Your dog is normal!

Your dog is normal!

When we ask our dogs to fit seamlessly into our human world, we are really asking a lot. Natural dog behaviour and our expectations are often at odds with one another.

If your dog does something naturally (they don't have to be taught), it's likely to be a normal and natural behaviour for them.

If they do have to be taught, you can safely assume that the behaviour is not normal or natural for them.

Let's dive a little deeper into this.

Does your dog pull on leash? That's normal! Loose leash walking is a complex skill that we have to teach our dogs. Being leashed and tethered to a human is not natural for a dog. So, they pull to get where they are trying to go in order to engage with their environment. I don't know about you, but my legs just won't go as fast as my dogs would like to travel. Dogs also have what we call opposition reflex. This is an instinctive reaction where if you pull them in one direction, they will automatically pull in the opposite direction. So, if you are constantly pulling your dog back on leash to be next to you, they will automatically pull forward even harder.

Does your dog chew on your belongings? That can also be normal! Dogs navigate the world with their mouths, so biting and chewing on things is a part of that. Puppies chew on things to soothe their gums while they're teething. Some dogs chew when they're bored, or even excited.

Does your dog dig holes in your yard? Normal! It is completely natural for dogs to dog holes in order to hide their treasure as well as to carve out a nice cool spot to rest. Dogs might also dig out of boredom, so it's important to ensure that they have plenty of alternatives to digging.

Does your dog chase birds, squirrels, rabbits? Also normal! Dogs have predatory and herding instincts. It is built into their DNA to want to chase things that are moving quickly. This may extend far beyond small furry animals, however, and might include joggers, or even moving vehicles.

Now, the point of this post isn't to say that because your dog is behaving normally, we should just leave them alone and let them do their thing. Of course, for their safety and our sanity, we do need to train our dogs, but we can't forget to give them appropriate outlets to express these very normal and natural behaviours.

Look at behaviour as communication. What is your dog trying to communicate and how can we meet them halfway so that we are meeting their needs while ensuring that they can fit into our human world safely?

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