In the West we all care for our domestic dogs in much the same way. We put our dog in a crate when we go to work, and we have to do things to remind him who’s boss. But just because we all do these things, does that make it okay? According to welfare professional Judith Versluis, there is room for improvement. This way we can also become our dog’s best friend. This is her story.
Image courtesy of Pexels, Mathias Reding
Judith, if our dog lived free, how would it spend its day?
In this Indian dog ethogram we see that a free-range dog (living outside the confines of a home) is resting and sleeping for 54 percent of their life. It spends 27 percent on individual activities, such as walking. A dog spends 10 percent of its time on being social with other dogs.
Six percent of its time goes to maintenance and care, such as foraging for food. Three percent is spent vocalising itself (such as barking). Zero percent is devoted to aggressive behaviour. But, we see very few similarities when we compare this life to the one of our average domestic dogs!
What would such a free-range dog need?
The ethogram shows that in order for a dog to lead a happy, healthy and contented life, there must be room for five, vital inelastic behaviours and basic needs. Every day. The number one basic need, on which the other three depend, is to feel safe. Number two is sleep. Then exercise comes at three and food and drink come at four. Body care is number five. However, when you ask people what they think a dog needs most, they almost never mention feeling safe or good sleep. Even though those are the most important, basic needs.
Wouldn’t we be spoiling our friend?
If we want to give a dog the minimum life it needs, we do not spoil him. On the contrary, it is of vital importance for them.
Take sleep. Sufficient, healthy sleep is crucial for a dog to stay balanced. It is a polyphasic sleeper and needs more sleep phases than we do. It has to go through a sleep cycle about six times. Such a cycle lasts about 45 minutes and includes both light REM and deep sleep. What this means is that an adult dog needs 14 hours of rest or sleep every 24 hours. For a puppy this is 18 hours.
A dog must also be able to stretch out when it is lying down, for its back. It needs to be able to regulate its temperature and should have a choice of several sleeping places if necessary. It also gives it a feeling of security if it can lie higher up. So that’s why it wants to be on the couch. Not because it wants to be the boss over you. Its own special sofa can be a solution, or a plaid over the sofa.
What would happen if we did all those things?
A dog that feels safe at home, and gets enough quality sleep is mentally stronger. It will be less likely to show undesirable behaviour, such as lunging at other dogs or people, excessive barking or breaking things. Provided such behaviour does not arise from pain or physical discomfort, of course. If it occurs suddenly, and feels out of character, it is always advisable to visit a veterinarian.
“A dog that feels safe at home, and that gets enough quality sleep is mentally stronger and will be less likely to show undesirable behaviour.”
Most dog owners make use of a crate. Does that make it right?
Nowadays, everyone puts their dog in a crate. Many people who bring a puppy into their home already have a crate ready, and most dog schools offer crate training. Dog owners lock up a high number of dogs up for many hours of the day. In the beginning, they lure it in with treats. When they go to work, they then lock their dog in the crate for half a day or more. It often has to go back into the crate at night.
Especially if it is still a puppy, it is often locked up on its own for the night in a crate. We might not realise it, but locking up a baby that has lost everything that was familiar and safe, as a mother, brothers and sisters, is really not okay. To justify the use of a crate, which really is for the owner’s convenience, people often call it a ‘safe place’. But what’s actually wrong with the rest of the house? Also, if we give our dog a stable, safe base from the start, we don’t need to make use of a crate. And the same applies if we train it properly that being alone for a while is fine.
How would a dog experience a crate?
When you think about it, a crate is really just a cage. And what animal is cool with being locked up? When we lock a dog in a crate it often enters a state of learned helplessness. There will be stress. After all, we have confined it. But knowing it can’t get out, it leaves it at that. It’s how it survives. Often the quality of their sleep is not good either in a bench. As previously mentioned, a dog needs to modulate its body temperature and it cannot do that when it is shut in. A dog should be able to choose where it wants to sleep.
We (welfare-oriented professionals) would prefer that the crate would disappear completely. Humans have designed it for their own convenience. A dog does not feel comfortable in it. There are countries in Scandinavia where crate training and crates with closed doors are not allowed.
How do dogs experience things we find normal?
A dog is a pack animal. They do not live alone, but with family. It is therefore not fair to regularly leave the dog alone at home for long periods of time. It also needs to be done step by step. Nowadays there are many behavioural experts whose speciality is separation anxiety. They go through a process together with the owner so a dog can learn to be home alone.
Apart from the issue with safety, I would never advise anyone to let their dog walk next to a bicycle. Afterwards people often say “it’s nice and tired.” Now they can leave the house all day without feeling guilty. But a dog tied to a bicycle in traffic certainly does not feel safe. It is of no use to them.
If you observe a dog tied up in front of a store, you might see it yawn and lick its mouth up to the nose. This is how it tries to calm himself down. It is experiencing an enormous amount of stress and feels very unsafe. We humans often cannot imagine that something that is so normal for us, can be extremely stressful for an animal.
“We humans often cannot imagine that something that is so normal for us, can be extremely stressful for an animal.”
We make most of the decisions for our dog. Is that good for them?
I recently saw a dog sitting down somewhere, while the owner walked on. It made me wonder what would happen next. When the owner looked back, and asked the dog whether it would prefer to walk in another direction, I was pleasantly surprised. You don’t see that much.
We actually make all the decisions for a dog and then say: “It likes that.” But would the dog ever have started on its own with a ball or a Frisbee? Would it have stood next to a bicycle with a questioning, inviting look? If we look at the ethogram, that is most certainly not the case. It’s us humans who have come up with all those activities for them. We don’t let them decide, we do it for them.
It’s us humans who have come up with all those activities for them. We don’t let them decide, we do it for them.”
What about food?
Most dogs are fed the same food twice a day, their entire lives. Then we punish them when they steal something from the table. But no one eats the same thing every day for 15 years. So why do we do that to our dog? Dogs might have fewer taste buds than humans, they still need something different every now and then. It is important to continue to stimulate all their senses for life, and this includes taste.
Being able to choose something, and to make a decision, is very important for a dog. For example, we can place several chews in a circle on the floor, and let our dog choose one. Just like you would let a child choose a treat from a tin.
And exercise?
When you go for a walk with your dog, leave your phone at home. Or at least don’t look at it. Look at your dog, observe its body language, and enjoy ‘being.’ A dog benefits from a ‘sniff walk.’ In other words: loose or on a long leash, so it can determine the pace and possibly the route. So it can sniff around as much as it wants, after all, it’s its social media.
One of the things I do, is teaching scent or track training with dogs and owners. I always do a trial lesson first. If the dog does not want it, the course will not take place. By the way, I haven’t experienced that yet. Tracking and scent detection are activities that every dog really enjoys doing. In fact, a dog’s health and state of mind depend on regular use of its search system such as scent training.
Activating the nose, and its search system, produces feel-good hormones in the dog. This is also good for their brain. Solving the puzzle together as a team, is a win-win for everyone. By the way, suppressing play can be detrimental to a dog’s brain development. Playing with other dogs is therefore important and owners should find suitable playmates when they can.
We are the leader, and we should punish our dogs if they do something wrong?
Punishment is a ‘no go.’ A dog never does anything to irritate us on purpose. Undesirable behaviour usually arises from misunderstanding on our part. If we don’t learn to read its body language, we won’t be able to understand them. Getting angry comes from our own frustration.
If we take a closer look at the ethogram, we see that dogs are naturally zero percent aggressive. So, if your dog is barking at another one across the street, something is going on and it is doing exactly as it should. It is not just barking for the sake of it, it has a reason. I often see people with a dissatisfied face pulling their dog for something they are doing. “Hurry up,” they shout, while another time the animal was allowed to do the same thing.
Also, any behaviour that you may experience as undesirable, is often natural to your dog. Dogs dig and they bark: It’s what they do. When it is on a leash and approached by another dog, it may feel unsafe and bark. Correcting or punishing that behaviour is therefore not fair and natural dog behaviour can never be unlearned. It is something that cannot simply be changed and that the dog cannot do anything about.
“Punishment is a ‘no go.’ A dog never does anything to irritate us on purpose.”
What can we do instead?
With a lot of patience and a positive reward structure, desired behaviour can be learned. Be 100 percent predictable and ensure that your dog can trust you, feels safe and receives support where necessary. The book ‘On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals‘ by Turid Rugaas should be required reading for any dog owner.
We should always remind ourselves that our dog cannot help that we become frustrated. That it cannot always understand what we mean. That it is often the victim in all of this. And this should just not happen. It is fear, uncertainty, discomfort and not feeling safe that cause them to express what we consider undesirable behaviour.
“Dogs dig and they bark: It’s what they do. Correcting or punishing that behaviour is therefore not fair and natural dog behaviour can never be ‘unlearned.'”
And finally, how can we best ‘see’ our dog?
By paying money to a breeder, shelter or foundation, you become the owner of your dog. However, it will never be able to see itself as your property. It really wants to be your friend, how special is that!
A dog is, honestly, the only animal in the world that enjoys living with us, humans. We owe it to them to make their life with us as valuable and fun as possible. To become his best friend. To treat him as a member of the family, at all times, and not just when it suits us. Incidentally, this is a complete win-win situation. After all, our own physical and mental health benefits enormously from such a close and unconditional connection.
My advice is not always nice for my clients to hear. But as a specialist in animal welfare, I have no choice but to be on Team Dog. So, be a predictable owner. And every time you want to do something with your friend, ask yourself: What would it think? Then you will also become his best friend.
“Every time you want to do something with your dog, ask yourself: What would it think? Then you will also become his best friend.”
Judith’s training was based on:
The internationally-acclaimed Norwegian dog trainer Turid Rugaas.
Her book ‘On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals‘ is considered a classic in the field of dog behaviour and the brain. It is based on what dogs need to live a safe, happy and healthy life.
An Indian research model based on free-roaming dogs (see here). In india, dogs are an integral part of the human environment. Such a model can help us understand our domestic dogs better.
The dog ethogram by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata. It is a list of dog behaviours based on free-ranging, urban dogs.
Image (Pexels, Hiago-Rocha): Can we learn from street dogs?
About our interviewee
Judith Versluis is a recognised dog welfare behavioural specialist. Judith helps dogs and their ‘owners’ find balance in life.
Just like humans, dogs can deal with life better when their carrying capacity (what they can handle) and carrying load (what they have to deal with) are harmonised.
Judith’s site also has tips. For example, how a dog’s health and state of mind depend on regular use of its seeking system, such as scent training.
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