A Dog is a Dog is a Dog: The Breed Problem

          Dogs are not born inherently bad; a breed is not by nature a man-eater. When you go and get your new puppy, you’re holding a ball of furry potential in your hands. That dog could grow up to be a variety of things, but we’ll focus on these two paths: to bite or not to bite. A lot of aggression is based on the owner themselves, though this is not entirely true just as it is not true that good parents have deviant children. In a way, we can look at dogs as though they were children and they need the same guidance that a human child does to ensure that they ‘grow up’ to be what we want them to be.

          Dogs all have separate personalities from birth, that piece of the dog is hardly affected by how we raise it. Some dogs, not by breed but by individual, are more irritable and some are more patient. We have bred them to do certain tasks, but that does not mean they are born knowing how to do it. Instead they are born physically built to do it.

1.       A Dog is a Dog Above all Else: A dog has no idea he is a collie. He doesn’t know he is supposed to herd sheep. By nature he is a carnivore, by species and not breed, and he will chase sheep. Not until the owner steps in and trains him does he know he is supposed to stalk and not kill. He is a dog, and he has no idea that his pack mates are an Australian Shepherd and a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. They’re just dogs, too.

2.       Your Dog is Himself: Your dog is an individual. He is unique with a set of personality traits like no other. He is the couch hog, he hates small dogs for some reason, he loves cats, is annoyed by children, and likes to snuggle with you in bed after you’re too tired to kick him out. You’ll never have another dog exactly like him, because he is a unique animal even among dogs.

3.       Your Dog is his Sex: Gender defines a lot about your dog. There are always exceptions, but typically males are more territorial and defensive about their property and females are more nurturing and defensive about their owners (sound like people much?). A male dog, statistically, is 80% more likely to bite than a female. That percentile doubles if the dog is not neutered. There are docile, unneutered male dogs who have no interest in females, however, which would take us back to number 2.

4.       Your Dog is his Breed: Next to least important is your dog’s breed. Your dog doesn’t know what he is, but I do not deny that breed is important. A breed should not be judged on this fact alone, but there are some breeds naturally more prone to some things than others: energy level, health concerns, gameness, and other factors. Socialization early and frequently can alleviate most if not all aggression problems with other dogs.

5.       Your Dog is his Name: Are all Mary’s the same; all Franks? Well, not all Spike’s and Sugar’s are either. A dog’s name doesn’t have any control over how the dog will be. I have had numerous people say their dogs have problems because so-and-so named her Angel, therefore she has turned into the spawn of Satan. Don’t let a dog’s name fool you, even a dog named Demon may be the sweetest fellow you ever meet.