When we adopted Cooper, I remember thinking to myself, “This is great! He’s not going to have any issues like Emmett and Lucas because he’s a clean slate!” I thought that if we followed all the socialization rules – 5 outings each week, meet 100 people, etc. – while enforcing good manners at home, he’d be a problem-free pup!
So, of course, I’m hanging my head right now because of those wild and unfair assumptions. And, of course, I should know better. I’ve encountered so many dogs with so many backgrounds. On top of basic experience, I studied anthropology. I did observation projects with baboons, and wrote massive term papers about nature vs. nurture. The bottom line: I should have known better.
So here we are, one year later, and Cooper is one shy little guy. Obviously, we’re working on his confidence. He’s taking a training class, going to doggy daycare, and attending big events like the Run for the Animals and Pit Bull Awareness Day, all with tons of reinforcement.
The funny thing is that Lucas came to us as a wildly fearful dog. He lunged and snapped and barked and growled when he faced something (like a plastic bag) that he couldn’t handle. Turns out, though, by nature Lucas is a pretty social guy! When he’s feeling confident and reassured, he’s sweet, playful, and the life of the party. He loves going for walks; Cooper tucks his tail. Lucas loves meeting people in novel places; Cooper whines and tucks his tail. In really controlled situations, Lucas can meet and play with new dogs; Cooper tucks his tail and, occasionally, growls. All things we can work on with Cooper, of course, but it’s just so fascinating to me that their personalities are seemingly trumping their circumstances.
With Lucas, for instance, everyone who meets him – especially in those super early days – assumes that he was abused. “That poor dog,” they say. “He was clearly abused. He doesn’t trust anyone.”
While he definitely didn’t trust anyone, I don’t think he was abused. I think that Lucas was a stray, a street dog. Obviously we’ll never know, but I remember so clearly the first time we turned on the TV after bringing him home. It scared him so badly, he hid under the kitchen table. The rustling of plastic when we got back from the store sent him behind the armchair. He shied away from buses and cars, and he freaked out over everyday household items like the blender and the vacuum. Had he been in a home, he would have had exposure to all of those things.
Not that it matters, of course. We spent years helping Lucas navigate these scary new things. We’re still working on his dog-dog interactions, but if you had told us a few years ago that we would take Lucas to the Halloween pet parade at PetSmart, we would have laughed and laughed and laughed. But we did. We took him on Saturday, and he did great. His only “incident” was with a dog who appeared to be even more insecure than he was.
Cooper is going to need a lot of the same training that Lucas got, but we’re working with his personality rather than his life experiences.
Just like with Lucas, we have one huge advantage.
Emmett.
Emmett helped Lucas more than we could have in those early days by being there and being a good role model. Likewise, when we take Cooper somewhere with Emmett, his confidence level soars.
All this rambling is to say: We know what we have to work on for each of them and their individual personalities. I’m thinking about writing up a little “training plan” for each of them for 2012. (Yes, I am that anal.)
What do you think? Maybe I’m way off base and just reading into it? But do your training efforts revolve more around your dog’s history? Or his/her personality?
I think it’s a combination of history and personality – including their history in our family. We are not perfect dog owners and we have made egregious errors in our training efforts in the past (before Sadie, we were avid Dog Whisperer fans and I believe our use of some of those techniques contributed to Maggie’s leash aggression issues).
I always have to keep telling myself that this is all about making them the best dog they can be, not what I imagine in my head a best dog is. Every time I get off track in training efforts, thinking about it from this angle helps me re-evaluate the issue we are having and formulate a new way to go about our training. One that is more about what my dogs need than what the pie in the sky scenario is about.
Thank goodness that you have Emmett – it’s amazing how our dogs can help each other!
Excellent point re: history in our family. When we adopted Emmett, we knew NOTHING about training. His personality seemed to be immune to all our mistakes, luckily! 🙂
Baby Cooper is so cute! I don’t know much about my Pearl’s history, so we just train based on what we learn about her as we go. We tend to attribute behavioral issues to history a lot of the time, especially with rescues, but I’ve seen some dogs who have had really rough lives with sunny, fearless personalities where nothing gets them down and other dogs who have never been treated poorly in their lives who are super shy and reactive. History can obviously have a big effect, but I think personality counts for more than people think.
“History can obviously have a big effect, but I think personality counts for more than people think.” So, so true. And I totally agree about attributing behavioral issues to history… It seems like history can maybe introduce problems but personality helps them to overcome or not overcome?
It really is amazing how each dog responds to different situations based on their past experiences and their personality. Emmett was fairly well trained when we got him, but he was also found as a stray and he has those scars on this leg. So who know what went on with him. Lucas also was a stray and was likely hit by a car (poor guy!), but they confidence levels are completely opposite. I was sort of hoping Cooper would get the best of both of their personalities.
All in all, they’re great dogs and I wouldn’t change a thing about them. Well, maybe Lucas wouldn’t pee on his own feet as frequently…
He can’t help it. He has long… reach.
I think dogs are like people – completely individual. When I think about growing up, I am baffled by how my brothers and I could turn out so differently! We were all raised by the same parents, with the same rules – but we all processed things differently and responded to our “training” differently. I don’t thing dogs or cats are much different (all three of my cats I have had since they were tiny kittens . . and they are all certainly naughty in their own ways!) I’m convinced that there is no “one training method fits all” for dogs.
It’s nice that Emmet has such a calming effect 🙂 He’s a born leader!
SUCH a great point!! I didn’t even think of that, but you’re totally right… My brother, sister, and I are so totally different despite the same parents, schools, etc. Focusing on the individual is definitely the key, whether with dogs or siblings! 🙂
MayzieMom here.
I’ve thought a lot about this during our work with Mayzie. I really don’t think Mayzie is a naturally fearful dog. I think she is probably naturally cautious but most of her “issues” are due to a lack of proper socialization as a puppy. On the other hand, on the fearful dog list I belong to, there are SO many people who adopted their dogs as puppies, did everything right, and still ended up with a fearful dog.
We really don’t consider Mayzie’s history when working with her. What happened to her, happened to her and there’s nothing we can do about it now. Rather, I think it’s all about the dog’s basic personality and working with their strengths. I think sometimes we can get so focused on what they CAN’T do…and it’s so much more productive to focus on what they CAN do, and build on it from there.
What a good reminder to focus on what they can do and build from there. Great perspective!! Thanks for sharing.
Ace has been so easy to train and naturally friendly to everyone. This may be because he lived with another dog and a cat in his first home, but it’s not because they socialized him. They never walked him or took him anywhere. He never met people or dogs outside of his family. He is just naturally friendly and gentle. Not extra sociable, just nice and friendly. So I can see how the opposite could be true. Some dogs (and some people!) are just going to be shy no matter what. Heck, I’m the most shy, awkward person I know! So I can understand where Cooper is coming from.
I agree with Julie! Dogs should be treated as individuals and their training should be tailored to their individual needs. Although, all dogs could benefit from (CGC) Canine Good Citizen standards and (NILF) Nothing in Life For Free Principles. To successfully help a dog recover from a behavioral issue it is important to ask: What is the problem; When did it develop; Why; and What is Reinforcing it? It is also important to understand Nature vs. Nurture, Classical & Operant Conditioning, ethology, and dogs’ normal instincts. There are many different ways to train a dog. You must not forget that all dogs are domesticated wolves; and different breeds may suffer from different genetic physical or mental issues. I must note, after many many years of working with animals I believe positive reinforcement should be used in 99.9% of cases. Using forceful techniques with any dog may get instant results but lacks in long term results. Training is a life-long process and should not be rushed either. It is important to balance a dog with mental, physical and social stimulation.
🙂 <3 Great blog!