I often hear people talk about letting their dogs live naturally (in one case this involved an English Bulldog living in a garage) or training their dogs in a natural way (which usually entails mimicking some sort of pre-conceived wolf pack behavior). For example, I recently had a breeder tell me that he doesn’t teach his pups how to cope with being alone because dogs thrive in packs, so he doesn’t work very hard at making sure they have alone time.
I’ve never understood this line of thinking, as the dogs we live with today in the Western world often live as only-dogs and more closely resemble the planet’s much larger population of free-ranging village dogs who live primarily as scavengers. Today’s dogs much more closely resemble our modern canine’s ancient ancestors. It also bears considering that even ancient dogs are not wolves but a separate species. Comparing dogs to wolves is akin to comparing humans to chimps. Sure we’re related, but behaviorally we are very different creatures.
A lot of training advice out there today comes from the idea of imitating “pack behavior.” This is misguided in many ways. Wolves live in packs, true, but science has already established that today’s dogs are far removed from wolves as we know them today. Plus, the majority of village and free-ranging dogs across the world who live “naturally,” resembling how dogs have lived over the course of their evolution, still do their own thing most of the time.
Free-roaming dogs may be drawn together – forming loose, transitory associations periodically for sharing of resources or to facilitate reproduction, but dogs lack two key criteria for being scientifically labeled as pack animals: they do not hunt together (again, the majority of dogs do not hunt at all, they scavenge) and the males do not play a role in raising pups.
Our modern domestic companion dogs are social creatures that have adapted to and been shaped by living with us humans. Most do enjoy casual company and of course can even be conditioned to require it. And pet dogs are wholly dependent on us for their resources, so yeah they need us, but they do not need each other to survive, not naturally as a pack and not in our domestic world. This is why adopting a pack leader mentality is a waste of time and is largely lost on dogs, beyond their already clear understanding that humans equal food, shelter, and safety – and that therefore it’s best to keep on our good side.
Even from the evolutionary standpoint of the village dog, there is nothing natural about companion dogs living in our homes, or working for us, or being forced into social situations at daycares or dog parks, or being selectively bred by us, not to mention having to live up to our cultural expectations and social rules. The lives we offer our dogs aren’t even close to what Mother Nature intended.
My job as a companion dog puppy trainer is to prepare puppies to successfully live very “unnatural” lives with their human companions. I want them to be ready for all of the things they will encounter. I want them to be able to meet our highly unnatural and often unrealistic demands, such as being forced to get along with or, alternatively, ignore other dogs on walks, not to chew on things, not to dig, not to chase things, not to eat garbage.
Most of all, in “natural” circumstances they would not be expected to sit quietly alone for hours on end without any occupation or entertainment. Village dogs spend most of their waking hours seeking out food and water, with a little bit of social time thrown in the mix. Working dogs that we have historically bred for specific purposes would naturally be, well, working! All of this home-alone, bored-to-pieces business can certainly spell trouble if a pup is ill-prepared.
As a trainer who sees all the problems that lead people to seek out professional help as well as all the “problem” dogs dumped in shelters, I’d argue that there are plenty of dogs who simply do not adapt well to their relatively new role as weekend warrior companion dogs who, after spending a lot of the week by themselves, are expected to get along with every other dog when they are walked around the block or taken to the dog park. It’s up to dog owners to prepare their dogs for life at home and to do so actively and thoughtfully, rather than relying on wolf-speak mumbo jumbo.
Our dogs live with humans who work and have commitments. The bottom line is that these dogs will be left alone, a lot. They will not be living in packs. My goal is to not only get dogs to accept alone time, but actually to enjoy it, so they can remain calm and happy.
Even if you have more than one canine companion, dogs who live together generally do better behaviorally if they know how to cope with being solo. This is especially important in sport and working dogs, but it’s also important for households where two dogs live together and spend all of their time together. They will not die at the same time, and they will not always go to the vet together, especially if one is very ill. I want them to be okay with being alone so it’s not an added stressor.
Lastly, I don’t want my dogs to be overly dog-centric. I want them to be human-centric. I want them to look to me for support, guidance, and reinforcement. It makes training and living with them so much easier. And this is why I don’t rely on wolfy wives tales when raising puppies.
Kelly Gorman Dunbar is Director of the Center for Applied Animal Behavior, where she recruits and trains the instructors for the Dunbar family business, SIRIUS® Puppy & Dog Training. She is the creator of the SIRIUS Sniffers scent-detection program, and is in the process of bringing the French sport of cavage (truffle hunting) to the US. Kelly is also Founder and President of Open Paw and consults on various matters.
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