How many times have you heard “there are no bad dogs, only bad owners” on social media? It’s usually used to explain aggressive or other dangerous behaviors for rescue dogs. We’ve also seen clients use it on themselves. “If I were a better owner/If I were less anxious/it’s my fault my dog is like this.”
We are calling bull!
First up, if you’ve ever told yourself that if you were a “better leader/alpha” etc then your dog wouldn’t behave this way – please stop beating yourself up! Sure, there are always things we could do better for our dogs. That goes even for professional dog trainers! But your alpha energy/leadership skills are not going to make or break your dog’s behavior. There are things you can do to help, but you alone are not responsible.
Want to know what actually explains dog behavior? We generally break it down into three things:
Genetics
Early learning history (aka socialization)*
Environment/Current Learning*
Depending on if you got your dog as a puppy or if you rescued them when they were older, you have control over 1or 2 of these things. Early learning history is what your dog experiences prior to ~16 weeks of age during their “socialization window.” Even if you got your dog at 8-10 weeks (typical age for breeder pick up), you’ve already missed half that window. A good breeder or rescue should be socializing the puppies to novel things before they even come home, but that doesn’t always happen. (For rescues or shelters, they may not have the resources to do so!)
Environment and current learning history is the area you have some control over with adult dogs, whether rescued or purchased. Examples of environmental situations that can cause aggressive or risky behavior include: fence fighting with other dogs, being attacked by off leash dogs, use of severe aversives (aka e-collars, training sticks, prong collars etc) on sensitive dogs, having a human neighbor harass your dog, etc.
Unless you were your dog’s breeder, you have absolutely no control over genetics. Genetics is: how friendly/easy going were mom and dad? Grandmas and grandpas? Great-grandparents? Etc. Temperament is a genetic trait just as much as fur color.
Additionally, epi-genetics is a concern, particularly with dogs who are pregnant in puppy mills or at a shelter. Epi-genetics is what happens to puppies while they’re still in mom’s womb. If mom is under a lot of duress, her body is pumping extra stress hormones into the pups. This increases their “fight or flight” response so they can be prepared for a scary world. So even if mom is friendly, puppies may have major issues if she was overstressed prior to their birth or during nursing.
In the ol’ nature v nurture debate, it sure seems like nature has more sway than we would hope. Puppies are not blank slates. If you’ve ever tried to teach a purebred herding dog not to nip or chase, or stop a hound from sniffing or baying, you know what I mean. This can also be true for temperament. Sometimes despite our very best efforts to socialize, train positively, and ensure good experiences, dogs can turn out aggressive or anxious.
The reverse is also true. I’m sure you’ve heard of the larger dog fighting busts in the south. The Vick-tory dogs and the 367 are good examples. Michael Vick’s bust was for 51 dogs. 47 of them were placed in loving homes where they lived out their days with people and other animals. 2 were euthanized for unmanageable aggression, and one was euthanized for medical reasons.
Those dogs were purpose bred to fight, were never socialized, and grew up on chains or in kennels. That’s basically as far as you can get from good socialization. And yet they went on to live happy lives.
In 2013, 486 pit bulls were rescued from a chain of fighting organizations. (They’re referred to as the 367 because that was the original number of dogs the ASPCA rescued prior to discovering more breeders in this particular fight ring.) This is the second largest fight bust in US history. The vast majority of those dogs went on to good, loving homes. Examples include Theodore (Pibbling with Theodore), who was an adult dog who had grown up on a chain attached to a barrel and was rescued during the bust. He is a senior pup now, and has spent his years helping his mom socialize fearful and aggressive dogs. Some of the dogs went on to be therapy dogs, and some went on to just live a good, happy jobless life.
These dogs were owned by awful people originally, and are great dogs. Conversely, you can own a dangerous, aggressive, anxious “hot mess” of a dog and still be a great, loving, wonderful owner. You can do everything right from day one, and things can still go wrong.
So if you’ve ever wondered “am I a bad dog owner because I have a bad dog?” then let us put your concerns to rest. Yes, there are things you can do to improve your dog’s life (and we’d love to help!)...but there are also a lot of things out of your control. Beating yourself up (or shaming others!) won’t help you or your dog. So we lovingly say: knock it off! Be kind to yourselves, be kind to your dogs, be kind to each other…and happy training! <3
Best,
Lauren