Strong leader?

It used to be thought that you could solve problem behavior by taking more control. The idea quickly became that you weren’t a strong leader for your dog and that a dog needed a pack leader. As an owner, you were supposed to groom him less, not give him cuddles, not let him lie on your bed, not let him lie on the couch, not let him be the first one out the door…you name it. All problems were presented with the underlying idea: your dog now thinks he’s the alpha, and that’s where the behavior stems from.

Is this even true? Why does problem behavior develop in one dog that is spoiled rotten, but not in another dog that is also spoiled rotten? If a dog chases a cat, do we also call that dominance? Or do we say: dogs and cats are different species, and a dog often chases a cat? People and dogs are also different species. Is it possible, then, for a human to be dominant over a dog? What drives our own behavior? When we’re sad, we cry or seek comfort. When you’re angry, you sometimes want to hit someone. So, our emotions play a major role in our behavior.

What if dogs also have emotions, and those emotions drive behavior? But we humans struggle to recognize and therefore acknowledge those emotions. Then the dog would be more like us than some people believe, and the solution to the problem behavior would lie in recognizing the emotion and changing the underlying emotion in your dog.

Emotional systems in the dog

• Seeking/ Desire: This system encourages enthusiasm, curiosity, and the desire to investigate or explore. The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a major role in this system. This system is always active to a greater or lesser extent, and we utilize this in dog training.
• Play: This system creates a pleasant feeling. Play is essential for learning and a dog’s social development.
• Care: This system is involved in caring for others. For example, a mother dog caring for her puppies.
• Lust: This system is related to erotic sensations and reproduction. The sex hormones estrogen and progesterone in females and testosterone in males play a particularly important role here.
• Rage: This is one of the three systems that produces negative emotions. This system is associated with aggression and frustration. This can manifest itself, for example, when a dog’s needs aren’t being met and the dog feels unheard. Think of a dog who wants a ball and doesn’t get it, subsequently destroying the sofa or biting your pants.
• Fear: This system is crucial for a dog’s survival. It’s an important system to have. Without the emotion of fear, you can’t survive.
• Panic/grief: This system is different from fear. This system creates a feeling of being alone and is more often seen active in dogs suffering from separation anxiety, for example. Separation anxiety can arise from various emotions, but the form we’re discussing here is better described as separation grief, because dogs can experience a sense of loss when their owner leaves the house.

In 2017, Professor Daniel Mills added two more emotional systems: Pain and Hate.

Quick fix or working on emotions?

Dogs can experience emotions. These emotions can trigger behavior. Although quick fixes are often still used for problem behavior, they are often temporary because the underlying emotion hasn’t changed. Let’s explain this better.

Your dog is afraid of the neighbor’s dog. You don’t support him because you’ve heard that this makes the behavior worse. You decide to jerk the leash because you’ve seen this before in the media, and this, in your opinion, shows you’re in charge. Your dog stops at that moment, and this confirms your feeling that this has worked.

Now let’s take a closer look at the situation described above. You’re afraid of spiders. Your friend comes to stand next to you and offers support. Does this make your fear of spiders worse? No, does it? Then it seems plausible that offering support won’t make your dog’s fear worse when he’s afraid of the neighbor’s dog.

Back to the situation: you jerked the leash and you think you’ve shown the dog you’re in charge. Especially because your dog stopped barking and growling at that moment. Now, let’s look at it from a different perspective: if someone hits you when you’re afraid of spiders… does your underlying fear stop? Or are you completely surprised that you received that hit and do you withdraw into yourself even more fearfully?

That’s essentially what you’re doing with your dog. You’re burying the problem, but underneath, the emotion, and therefore the cause of the behavior, is still present. The dog doesn’t feel better, and there’s a risk that the behavior will flare up more intensely later. A lasting solution, therefore, is to ensure that the emotion is changed so that the dog feels better again and therefore no longer exhibits the behavior.

Correcting the problem behavior is therefore definitely not the solution, and we strongly advise against it. Avoid corrections and ensure you get the help you need to determine the emotion behind the behavior. By understanding the underlying emotion, you can work on redirecting it and take steps to at least reduce and possibly resolve the problem behavior.