Many dog owners, including myself, have repeatedly asked their dog one simple question, “Why?”
Why did you do that? Why aren’t you listening? Why are you being such a loveable bonehead right now?
Regardless of my success with my own dogs, there are times when you just can’t help asking that big question, “Why?”
Many owners ask that question but they often ask one more, “Why does my dog act the way he does?” While every dog is unique, there are a few facts about dogs that can really make you aware of why your dog acts the way that they do.
Before I actually get into all the whys, I just want to illustrate something. “Dogs are not people.” They don’t think like people do and they do not reason as we do. So while we want to have a definitive reason why a dog does something, many times it is simply because they are a dog. They are wired to behave a certain way and that is all there really is to know about that behavior.
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In fact, the way your dog is wired, really takes up a huge chunk of the why he behaves the way he does. If you own a purebred dog, you can actually read a breed profile about your dog and see many of the same traits. This is because that specific dog breed was developed for hundreds of generations to share the same characteristics. So, if your dog is a Terrier group, chances are he is going to want to dig because Terriers were primarily bred to chase rodents and other prey into their burrows. Digging was an important skill so Terriers were often referred to as “earth dogs.”
One problem that many owners face is the fact that they view their dog as human-like, with many of the same reasoning skills that a child would have. Although dogs can have many traits that make them seem almost childlike, the important thing to remember is that they aren’t. Dogs thrive when they are treated like a dog.
That isn’t to say that you can’t pamper your pooch from time to time but the next time your dog does something that makes you scream, “WHY” remember that the main reason is probably because he is a dog.
Now that I mentioned that, I want to look at a few more things on understanding why your dog acts the way he does. Read more about dog behavior advice in our next article: Dog Behavior Advice – Part Two
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