How to understand a dog and make it understand you

People dream of pets that always behave as they should and guess the desires of the owner from a half-word. But what if the puppy chews on a new phone and pees in guests' shoes? Specialists in the correction of behavior and mental health of dogs Nadya Pigareva and Oksana Tyulpinova believe that, first of all, it is necessary to understand the causes of the situation.

Their book “We Barked! How to choose and raise a puppy” was published by the publishing house “Alpina. Children". Lifehacker publishes an excerpt from the sixth chapter.

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Ask, don't command

Some people think that only commands should be communicated with a dog. It's not like that at all. In order for communication to resemble not an army, but a monologue of an older comrade addressed to a younger one, in most cases the commands are simply inappropriate:

To make communication with the dog comfortable and trusting for all parties, it is better to use requests rather than commands in everyday communication. What is their difference?

The command is a strict requirement, you cannot disobey it. Teams are needed so that in emergency situations you can save the dog. For example, when she ran out onto the road. Teams are taught in stages and guided by clear algorithms. An important rule: during training, you can not give a command if dog cannot fulfill it. To do this, for example, they repeatedly work out the team in the same conditions, insuring Zinaida from a mistake with a leash. And only after regular successful performance do they move on to training in more difficult conditions.

A request is not an order, but rather a suggestion. True, sometimes quite persistent. The dog may respond to the request with “No”, “Not now”, or even fulfill the request in his own way, and this is normal. After all, we also do not always want to do what we are asked.

If the dog for some reason (even if it was just too lazy to get up) did not comply with the request, you cannot scold it for this. It's the same as scold partner for the fact that he is now lying in the bath and cannot urgently brew a glass of tea for us.

Don't use violence

When people talk about violence, they most often mean the use of physical force. And many owners are sure that if they do not beat the dog, then they do not commit any violence against it. But do not forget: if a person does not use force, but at the same time constantly scolds the dog or in a fit of feelings on it screamingshe is under stress. That is, violence can be not only a slipper on the pope. There is no lesser evil in this matter: both swearing and the use of physical force are one field of berries.

Why do we not recommend the use of force?

Our motto is do not scold, but teach. Imagine that you have taken a child to an artistic whistle circle. What tactics do you think will help him master all the tricks faster - punishments and the use of force in case of mistakes or encouragementwhen does it start to work? Is a patient and condescending teacher important in this matter?

Why do harsh methods lose to a humane approach to education?

• Not everything that infuriates us can be scolded and punished. However, everything that we like can be encouraged.
• Dogs learn faster and with more pleasure from positive reinforcement than from kicks and strangleholds.
• The causes of many behavioral problems are hidden, we only see the symptoms. And it is impossible to prohibit the reasons why a dog behaves in a certain way either by swearing or by punitive methods. Making the causes of problem behaviors less of a concern to your dog is much easier with humane methods.
• The use of cruel methods of education destroys all the warmth and trust that a dog has during his life in the family. Humane methods only strengthen positive communication, increase self-esteem and create a base of safety that you can rely on in difficult times.

Another unpleasant feature: by using force, we show the dog how in our family they act in case of conflict. If you take something away from Zinaida with swearing and fists, most likely she will do the same. After all, if your beloved mommy behaves like that, then it’s right. And the dog will act similarly when daddy demands to return the sock.

Violence often triggers the aggression of fear. When Zinaida gets frightened, her psyche, depending on many factors, chooses one of three strategies: fight, freeze or run. But since there is usually nowhere for a domestic dog to run, it either persistently pretends that nothing is happening, or begins to defend itself (growling, biting). And the more violence, the fiercer the defense will be.

Sometimes, with the help of punishment, some problem can still be solved, but not because the dog understood everything, but because it is trying to avoid another punishment. When everything is forbidden, the dog becomes submissive and even downtrodden. Such a state is called learned helplessness - the animal resigns itself to its fate and ceases to take the initiative at all. She walks, sits, lies and does not shine. From the outside, such a dog may look like an ideal, well-mannered dog, but in reality it is an animal that simply does not see the opportunity to change at least something. Most often, street and shelter dogs suffer from learned helplessness, but homemade pies can also be brought to such a condition.

A dog that is constantly being baled becomes insecure. She develops various phobias (fear of the street, people, cars). All this makes the life of the owners less comfortable. And also able stress the production of the hormone cortisol increases, due to which the dog overflows too quickly and begins to urinate at home, because he cannot stand it.

In general, the way to solve any problems with the help of punitive methods is an almost guaranteed option for receiving a lot of unpleasant bonuses.

Teach, don't scold

It is normal to be angry, resentful and upset in response to the actions of the puppy. But sometimes we express emotions too violently. Just imagine: a creature 10 times larger is standing above you and yelling at unknown language. Whatever the puppy does, you should not scold him. Because he didn't want to hurt anyone. In the dog world there is no morality and no categories of “bad” and “good”. For him, the new iPhone is as much a thing as a stick. What I found, I ate. To teach your dog not to touch valuables, you should hide them in advance. So the skill not to take unknown objects will be formed without the use of scandals and reprimands.

If you break down in response to completely ordinary, from a dog's point of view, actions, it will be difficult with trust. We, as parents, should, if possible, create a safe environment for the baby, where it will be easier for him to learn something. Therefore, the worst thing about the eaten iPhone is not its price, but the fact that the plastic is not digested.

Dogs have species-typical behavior: they pick up something from the ground, bark at enemies, leave puddles in critical situations when they can’t stand it. It is clear that it is difficult to rejoice at the sight of Zinaida, absorbing yesterday's dove at the speed of a peregrine falcon. But punishments and prohibitions do not work in such cases. Moreover, they can provoke unpleasant consequences. For example, undesirable behavior will get worse or new behavioral problems will pile up. And the harder the punishments become, the worse the dog will behave. Can be used to solve any problem nonviolent methods.

Acceptance Signals and Puppy Behavior

Reconciliation signals are a tool with which the dog of any age trying to stop the aggression on the part of the opponent. If the owner swears, the dog will try with all his might to end the conflict. And it doesn't really matter if she messed up or not. If once a dog has already been scolded for puddles on the floor, he will wait for punishment and at the same time do everything. possible to avoid it by showing signals of reconciliation: big eyes, eyebrows with a house, modest look at the floor.

In addition, puppies have special techniques that they use in communicating with adult dogs and people. For example, they wag their lowly lowered booty, squat on their hind legs, crawl, fall on their front paws, lick the elder's face, squeal and even pee. The last talent is worth talking about separately.

Puppiesto demonstrate their smallness, they lay down with their belly up, and sometimes even let out a fountain. Most often this happens when meeting adult dogs or people. You should not be afraid of this. It is impossible to scold for such behavior, because the baby simply avoids conflicts and any controversial situations. immediately nullifies, informing the interlocutor in the dog language of politeness: “I have not yet grown up to adults games." This is a very valuable tactic and should not be stopped.

Ignoring is the worst of punishments

When members of the pack want to kick out one of the dogs, they pretend that it does not exist. If the individual still makes contact, the flock begins to show aggression. It seems that we act in a similar way when we are offended by a dog and ignore its presence. For her, this is a clear signal: "Mommy decided to get rid of me."

What can we expect from Zinaida in response?

• Reducing the level of trust.
• Decreased self-esteem.
• Tags in the apartment (so that they get used to the smell of the pet again and change their mind about expelling it).
• Increasing the level of anxiety.

That is, such a seemingly humane and understandable way of expressing discontent can cause a whole bunch of problems. The puppy became nervous and began to calm himself by eating furniture or picking up everything in a row. on the street. Or he began to seize stress with his master's feet.

If the dog made you terribly angry and you just can’t see it now, take all your wisdom into a fist and give your pet food that you can chew or lick for a long time - dog ice cream, for example. The dog will be busy, and you will have time to catch your breath and recover.

Resentment and revenge are human emotions

Humans tend to humanize animals. We give them our own thoughts and project our feelings onto them. If Nikolai wrote to a guest in a boot, most likely he was offended that he was given little attention. And if Zinaida left her mother a chocolate present on her pillow, then she is probably taking revenge for yesterday.

Why are there animals, we even try to talk with machines. Who among us has not begged at least once in his lifesag"and not be stupid? Humanizing everything around, we ignore the technical and biological capabilities of the species with which we are dealing. Anatomy moment: Mammals have a part of the brain called the neocortex. Thanks to him, abstract thinking works well for us: we, people, can write poetry, admire the paintings of Renaissance artists, fantasize, lie, take revenge and be offended. In dogs, this part of the brain is extremely poorly developed. So far, there are no studies confirming that they have a pronounced abstract thinking. In other words, from the point of view of physiology, dogs are able to take revenge and be offended in the same way as living under water or flying.

Dogs pee in the wrong places or tear apart your favorite books, often for very trivial reasons. For example, guests came to you and you strictly told Zinaida to get out of the room and not climb on the table with her paws. From the excitement of the dog, the level of cortisol rose, which led to the accelerated work of the excretory system. Zinaida realized that she wanted to write terribly, but it was inconvenient to approach her beloved mother with this problem - she, with all her appearance, made it clear that she did not want to communicate with the pet. What's a poor dog to do? That's right: to relieve the need where necessary. But there are just comfortable shoes in the corridor, thank you, dear guests.

Here is a list of the main reasons why dogs go to the toilet in the wrong places:

• Health. It could be cystitis, kidney problems, and a bunch of diseases, which you can not even guess and find out only after passing the tests.
• Age. Young dogs can not yet, and older ones can no longer endure.
• Wrong marker behavior. This is a rather rare behavioral problem that is solved for a long time and not always successfully. As a rule, it occurs in dogs that have been raised by unscrupulous breeders. Since childhood, they had to live in a cage and relieve themselves in the same place where they sleep and eat.
• Response to stress. The dog became overexcited (peed from emotions), that is, it was delighted, nervous or frightened.

We can get exhausted by scolding Zinaida for a puddle in an unwanted place, but this is only exacerbate the problem. After all, the punishment will provoke stress, and he, in turn, - the next wave (sorry for the pun) pee. In this case, the dog will be completely not to blame for the deed.

Why do some owners swear that it is their Zinaida and Nikolai who feel guilty after they messed up?

We are misled by the signals of reconciliation that dogs use. If Zinaida, leaving the lake in the hallway, hides under the sofa at the sight of the owner and makes big eyes, this does not mean that she understands her guilt and knows that she has messed up. She just knows that master reacts aggressively to puddles. But why, she has no idea!

For dogs, puddles and heaps are actually not bad things, rather the opposite. After all, with the help of urine, they exchange valuable information, and heaps can be eaten and even savored. What a meanness! If anything, then Zinaida did not arrange a brawl for you, but left a love letter and dessert. So, if you suspect your dog of resentment, revenge or guilt, think about what actually led to such a reaction and whether Zinaida needs some help in this situation.

Growling is a way to negotiate

Dogs growl in several cases: when they protect the most expensive (food, loved ones, things dear to the heart, for example, the cowards of a beloved owner), when they defend personal boundaries, when they pretend to be a wolf with woolen paws in a game, or when they are very pleased with something.

No need to think that the snarling Zinaida dominates and is trying at this moment to make a domestic revolution, overthrowing her parents from the sofa throne. A roar is an attempt to resolve a conflict peacefully, without the use of violence. Imagine, for example, that your spouse went to the grocery store, but instead low fat cottage cheese brought (just don't worry, breathe, please) five percent! You won’t beat him with a rolling pin for this, but, most likely, just clarify: “Dear, aren’t we fat will be with you?" So Zinaida, with the help of a roar, clarifies, expresses her point of view or persistently asks. So this reaction is an attempt to go the way of peaceful negotiations, and not a call for an attack.

Forbidding growling is like depriving a dog of the right to vote and freedom of expression, as if a dog should not have desires or opinions. By the way, this is quite dangerous, because if you can not use the growl as a signal, the dog may resort to other means available to her to solve problems and go, for example, directly to biting.

Hearing a roar, you need to analyze what went wrong and understand how you can negotiate peacefully with Zinaida.

"We barked!" - a warm, cheerful and wise book for those who dream start puppy or has already done so. The authors adhere to a modern and humane approach to learning and actively fight myths and stereotypes. They explain how to prepare for the arrival of a pet, what things to learn first and what to do if things don't go according to plan. And if you follow their advice, there is every chance to live soul to soul with a dog.

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