The Puppy Rulebook

Social Styles: Dogs & Human

DOG SOCIAL STYLES
Anthropomorphizing is something we all do with animals; It means giving them human traits or explanations. In talking about temperament, many people argue that it is the same as personality. I disagree. There are specific breed traits and temperament is one of them. Personality is the individual, so this chapter is dedicated to try and form into words what is interpreted by professionals through sight, feel, intuition, and experience.

Behavior is determined by various factors such as socialization, breeding or genetics, environmental stimulus or lack of, and human contact. Dog social styles are influenced by these but are separate just as human social styles are. It affects how they learn, relate, and process information.

Dog social styles are a bit harder to define then human types. Each breed will have certain traits specific for that type of animal. For instance, breeds in the hound group tend to be more independent and less motivated to please versus a retriever type. Intelligence, or lack of it, has less to do with how they respond then their traits. Others will have a tendency toward specific behaviors such as talking back (Arctic breeds such as Huskies, Malamutes, and Samoyeds), or excessive mouthing or carrying of objects (Retrievers), or by movement (Sigh/hounds). Each breed will need certain handling to compensate for some of the behavioral traits that are developed through the particular breed and genetics.

Where most people have difficulty is recognizing that dogs are different. “Oh, my last dog was a wonder. I just can't seem to get this dog to do what I want." Different factors will influence your dog. Some of them are specific as to breed traits or sex, and sometimes to age. However there are other factors that come into play as was briefly mentioned above.

Most animals, like children, will blossom with stimulation. Where a dog is housed, how they are treated, diet, litter structure, and age when removed from the litter, play a big part in how the dog will react later in life. Social stimulation, environment, toys, games, early training, and incorporation into the family will develop a well rounded and responsive animal.

Most people believe in some of the old wives tales still circulating today. Most training and care of dog has not evolved because of that. My current animal has incredible ability to pay attention and listens to several directives at once. Certain key words are important but he is spoken to in sentences and responds to several chained directives. He is also an expert on human behavior, as are most dogs, and being the opportunist that he is, often manipulates things to his advantage with strangers.

To try and give you an idea of the types of social styles there are, here is a general list. Remember, just as with the different social styles of owners each style will have shades of others, and each breed will have different shades of other social styles. None are bad, they just require different handling and living situations. Young puppies can usually become more balanced in their style with proper training, socializing, and influence.

HYPERSENSITIVE
Some dogs you meet will be so sensitive that they will cringe if you send them a glance of disapproval. These older dogs seem to have been those puppies, who in their excitement to greet you, groveled and urinated submissively all over themselves and anyone in close proximity. This type of behavior is submissive and if they are punished for this behavior, which they cannot control, it makes the situation worse.

As puppies they will often hang back, lower their body and tail when being introduced to someone new, and perhaps not even get up to greet strangers but flatten themselves on the ground. They may flatten their ears back and try to lick you. This is proper dog etiquette for a subordinate to greet a superior or dominant animal.

As adults they may exhibit this same type of behavior or it may develop into a more progressed state. This progressed state is an abnormal fear aggressive type animal. These animals will bark at strangers but will back away. Their ears, and mouth will be pulled back, and their posture will usually be lowered. Since their response is abnormal, they will have a drastic "fight or flight" reaction when cornered. This results in bites if not dealt with at a younger age. This type of dog does better with a less aggressive owner social style. Rarely do reprimands with this type of animal exceed a spoken correction.

HEADSTRONG
Headstrong dogs are commonly enrolled in dog classes and usually excel. They tend to be exceptionally bright and their owners are extremely motivated to change their naughty behavior! These dogs manage to dictate what the owner does and when they do it. Owners must provide very consistent guidelines for them. These dogs are fairly outgoing and friendly but they often become desensitized to their owners since they tend to be more persistent than the owners are!

These dominant dogs usually run the household. They nudge or vocalize when they want something and demand the owner do something about it. They will go through doors and gates first and knock an owner over if they try to change that. Often they sleep on the bed with the owner, even taking over their bed! Left unchecked they can become aggressive.

MELLOW
These are the dogs you rarely see in classes. They are pretty quiet, almost never seem to get into trouble and are slow to react. If you ask for a sit, they will do it, but it takes them several minutes to process the information and perform.

Owners who have had dogs like these can be heard chanting " Well, my last dog was perfect. You never had to reprimand him and he was so well behaved." Have faith; I don't see many of these dogs. When I do they tend to be the larger breeds or "gentle giants ".

HYPER RESPONSIVE
Just as the name describes, these animals are "bounce off the wall" types. Dalmatians, Golden Retrievers, and some Labradors fall into this category more than some other breeds. If you are fairly skilled, they are the best dogs to own and are easily trained. If you are like most owners they get reinforced, although you think you have reprimanded them, and their behavior gets worse. If you are battered and bruised then this personality is probably the reason why.

OTHER SOCIAL STYLES
There are two to mention here. Aggression, although I don't consider this to be a personality trait, and Abnormal.

Aggression tends to be a problem encountered in certain breeds more than others. It can be territorial, genetic, protective, or fear motivated; It is a symptom of something gone wrong and sometimes the aggression can be solved. Pure psychotic aggression, in my opinion, cannot. Always seek professional help with aggression.

Abnormality seems to be psychological. The animals I have seen seem to be almost autistic. Some dogs are non responsive, while others just seem depressed. In many cases the dog has developed this way either from a series of negative experiences during development, or it is in a poisonous household and they just shuts down emotionally.

OWNER SOCIAL STYLES
Why write about owner social styles in a dog training book? To help owners understand some of the difficulties and frustrations they are having and why. There are numerous books and seminars you can attend if you really want to know more. Training animals, unfortunately, is not all you have to do in this field, in fact, that is the easy part! The owner work takes much more time and energy.

Most owners have unrealistic expectations of dog training. They think it is going to be easy. Cries of "He does it so well for you" are answered with a joking statement of "That's because I'm I’m the dog trainer". Reality is that this is what I do and have done every day for 16 years. Of course I am good at it! What I am not good at is golf, piano, computer programming, or whatever your profession or hobby may be. Dog training is like going to school all over again. All those frustrations of learning a new skill surface. It takes humans 30 days to change a habit, so after practicing for 30 days, assess how you are doing. In the meantime, your social style will tell you certain reasons why you may be having difficulty. They are listed in the same order as the corresponding dog social style.

AMIABLE
The amiable social style has trouble taking control and asserting themselves over the dog. Often, they fear rejection if they do. It is against their very nature to be forceful or to be in the forefront. They are usually gentle, soft spoken people, and rarely volunteer to demonstrate. Careers they choose tend to be research, computers, or something similar where they are in a supportive capacity. Some professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and doctors fit here. The dog will take the dominant role and misbehaves more with this type of owner.

DRIVER
The driver is opposite of the amiable; They always want control. Some even decide they can run the dog training class! Drivers tend to be in careers such as military officers, self employed entrepreneurs, or law enforcement. They are highly verbal and constantly command the dog. Instead of paying attention to them the dog usually tunes them out. They have desensitized their dog! They also give way too many commands and most of the time the dog has no clue about what the owner wants. Dogs either respond well or shut down with this type.

ANALYTICAL
They want to know every detail, every possible mistake, and explanations for any change. Careers tend to be in computer programming, engineering, analysis, and "high tech" professions. Since dog training is both an art and a science it is not always the same. Dealing with a living feeling creature that has good and bad days can not be done by putting all explanations into a box. Understanding that can help. This social style is highly verbal and highly technical and usually wants an explanation of 16 years of experience of "why" while engaged in a time critical practice! They need to learn to be quiet and use those observational skills. Training is evolutionary process and changes several ways in one quick interaction. Save questions for after class and ask for reading material. These owners tend to be highly successful since they will do everything as directed. Learn to relax and enjoy the process, quit worrying and watch the results.

EXPRESSIVE
These are the owners that will run up to you and say "Yasmine is perfect, we want to enroll in the advanced class...." then when their dog does not do well under high distraction that same day they come up and say "We just are not doing it, we'll probably not finish' this crass H. This is an expressive, caught up in the moment. Multitudes of different feelings, distracted by any occurrence, they work the dog when told to rest; They just need a little firm guidance. Careers tend to be public relations, media, or performing arts. Dramatic and sensitive, they just need to understand that dog training is hard and takes discipline. There will be good and bad days, so the focus is on the end result. They have to finish, work once a day instead of not at all, inch by inch. Commit to 30 days. Graduation is a kick, they usually have friends attend with caps and gowns, and a party scheduled at home.

Most owners will make the same types of mistakes despite any social style influences. These are discussed elsewhere. In most cases, the corresponding Dog Social Style is the best match. However, any owner can work with any type of dog if you have the desire, dedication, devotion, and love to see it to fruition.