Over a series of articles, Fiona Warstat will look at the relationship and understanding between humans and dogs and address popular misconceptions and misunderstandings, with the aim of helping you to create a better and more balanced partnership with your dog.
INTRODUCTION: As more information and media coverage about dogs is exposed, the more confusion there is regarding the role of the dog today.
Dogs are one of the world’s most popular companion animalsl and yet, probably one of the least understood (though people such as Professor Ray Coppinger and his wife Lorna are one couple that have studied the dog in depth and have begun to educate professionals). Up until recently, the dog has been grouped with other companion animals within professional training - such as the veterinary profession and behavioural sciences - and not examined as closely as perhaps it should be, considering that most of us dog owners are convinced we are sharing our homes with an adapted wolf!
So, as well as understanding where our dogs have come from, we also need to understand their behaviour, such as:
1)
How they learn
2) What emotions they are capable of
3) How they communicate with each other and with humans,
4) Their
breed-specific behaviours and traits
5) The needs and expectations of the
modern dog (and the modern owner)
6)
And how to modify behaviours without causing undue stress to animal or owner
As a Companion Animal Behaviourist my task, when asked to see a client, is to assess the needs of the animal, assess the needs of the client and meet the two together if possible. Very early on in my career, I realised I needed ‘people’ skills in order to achieve this, and set about counselling training. Now, as a qualified counsellor, my assessments involve both the dog and the owner, and they are treated holistically, achieving a more complete solution.
I believe the key to understanding a problem is not only having a vast knowledge of the dog, but understanding the particular and individual relationship between the dog and owner, and owner and dog – both of which are different.
Our modern lifestyles and the dog's role in it: As we humans lead busier lives, with increased stress levels and reliance on technology, animals have become more important in our fundamental existence, our ‘grounding’. As animals ourselves, we need to maintain the connection with our instinctive drives, our genetic motivators for life and our whole survival.
Dogs provide us with a replacement child, a companion, a listener, a playmate, a non-judgemental friend and a social catalyst. Until things go wrong. The relationship then becomes different, and we no longer understand what has changed or what is needed in order to resurrect or maintain the relationship we once had with our dog.
The importance of understanding dog behaviour to manage relationships between dog and owner: Often within a consultation, a client will say to me that they have learned more about their dog within the last hour than they believe they knew in a lifetime of dog companionship.
When a dog lives with a human,
the dog gradually understands the human enough to adapt its innate behaviours, communication and learning, and in doing so, is able to meet its own needs (ie the dog can train the human according to its own needs). These needs can either be acceptable or unacceptable to the human. Often unaware of this process, owners nevertheless perceive sudden changes in their relationship with their dog, and the relationship becomes unbalanced.
When negative behaviours manifest themselves, the owner either seeks help, has the dog re-homed, lives with the problematic behaviours or the dog is destroyed. With knowledge and understanding of dog behaviour, the human can recognise and respond to the nuances in their relationship with their dog and ensure the relationship is a happy, balanced one, with clear understanding on both sides.
How can we, as owners of dogs, become more learned, more aware and sensitive to our dog’s needs and our own needs within the relationship we have with our dogs?
Within the following articles, I plan to explore and explain my understanding of the dog and its biological, neurological and emotional needs, and in doing so, hopefully improve relationship between man and dog.
Fiona Warstat DIP.CABT (COAPE) NOCN Companion Animal Behaviour Consultant
CLICK HERE for FIONA WARSTAT's web page on Caninetourism.co.uk |
