Is it all in ‘How You Raise Them’?

11 Apr Is it all in ‘How You Raise Them’?

If I speak to anyone not ‘in’ the dog training world about banned breeds I hear the term ‘its all in how you raise them’ thrown around a lot. There seems to be a common misconception that dogs are born as blank slates and their owners have full control over who the dog will become. This belief is hugely damaging for both dogs and dog owners alike.

Even at conception some of our dogs future behavioural predispositions are created. Collie embryos are going to be much more liekly to have drives to heard, eye stalk and chase prey. Our pointers are likely to point! Genetics matter and DNA does far more than affect the way our puppies look.

Now we can consider mums pregnancy- Was mum stressed during her pregnancy? Did she receive adequate nutrition? Was she a healthy dog? We know that all of these factors will have an impact on the puppies that she births!

When we then finally pick up a puppy at 8-12 weeks they have already experienced their most crucial learning period away from us. If they’ve had any scary experiences or been exposed to a lack of sounds will determine their personality hugely in later life.

So why does this matter?

The vast majority of clients I see who have serious behavioural issues did not create the problem. Yes training and lifestyle changes could have helped  prevent the problem but this was in no way the cause. It is the lethal combination of bad breeding practice and a lack of owner education that is creating the nightmare dogs I am called in to see each week.

We need to start at the source and ensure new puppy owners are doing everything they can to buy a genetically sound puppy with a great start to life.

What about rescues though?

I have two rescues myself and plan to continue bringing pets into my home this way HOWEVER a rescue dog is not suitable for everyone. If you have the time, lifestyle and knowledge then rescuing can be the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do but we cannot shame people who do not have the capacity to follow this route.

Dogs bred ethically and with purpose will always be more suitable for those with young children or people needing their dog for specific tasks/ jobs/ sports!

Having a rescue means that often times you are agreeing to a lifetime of management with some behaviours. Training can massively help and even fix a lot of problems,but we don’t know what genetics were rescuing and need to be prepared to use management too should training notbe enough for these cases.