When you bring your new pup home, everyone is filled with excitement for the new arrival. All too often, it isn’t long before the reality of sharing your life with a puppy or new canine sets in. Soon, you are sleep deprived and have spent more time “cleaning up” than enjoying your new addition.
Why can’t she just stop peeing in the house? Seriously, my shoe is not a toy! Stop, that is my new table you are chewing on. Has anyone seen the couch pillow? Ugh… now he broke the vase. Ouch! Those teeth are sharp.
It can be hard to understand why our dogs do the things that they do. Frustration builds, and we can be tempted to get angry. Here is the thing; we are using Human Logic. That is a mistake. Instead of Human Logic, we need to use Dog Logic. Does that mean we allow our little buddies to continue on their path of destruction? Absolutely not. However, it does mean that we need to take a step back and help them to navigate the human world that we have tossed them into.
Let’s face it, it would be so much easier if they came preprogrammed with all the desired behaviors already installed. They don’t though. Since we are the ones with the ability to think rationally, it is our job to teach them the human expectations.
Play biting
If you watch dogs play together, bitey face is a favorite game. This is not only how they play, they explore their world with their mouths. Play biting in puppies is normal dog behavior.
To us, this behavior isn’t just annoying, it is painful. We want it to stop immediately! While some people take the approach of shutting it down quickly via force or intimidation, there is a critical missed opportunity here. Taking the time to teach a very young dog to use their mouth softly can help them later in life.
Potty Training
Dogs don’t automatically understand that going to the bathroom inside is bad and outside is good. What they do know is that when they have to go, they have to go! If they go on the carpet, the pee doesn’t splash up on them, and they feel a sense of relief. In other words, going potty has been rewarded by the feeling of not having to go anymore. We can all relate to that!
Imagine their confusion if they are punished while doing their business in the house. Does this approach teach them where they should go pee? Or have they learned to not eliminate in front of the human because the human is scary? I don’t know about you, but going to the bathroom outside in the cold and in the dark doesn’t sound fun. If we want them to go outside, we have to help them understand what we want and make it way more appealing to trudge out to the backyard.
Chewing on the furniture:
The Dog Logic on this one is pretty clear… Wooden sticks inside attached to the chair look just like the sticks I chew on in the yard. That big stuffed pillow feels just like my stuffed teddy bear toy in my mouth. They don’t know what is theirs to enjoy and what is yours. We need to set up their environment in such a way as to teach them the difference. When we don’t, it is pretty easy to see how the problems arise.
Are you starting to see the difference between Human Logic and Dog Logic? If we punish a dog for doing normal dog things, they don’t usually understand, and depending on how we handle it, it can make them afraid, which is never a good thing. After all, we didn’t get a puppy or new dog to have their interactions with us be negative.
Next time your dog does something you don’t like, try to see the Dog Logic in the behavior. Remember that your dog is just being a dog. Then, you can make a plan to help them make the choice that us humans prefer.
Happy Training,
Tiffanie Moyano, CTC
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