This question is about general dog behavior only (not medical, breeding, training, etc.).
What do you think is included in dog behavior knowledge?
How much is enough?
How did you learn about dog behavior?
to people giving thumbs down: this is an opinion question only, so no need.
Many good answers so far.
Kudos to those of you who have actually picked up a book and read it or have good qualified mentors (whether that be breeders, trainers or vet people) from whom you gain your knowledge. I am grateful for all of you.
I don't think the 'average' dog owner knows enough because there are far too many dogs that aren't even cared for properly.
There are people who adopt a dog and return it the next day for not being friendly enough (the dog never had a chance to feel comfortable!).
I learned about dog behavior from my vet, reading books and others who are knowledgeable at a shelter I volunteer with.
I don't think it is ever enough – we can have alot of knowledge, but are always capable of learning more.
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December 4th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I don't think the 'average' dog owner knows enough because there are far too many dogs that aren't even cared for properly.
There are people who adopt a dog and return it the next day for not being friendly enough (the dog never had a chance to feel comfortable!).
I learned about dog behavior from my vet, reading books and others who are knowledgeable at a shelter I volunteer with.
I don't think it is ever enough – we can have alot of knowledge, but are always capable of learning more.
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December 4th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
No, the average dog owner doesn't know enough. They also tend to think they can successfully train a dog themself, and, while some can, others can't and don't understand why their dog has issues.
1. There is too much included in dog behavior and knowledge to write here without taking up a whole page.
2. You never stop learning new things about training. There are so many different types, and so many different techniques, that you will never stop learning.
3. I've studied dogs since I was 5 years old. I read dog books, breed books, magazines, I've volunteered at a rescue for 3 years, and I currently work at a GSD breeders and have for 3-4 years. I also plan to be a dog trainer in the future.
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December 4th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
No, I don't think they do.
I never had a pet, so I did a lot of research (books, internet) about different breeds and general training info before I adopted my chihuahua. I was amazed at how much "more" I knew from my research than from some folks who've had dogs all their lives. They had the practical experience, but some have incorporated my book learning ideas!
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personal experience
December 4th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Probably not.
Even from owning six dogs total throughout my life, I still mostly learned about dog behavior from reading.
So I would say it takes a curious dog owner who really cares about dogs to know about it. And if this site is any indication, a LOT of dog owners are lazy, selfish people who don't really care enough to find out.
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December 4th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I think many people are well informed…but there are also a lot that are not….just read some of the questions people post on this site (they come on here to ask about a serious health problem their dog is experiencing rather than just calling or seeking help from their vet.)
There are so many things included in dog behavior the list goes on and on…personality, genetic makeup, breed history, nutrition, physical traits, health problems, exercise, vet care, etc, etc.
You can never know enough…especially with all the research that is going on these days about animals.
I learned a lot just by having dogs in my family growing up. In addition, I have been reading books about dogs for as long as I can remember….I love to read informational books about dog breeds and general dog care. Dogs are my favorite thing in the world…so I love learning anything new I can.
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December 4th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
No i dont think so at all because you see loads of dogs around that are just totally out of control.
But there are some dog owners that do.
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December 4th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I definitely don't think the average owner knows enough. I think that the growth stages, the mental development and communication are the big pieces of general behavior. There is no "too much" when it comes to knowledge in my opinon.
I feel like I'm an average dog owner and I DEFINITELY do not know enough. I've read several books (4 to be exact) on raising dogs, their development and I still have constant questions that I post on here.
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December 4th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
NO NO NO NO NO! I think the average pet owner knows very little about dog behavior! When we got our first standard poodle, she was WILD- so we started training classes- when we got our second standard poodle- we started learning a little more about behavior by watching the 2 interact. After we got obedience titles on our dogs, we started teaching basic obedience classes, and we started learning even more! We now have 4 standard poodles, and have learned more by watching the way they interact with each other than anything else. But, we also learned tons from the other obedience trainers/books, etc. at the center we were at.
Some things that surprise me, are things like people who want to know why their beagle howls, or why their corgi nips at their heels when they're walking away, or how to keep their lab from jumping in the swimming pool. The first thing anyone needs to know about behavior is to know what their specific breed (or mix of) is all about- it goes a long way to understanding their behavior.
Past that- understanding dog language is EXTREMELY important. I have had people who said, "Her dog ATTACKED mine!"- well, let's replay the event. A golden puppy, with the zoomies, runs PAST another dog, and barks at it when it runs by- no, sweetie, this wasn't an "attack"- it was the golden trying to get your dog to play, and you shouldn't have kicked it! Things like this drive me CRAZY! The average dog owner should be able to read their dog, understand what it means when they wag their tail- is it a fast wag, or a swish- can mean different things- do you know what a play bow is? How can you tell if your dog is playing, or being aggressive? You should really know this before you go to the dogpark! Dog play looks really rough! It really sounds bad, too. It took a while for me to get comfortable with what was going on, and to see it for what it was!
Most dog owners also don't realize that most "dog fights" are really all posturing and noise- I've seen few dog *fights* that were actually serious. Dogs handle things amongst themselves better than we do.
By knowing how to read your dog's body language, you can prevent issues before the arise. Knowing your dog's breed and it's tendencies can also help. I think knowing these two things are the bare minimum to know before getting a dog!
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December 4th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
i would say no…from reading some of the questions and comments that people on here both ask and answer i say no…alot of the stuff asked on here are common sense questions with common sense answers…i also love the people who answer questions and put veterinarian or vet tech or retired veterinarian and spell it wrong…that's the best…not saying that their arn't real vet's on here but i'm sure they could spell veterinarian right
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i even once was taking my dog to the vet after work a few weeks back and i printed out a question that i found interesting and the answers and i asked the vet when i got there the question and after she answered i said look at how some of your so-called fellow veterinarians answered that question and she took the paper and hung it up right next to a paper about how bad puppy mills are and wrote this is why you ask your veterinarian questions and not people online if they can't spell veterinarian right chances are they can't answer your question right
December 4th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I just read from about 5 USEFUL sights about that breed before I gt the dog then 2 books and go and find someone who would lt me see their dog for 1 hour (about) and so thats what I do
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December 4th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Definately not enough average dog owners have knowledge on dog behavior.
From my experience in my local dog park, the average dog owner is to busy talking on the cell phone or socializing, that their not watching their dogs behavior.
I think if you own a dog, you have to pay attention to your dogs signals. You should know what "sets off" your dog, whether it's direct eye contact from another dog, or a strange dog running at them etc. You should know that when your dog (your meaning generic you) is stiffening his body that he's going to snap.
Also, enough people are so selfish that they only concern with themselves and their dogs. For instance, my young dachshund does not like strange dogs running at him. He was attacked as a puppy and since then is not comfortable with strange dogs exhibiting the behavior mentioned above. However, if a dog approaches calmly, he's fine. I know this and try to keep him out of situations, where he feels insecure.
Now I just returned from my local park, where dogs must be on leash from 9a.m. to 9 p.m. I was not in a dog run. I'm sitting with my 2 dogs (young dachshund & a very elderly mixbreed) who were both on leash, sitting calmly by me. Young man comes down with a Pitbull, see's me there and promptly takes his dog off leash, which immediately runs towards us. I said, my dogs are not friendly and his response is "Mine is"…OK, so if I just told you my dogs are not friendly, then why would you allow your dog to run over? Now, I use the "Mine are not friendly" statement, when I see a dog that I don't know and is obviously not under control of it's owner. I don't care how friendly your Pitbull or other large bred dog is and I'm don't going to let you find out on my dogs. I feel the same about some small dogs, though less damage can be done in a altercation between 2 small dogs, than between a large breed and a small dog or elderly dog.
So I guess that as a dog owner, you need to understand some dog behavior, you need to respect other people & other dog owners.
I learned about dog behavior from training my own dogs, teaching obedience classes, teaching agility classes, by being around people who have immense knowledge in dogs and dog behavior and I'm sill learning.
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