselves. As they grow up they start going to the loo on their own but this is performed outside the den as far as they dare go. This helps protect their home from bacteria and predators. Their games turn into a show that on-lookers see to be sometimes fun and play and other times serious fighting. To the puppies however it's all the same. In this play of game one will see them putting their front paws out, wiggling their tails and even yelping. This is body language for invitation to play. Then one will see that there are certain things performed during play. All this play is how the puppy's discover

As the puppies grow up they start their playful fights. During this play one will notice much body language. As an example by putting their front feet forward and bending their body down with a wiggling their tail a puppy will be inviting a brother or sister to play. Playing consists of getting on top of one another, yelping, barking, screaming, biting, growling, chasing, etc. What's really happening during this play is learning their place in the family how much they can bite without causing pain, fighting techniques, body language etc. When one puppy manages to get on top of another puppy and always succeeds that puppy is accepted to be higher in rank then the other. The more dominant puppies will be higher placed in the family tree with the passive ones at the bottom. After a while the more passive poppies will not accept challenges from accepted higher ranked brothers and sisters and they will not call on them for play. It is often noticed that not every puppy has played with every other puppy before all have accepted their place. This proves how clever they are. If puppy X has one against puppy Y who has one against puppy Z then puppy Z knows that puppy X is also above it and puppy X also knows that it is above puppy Z. The more dominant poppies will bite other poppies that it successes in turn and will place them according to who screamed first and who screamed last. A very interesting fact is that they will automatically release their bite when they hear a scream.

Once all poppies realize their position in the family they always act accordingly. When the poppies grow up and are accepted to the adult pack they will enter further play with other pack members. This way they will find their place in the pack. The most dominant dog in the pack is called the Alpha dog. No dog in the pack disobeys the Alpha and all follow accordingly. In wolf packs there is an Alpha female and an alpha male only these two are allowed to reproduce!

When a female gives birth she knows how much jaw pressure she can use to carry a puppy due to her own puppy experience.

 

Now looking at this one will recognize that dogs are indeed intelligent but have their own rules and way of life.

 

•  To stop your puppy from causing pain whilst biting you, you must give out a small scream. By instinct they will seize pressure. Getting cross will be urging for more, ad will cause stress.

•  Allow a puppy to stay with its mother and siblings as long as possible in order fro it to strongly develop its natural instincts and learn.

•  Always treat your dog or puppy as a dog or puppy and not like a human. They don't think or understand in the same line as us humans so don't try to.

•  Dogs always obey the alpha in the family make sure you are the alpha and not pooch.

•  Don't allow your dog to jump up on you however funny it may seem else pooch becomes alpha.

Tests have defined that dogs see a wider range then humans, they see things blurred at close up, they are red-green color blind. They perceive movement better then us and they see better then us in dim light.

Dogs can smell what we cannot smell and they can discriminate mixed smells where we can not. We get used to a smell very quickly were dogs continue perceiving smell. They can smell what we can not and they can smell much smaller samples then we or any man made machine can. They are better at smelling then us for thousands of times greater not tens of times. Dogs can hear a wider sound range then we can. Thus they can here what we can't. They can discriminate many sounds at once which would mean junk sound to us.

Therefore when teaching a dog a command always use the same tone. The slightest difference will sound the same to us but will be completely different to a dog causing stress. Dogs are very good at making paring. They will quickly mach a certain sound to a certain act thus they will understand in time a command in different tones and pair it with a single meaning. So don't get cross with pooch when he/she doesn't react to a command maybe you didn't use the right tone! Also understand that a dog will in a short time understand that whatever is said if it is said with a certain tone and body language they will know what kind of mood you are in and thus will b affected. Many handlers who are incorrectly taught how to handle will enter a competition with their dog with high expectations due to their daily success records yet fail in the tests. This is mainly because the handler is affected by the surroundings and their dog picks up that they are under stress thus act anomaly to given commands.

Dogs do not sweat; they use their tongue and water to drop their temperature. This is done by pumping blood into their tongue and using water + air flow to cool down blood in a radiator fashion.

Dogs have special oil that covers their body. This oil protects them from outside germs and protects them from whether conditions. This special coat of oil is easily affected by the use of incorrect shampoo causing it to dissolve thus smell and leave the dog unprotected. I always advice people that it is best they wash their dog only twice a year and use well known shampoo. Daily brushing and the use of trustworthy powder shampoo will keep them clean and protected.

Dogs don't think like us. Put your dog's nose in his poop that it did in the lounge and shout or beat him/her up doesn't work the same as it would have done for a human being. Your dog will think that it didn't eat it up or put its nose in it or the action itself was the reason for punishment. Also when a dog seeks for affection and can not get it they will do things that they now will cause attention even if it's a beating thus will poop in the lounge once again.

Dogs like to relieve them selves away from living quarters and they prefer the same spot. Use this information when toilet training!

If your dog is pulling when out for a walk and you continue you will have taught your dog that they should always pull when out for a walk. Don't bother shouting or beating. Just go back home and try again tomorrow. Let them know it's your way or no way.

 

This page is to be changed and every thing put into order and the missing stuff will also be added. Looking at the calendar this will be some time in august.