To begin with, there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the word, dominance. The best definition I have heard is “confidence.” The most dominant animals I have worked with, both dogs and wolves, were actually some of the nicest. They didn’t fight for their dominance, as they didn’t have to; they were calm, confident animals, who exuded such self-confidence and security in themselves that they had nothing to prove.

That’s not to say that dominant animals can’t be aggressive; of course they can. But many animals who are aggressive are not dominant at all. Fear biting, defensive growling, stand-offishness can all be signs of underlying apprehension, and to handle these dogs as if they are dominant would not only be useless, but could very well increase their problems.

Furthermore, even if the dog in question were, indeed, dominant, that doesn’t mean the practice of not letting him walk in front of you will in any way address his issues. IF your dog is truly dominant OVER YOU, AND one way he expresses that dominance is by walking ahead of you, then, yes, discouraging that behavior would make sense. However, many dogs walk in front of their owners not as a show of dominance, but merely because they have never been trained to heel.  As Sigmund Freud said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!”

Temperament issues are more about how your dog reacts emotionally to situations. Aggression, fear, and anxiety are all temperament issues some owners face with their pets.

Not all problems fit into neat and tidy categories, however, and it takes a competent trainer to assess each dog individually. Although jumping is, indeed, a training problem most of the time, an underlying temperament issue could be motivating it. A boisterous 9 month old Labrador who jumps IS a training problem, and a good squirt with a water bottle or a firm shake of a penny can, followed by a sit command, would certainly do the trick. However, if the jumping is being done by a shy sheltie pup, that would be a symptom of an underlying lack of confidence, and to correct him with a water bottle or rattle can would be adding insult to injury.

Chewing is typically a behavior problem, often due to the age of the dog, boredom, etc. However, if the dog takes the chew item under the bed, then growls when his owner tries to take the item away, that type of behavior (resource guarding) is a much more serious dominance (temperament) issue than teething or chewing.

The source of the problem must also be considered when attempting to handle them. Problems can be learned (environmental) or innate (genetic). Take leash aggression, for example, and three different dogs, all acting similarly aggressive while on leash. One dog may have been isolated and is acting out of a lack of socialization. The second dog may be over-stimulated or frustrated on leash, due to excessive off-leash play at a dog park. And the third may be of a breed that is simply not dog social, despite the best efforts to socialize him early.

The first two examples would be learned behavior or environment, one being lack of socializing, the other being the wrong type of socializing. Each of these should be addressed quite differently to see any improvement. The third situation would be more of managing the problem, rather than trying to change the basic nature of the breed.

When choosing a trainer, make sure he or she has the experience to help you with your particular dog and the specific problems you are having. Almost any competent trainer can help with most simple problems, but it takes knowledge and experience to assess whether the problems you are having are, indeed, simple problems or if they have a much deeper underlying cause.

One of the most common complaints among dog trainers is that many clients choose breeds of dogs whose innate behavior and temperament are totally inappropriate for their lifestyles.  In fact, many people don’t even consider behavior or temperament when choosing dogs at all.  “He has such beautiful blue eyes,” or “He looked just like a bear in the pet store window,” or even, “The one on that TV is show just so cute!” are typical of some of the many reasons people offer when asked why they chose their dogs.

People are under the impression that any dog, regardless of breed, can be trained to fit any circumstance or situation, and they discount the fact that breeds carry with them myriad traits and behavioral tendencies that cannot be “trained out of them.”  Even the late Barbara Woodhouse, in the epilogue of “Dog Training My Way” states that, when asked which breed someone should choose, she advises “choose whatever dog you fancy, for it will be the one you fancy that is the easiest for you to train.”  She couldn’t have been more wrong.

When was the last time someone saw a seeing eye Chow?  Or a police K-9 force of Golden retrievers?  Or a Malamute herding sheep?  The answer is never, of course.  And that’s not because trainers don’t choose to train these particular dogs for those jobs.  It is the very real fact that these breeds cannot do those jobs!  Genetically, these dogs have behavioral and temperament traits that make them unable to respond to certain types of training, no matter how hard someone tries.  And, yes, there are the wonderful exceptions to every rule, but as much as we can predict the size, shape and coat of a Chow, we can also predict that practically none would be able to meet the requirements of a seeing eye dog.

Many breed characteristics may actually be assets when one considers the original purpose of the breed.  The indefatigable energy of a Labrador, the protectiveness of a Doberman pinscher, even the nipping of a Border collie are really talents that have been selectively bred for generations, but can cause frustration for many of these dogs’ owners.  Other traits, such as the submissive urinating of Cocker spaniels or the excessive shyness of Shetland sheepdogs are obviously not actively encourage, but nonetheless, come with the contract, so to speak.  So, doing research about a particular breed has always been the rallying cry of trainers and behaviorists, hoping that clients could, therefore, avoid certain problems. 

However, there are problems with that well intentioned, but inadequate suggestion.

Very simply, the books describing the various breeds are written by breeders and other enthusiasts who rarely write bluntly of a breeds’ shortcomings.  And, even when they do, the statements are couched in euphemisms, much like reading the promotional material of a particular car.  Only those who can read between the lines of car magazines understand that the term “high performance” really means 11 miles to the gallon of gas; with dogs, it is much the same.

Take the phrase “loves exercise” or the slightly more honest “needs exercise.”  That statement would be much more effective if there was an accompanying photograph of the destruction done to the home of the owner of a bored and under-exercised Weimaraner, for example.  Or the term, “independent;” in “dogspeak” that simply means that he will not come when called.

This isn’t meant to stereotype all dogs into rigid categories and to imply that nothing can be done to train dogs or alter their behaviors.  Being informed and prepared, however, will certainly help in avoiding the pitfalls, or at the very least offer some consolation.  Explaining to a Bichon owner that they should expect housebreaking mistakes until 6 to 8 months of age is certainly not welcome news, but at least makes them aware that this is typical and that there may be nothing wrong with either what they are doing or their dogs.  Furthermore, a young couple would be well advised to avoid certain breeds known to be problems around children, should they plan on having kids in the future.