What drives behaviors in dogs? If we strip everything away, at the core of all behavior they exhibit is their inherent need for survival. A dog understands from day 1 that I must eat and I need safety to survive. Safety being shelter and group support (there is strength in numbers).
So the decisions they are making constantly circle back to this one question: What can I do to better my chances of survival?
What does all this mean in terms of whether dogs are eager to please us?
Well, they don’t understand from Day 1 that we are a resource to them. So this idea that dogs are born eager to please us. Does not exist.
They’re eager to please themselves. They’re eager to do things that better their chance of survival and they don’t come hardwired to know that we are here to help them achieve that.
Knowing all of this, there are things we do once we bring that dog home that actually teach it that it doesn’t need us and therefore doesn’t need to be eager to please us.
What are those things?
- We provide the dog shelter, a home, a crate, a fluffy bed, a comfy couch, etc… We also become their pack. They become part of the group of everyone that lives in our home. So the day we bring our dog home, we’ve already satisfied one of our dog’s needs SAFETY.
- The second way we put ourselves at a disadvantage with our dogs is by providing free meals to them multiple times per day. They don’t have to do anything in order to get the food they need to survive. This eliminates any need to work.
So we end up shooting ourselves in the foot by providing the dog everything that motivates it to act. AND without that motivation, there is no need to work. There is no need to do what we ask because we give everything away for free.
The reason why some people think dogs are eager to please us is because we see the final product of an owner who has worked hard at teaching their dog that they are valuable. We see a dog following through with every command that owner gives in order to receive the rewards that the dog has learned come from its owner.
Dogs can be molded to appear like they are eager to please, but only if we teach them that following through on what we tell them is going to get their basic needs met. You will get to eat if you do a little work. You will get to tune into your prey drive and chase a ball if you do a little work first. You will get to go sniff the neighbor’s lawn if you heel with me on our way over there.
When we hold the chips, we create a dog that appears eager to please us because it’s motivated to do so.
