The Canine State of Mind

Now that we’re beginning our journey toward a happier life with your dog, it’s best to start by seeing the world through his eyes—or more likely, smelling the world through his nose. You first have to try to understand and embrace the canine state of mind.

Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking as he gazes at you? You’re giving him commands like “sit,” “quiet,” or “get off the couch,” and if he’s a well-balanced dog, he does them, but what’s going on in his brain when he does them? Wonder no more. A dog’s brain is a marvelous thing. It gives him information about the world, tells him what to do with it, and helps him figure out how to please you, his human.

Dogs are motivated to please people. They know instinctually that people are of utmost importance to them, and that they can get almost any need satisfied if they rely on a human. As a result, dogs do what they can to please humans, and their brains are wired for this impulse.

Dogs are wonderfully adaptable, but this drive to please is a double-edged sword. If you want your dog to behave like a needy child, the dog will eventually behave like a needy child, even though his natural instincts tell him not to. On one hand, dogs’ desire to please makes them loving pets and dedicated service dogs, but on the other, it can also get them into the most trouble. When dogs try to adapt to human desires that are unnatural for them, they can become unbalanced.

Understanding how your dog’s brain functions can not only help you understand your dog, but it can also help you be a better Pack Leader by giving your dog what she needs to be healthy, happy, and balanced.

Your Dog’s Brain

The brain of a dog needs large amounts of fuel to function properly. Although the brain in an average dog accounts for less than one-half of one percent of its body weight, it receives over 20 percent of the blood that is pumped out by the heart.

The brain of a dog is responsible for interpreting and acting upon all the information or signals it receives from the dog’s various sensory inputs. To think about it simply, a dog’s brain is like a superhighway of sensory information. A dog’s responses to these signals have been predetermined by the wiring of her genetic makeup. But it doesn’t mean that dogs will always react in the same way to the same stimuli.

The anatomy of the dog’s brain is similar to that of most other mammals. The cerebrum controls learning, emotions, and behavior. The cerebellum controls the muscles, and the brain stem connects to the peripheral nervous system.

ANATOMY OF A DOG’S BRAIN

Another network in the brain, called the limbic system, is thought to be the area that controls general memory functions.

A dog understands her own relationship to the world around her through the limbic system, which is fed by her senses—smell, hearing, sight, touch, and taste.

Instincts Versus Training

Sometimes there is a natural conflict between what a dog “instinctively” wants to do and what we want him to do. This tug-of-war plays out in the limbic system of a dog’s brain.

Most dog training methods focus on overriding the natural limbic system, either by giving rewards for obeying us and ignoring instincts, or by punishing dogs for following instinctual tendencies.

Most dog training today is focused on these two schools of thought: rewards-based or punishment-based learning. I have used techniques from both training methods in my rehabilitation work, and I always recommend using the methods that are best for you and your dog. Rather than follow one specific method or formula, I always try to tailor my approach based on the unique dog in front of me.

Training is about applying technique. I teach classes at the Dog Psychology Center (DPC) that cover most of the techniques dog trainers commonly use today, such as clicker training and reward-based training. People often insist I don’t use clicker techniques in my training, but the “Tsch!” sound I make with my mouth during my rehabilitation sessions is the same as using a clicker. It associates a sound with a particular behavior I want the dog to do. Likewise, I have also used treats to coax fearful dogs into a relaxed state before I begin a rehabilitation session.

During training classes at the Dog Psychology Center, I often hear trainers discussing and even arguing among themselves about which technique is best for a specific situation. When asked for my opinion, I always return to the basics: Know what your particular dog needs; direct the dog’s tendencies into healthy activities; and project clear and consistent leadership.

It doesn’t matter if you use a treat, a clicker, or discipline to elicit the behavior you want, as long as that behavior is natural.

Work With Instincts, Not Against Them

So many dog problems today occur because humans suppress the natural functioning of the limbic system in dogs. The key to successful dog training is to rechannel a dog’s natural energy and instincts to behavior that is positive for both the human and the dog. Redirection instead of suppression is one of my cardinal rules. I always try to nurture and cultivate all the special skills of a specific breed and redirect dogs’ natural tendencies into healthy activities.

For example, I receive lots of calls from schnauzer owners complaining that their dog is digging excessively in their backyard. Schnauzers got their name from the word schnauze, German for snout. They were bred to hunt for rats and other vermin in barns and homes, and they have a very powerful sense of smell. This breed is only doing what it is instinctually engineered to do. Rather than fight the dog’s natural instincts, why not try creating a space where it’s acceptable for the dog to dig? Digging is a form of exercise and works off excess energy. The ability to work with the dog’s natural instincts may be an easier solution.

At the DPC, we have special areas where dogs can exercise their natural instincts. We have a swimming pool for water dogs and retrievers. We also have a sheepherding area for breeds that have the genetics for herding.

I remember one dog named Ginger that a local rescue organization brought to the DPC. Ginger was so tense and excitable that her owner just gave up on her. I could tell that Ginger was anxiety ridden, and in her current state of mind, Ginger would never be adopted. However, I took Ginger to the sheepherding area, where I don’t think I have ever seen a faster transformation. Ginger was herding the sheep in ten minutes, and with her instinctual needs satisfied, she relaxed into a calm, submissive state. We still use Ginger as a TV personality at the Dog Psychology Center whenever we need to demonstrate sheepherding. Ginger can herd sheep faster than any dog I know.

According to Janna Duncan, who teaches our sheepherding classes at the DPC, “Herding is instinctual for a lot of breeds. When they’re ‘working,’ they feel like they have a purpose in life. Letting them work helps with self-confidence and relieves anxiety and aggression.” In one class, I watched as Janna introduced a five-month-old puppy to the sheep. Janna let the puppy “find her instincts.” Within minutes, the little puppy, named Luna, was instinctively trying to keep the sheep together and get them moving. After the demonstration, Luna proudly walked back to her family and sat quietly and obediently at their feet. Her job was done!

Suppression of Herding Dogs’ Instincts

• Instinctual Tendency = herding

• Energy State = anxiety ridden, unstable

• Behavior Problem = tendency to herd other pets or even humans in the home; constant nipping at heels and jumping up on people

• Solution = redirect energy into flyball, Frisbee, or agility training

• Breeds Most Affected = corgis, shepherds, Belgian Malinois, border collies, briards, German shepherds, sheepdogs, Swedish vallhunds

In certain cases, you may want to do the opposite of nurturing a breed-specific trait. With certain powerful breeds like rottweilers and pit bulls, you may not want to nurture the specific activity that the dog was originally genetically engineered to perform, like hunting or guarding. You’ll need to find creative ways to redirect these tendencies. For example, Junior and I love to play tug-of-war. Junior’s instinct draws him to hunting. When we play tug-of-war, I rechannel the energy to a game of control.

Repression of natural, instinctual tendencies can lead to serious behavior problems. Ginger is just one example of a dog with a behavior problem that develops when humans override the limbic system. For a variety of reasons, some owners are not able to let their herding dogs herd, their water dogs swim, or their digging dogs dig. In these cases, it’s best to accept that these dogs will have excess energy that will need to be drained. Increasing a dog’s exercise can burn off that energy, engage the senses, and decrease the unwanted behavior.

What a Dog Remembers

Now that you have a basic understanding of how a dog’s brain works and how a dog processes sensory inputs, it’s equally important to understand how a dog’s memory works. The ability of dogs to only “live in the moment” also makes them trainable. In my 22 years of working with dogs, I have worked with thousands of them, and there have only been a few dogs that I could not help.

Scientific research on how dogs perceive time and recall events is limited. With regard to memory and time, we know dogs are different than humans. My experience tells me that dogs cannot mentally travel back in time or into the future the way we can. To be able to recall specific memories and anticipate events in the future seem like wonderful gifts, but at the same time, these human abilities come with a cost: anxiety, dread, guilt, and regret.

Many of my clients are skeptical when I tell them dogs live only in the present and that their real memory span is actually very short—about 20 seconds. After all, they argue, my dog is trained to retrieve a ball and drop it at my feet every time I throw it. They do remember what to do. But that’s not what is happening in their brains.

Remember, dogs have learned how to react to commands and to please humans. So dogs can know how to respond to the command “retrieve” without having a memory of the specific event in which they learned that command. You may remember all the details of that bright spring day you taught your dog to fetch, but she doesn’t. At least, not the same way you do.

A dog remembers people and places based on associations he has had with those people and places. Associative memory can work both positively and negatively. If a dog has a traumatic vet visit after a ride in the car, she may react to all car rides with fear until that memory association is replaced by associating the car ride with something positive—such as going to the dog park. The stronger the association, the harder it is to replace.

When I work with traumatized dogs, I first have to identify their negative associations. It takes time and patience to rewire these associations. I have done a lot of work with military dogs returning from war zones. Many of these dogs require extensive rewiring before they are ready for adoption into new families. Such a dog doesn’t know that she is in or out of a war zone or that a war has ended. These dogs are always working and have many negative associations, usually affiliated with loud noises. The loud fireworks displays on the Fourth of July are especially difficult for these dogs.

I worked with one special military dog named Gavin, a ten-year-old yellow Lab who was retired from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Gavin overcame his fear of loud noises by becoming a dog again.

Gavin had spent two years in Iraq, where he developed a serious noise aversion problem. When he came back to the United States, he would show fear at the sound of thunder or fireworks. The disorder progressed to include fear of high-pitched noises like smoke detectors and screams from children.

When Gavin first came to me, he didn’t even know how to be with other dogs. He just froze around my pack. As part of Gavin’s military training, he had become so used to a pack of people that he had forgotten how to be around dogs. It was as if he had become a robot, with all the “dog” drained out of him.

I rehabilitate these dogs by introducing an activity that is in the dogs’ natural DNA but not in their daily routine. In Gavin’s case, it was swimming. Labradors are natural-born swimmers, originally bred to help fishermen pull in their nets. At first, Gavin was a little hesitant, but after a few tries, he really took to the water. He regained his confidence and, in doing so, his natural dog instincts returned. Once Gavin returned to being himself, he became trainable. Rather than being fearful and distrustful of loud noises—something Gavin learned in his military life—I taught him to associate loud noise with lying down. Every time Gavin heard a loud noise, I instructed him to lie down and rest. Over time, Gavin learned to be more relaxed around noise.

Gavin was eventually adopted by his ATF agent, L. A. Bykowsky, no longer fearful of loud sounds. On days when L. A. wasn’t on assignment, Gavin would come into the office to visit old friends and dogs. Sadly Gavin passed away in February 2011 after a battle with cancer, living his final years a happy, balanced dog.

Stimulate the Brain, Early and Often

I am often asked if dog owners can do anything to make their dogs smarter. If you look on the supermarket shelves, you’ll see numerous dog foods that claim to aid in intelligence. I don’t know if diet can increase intelligence, and dogs cannot take IQ tests to prove this one way or the other. However, I do believe “stimulating” a dog during early puppyhood can result in a stronger, more balanced brain.

A puppy’s brain is like a sponge—soaking up all the smells and sights and experiences in the world as fast as it can. A well-stimulated pup will grow up to have a larger brain with more cells, bigger cells, and more interconnections between them. Hearing loud noises, getting regular exercise, meeting new dogs and people, traveling to new places, and even going through agility course training for a few minutes each day make for a stronger brain. We can influence the development of a puppy’s brain by providing him with the best environment possible when he is a newborn pup.

Likewise, a dog that is deprived of stimulation or that doesn’t have interactions with other dogs or humans is more likely to have a smaller brain and be less balanced. I have seen many situations in which an understimulated dog is not only an unhappy dog but also a dull, almost lifeless animal.

But, conversely, too much of a good thing can be harmful. I have also seen situations in which overstimulating a dog can lead to behavior problems and aggression. Signs of overstimulation can be seen in a dog who enters a room or approaches another dog face-to-face, with his tongue hanging out, gasping for breath, and pulling on the leash or barking. A lot of dog owners misinterpret these signs as those of a “happy” dog, but in reality, such dogs are out of control. When you see these signs, your dog needs calm, deliberate handling, and it’s best to move him away from whatever is overstimulating him until he has calmed down.

TECHNIQUES IN ACTION:

Challenging Your Dog’s Mind

Keeping your dogs mentally challenged and constantly exposing them to new things are just as important as taking them for walks and exercising them. Bored dogs develop destructive behaviors and take their negative energy out on things like your furniture. Here are some creative ways to stimulate your dog’s mind:

1 Work on a new trick. Every time you engage your dog in a training session, you are providing him with a mental challenge. Search around for new tricks to learn and practice. If you’re ready to move past the basic commands of “sit,” “stay,” and “come” … try linking commands together like “retrieve and sit.”

2 Play with interactive games or toys. Dog toys have evolved beyond rubber squeaky toys and cloth squirrels. I like to use canine puzzles that allow you to hide treats and objects inside the puzzle, which engage your dog in figuring out how to work them out. If you don’t have a puzzle, you can hold a treat in one hand and let your dog figure out which hand is hiding the treat. Because dogs have such a powerful sense of smell, your dog will guess right 100 percent of the time.

3 Change your walk routine. Try a different street or park just to keep it interesting for your dog.

4 Give your dog a job to do. Dogs are bred to complete tasks like hunting and herding. Engage your dog in a game of Frisbee. Get him involved in a sport like agility or flyball. Find jobs that fulfill your dog’s breed.

5 Socialize your dog. Dogs are social animals, and you should nurture the need for social activity by planning playdates with other compatible dogs.

Seeing Things Your Dog’s Way

Most of the happiest, most well-balanced dogs that I see seem to have owners who instinctively understand them. They are able to understand the world their dog lives in and to help guide him through it. You can become that kind of Pack Leader, too. That is why it’s so vital to understand how your dog’s brain works, how it processes information, and how instincts can drive behavior. By having a strong grasp on all this information, you’re well equipped to move on to the following chapters that build on this foundation. Being able to “see” your dog’s unique point of view will help you embrace the techniques and principles to come.

Cesar Millan