Normal dog behaviour and a change in behaviour

Understanding dog behaviour means understanding what can cause it. So what causes behaviour? The first phrase that may pop into your head is “nature versus nurture” – it’s probably something you learnt about at school. Nowadays, you may hear it referred to as “nature and nurture” to symbolise the interactions between the two. But behaviour is also a lot more complicated than that.

Let’s take a look at some of the factors that may play a role in the behaviour of a dog: a species, like many others, that has been found to have a “high degree of individual variability” in terms of its behaviour.

All sources for the information in this blog post can be found at the end of the video below.

Genetics

Genetics are believed to play a role in the development of canine behaviour. But figuring out which specific genes influence or cause a particular trait, if that is even the case, is a topic of ongoing research. It’s particularly difficult as behavioural traits are thought to be influenced by several genes, rather than just one, making inheritance in this area complex. The impact of the environment is even more so. In fact, the heritability of most canine temperamental traits has been found to be low to moderate. 

Despite all of that, genes are believed to act as a framework for an animal’s abilities – in other words, what might happen. Genetic influences have been found with specific behaviours such as a fear of loud noises along with “personality types” like nervousness. 

And of course, some breed-specific traits suggest a genetic link to behaviour, including ones that have likely been deliberately selected for such as herding and ones that haven’t such as flank-sucking in Dobermanns and noise reactivity in Border Collies.

So what happens if a specific gene or genes are found to be responsible for a specific trait? And what if that trait is undesirable in modern human society? As Katherine Houpt wrote in 2007 regarding the search for a canine aggression gene: Should all of the dogs with such a gene be neutered, euthanised even?  

In my opinion and I’m sure the opinions of many others, no. Because there are a whole host of other factors that may affect the expression of a particular behaviour, even if a dog is genetically predisposed towards it.

Environment

One big additional factor is the environment. Now that can mean a number of things, including the in-utero environment before a puppy is born, early life experiences up until the end of the sensitive socialisation period, learning that occurs beyond this point, and even diet and its effect on brain development.

So where genes provide a behavioural framework, the environment moulds and shapes said framework, activating certain genes. A well-rounded dog, for want of a better term, is often associated with the following: 

– A stable internal and external environment for the mother

– Adequate and appropriate stimulation and environmental enrichment in early life, potentially with mild stressors that help build the dog’s resilience and coping skills

– A variety of positive social interactions up until around 12 weeks: the period with the greatest level of neural plasticity

– And finally, appropriate and ethical learning opportunities that allow a dog to reliably predict a particular outcome 

Naturally, the opposite has been linked to an increased risk of behavioural issues developing: namely, a restricted or unstable environment with a lack of or stressful exposure to stimuli.

And the two can interplay as the dog continues to develop. For example, you may be able to make up for a lack of environmental enrichment in a dog’s early life by providing that later on. On the flip side, the beneficial effects of an appropriate early environment may be overshadowed by later negative experiences.

Relationships with us

Interestingly, pet dogs have what Adam Miklosi calls an almost double socialisation process as they are expected to interact with two species: their own and us. And it’s in these relationships, specifically with the primary human and canine caregivers, that behaviour can also be influenced.

A dog’s attachment to their mother and the quality of that maternal care can have an effect on the likes of engagement with humans and objects in later life. Similarly, attachment to a human caregiver can have both positive and negative effects in society’s eyes, with the loss of said attachment triggering anxiety in some dogs. 

Aversive training methods used by a human caregiver can also have a significant impact on a dog’s behaviour with an increased risk of aggression towards both known and unknown people and a link to more stress-related behaviours.

Biology

Of course, humans have had a big impact on the morphology of dogs – put more simply, the way they look – which in turn can have an effect on behavioural output. For example, artificially selecting certain traits has led to herding breeds having a facial structure and sensory abilities that can accurately detect movement thereby potentially making them more sensitive to things that move. 

But that’s not the only biological factor at work. Internal chemicals, such as hormones and neurotransmitters, have several strong links to behaviour and may have been altered in certain breeds through the aforementioned selective breeding. One such link that is widely talked about is testosterone and aggression. In years gone by, castration was recommended as a way to reduce or even eradicate aggressive behaviour, mounting and marking in male dogs. However, not only is it now known that these behaviours can be influenced by many other things, including learning history, genetics and environment, but it’s also known that the hormone’s role is not that simple as it can also assist with a dog’s confidence in social situations. 

Health is also an important factor to consider. There are numerous studies demonstrating a link between health and behavioural issues. One of the most cited in recent years is this one which found that between around a third and 80% of hundreds of dog cases referred to a group of behaviourists involved some element of pain. 

Evolution

Going back to artificial selection, the evolution and selective breeding of dogs have to be considered when looking at the development of behaviour. While evolution may have resulted in cross-species brain differences such as larger areas dedicated to olfactory processing in dogs, some behaviours are said to have been lost, or at least adapted, in dogs via the processes of domestication and paedomorphosis. If you think about the predatory motor sequence and how this plays out in various breeds, you can quite easily see how some elements of the sequence have been hypertrophied in some breeds and other elements diminished. 

Breeding trends may even have affected the way dogs perceive stimuli and communicate. A 2018 review of canine communication said artificial selection “reduced the social signalling capacity of several breeds,” highlighting that brachycephalic dogs have an inability to display different facial expressions and dogs with permanently erect ears or very short tails have “lost part of their behavioural repertoire.” It even mentions how long or dense fur can conceal certain signals. All in all, the authors wrote, these factors could make visual communication “extremely challenging for some dogs.”

Society

That brings me to societal factors, encompassing culture, social norms and even politics. It’s fair to say that a lot of major studies that we base our knowledge on have been focused on Western breeds, forgetting or overlooking the likes of village, Nordic and Asiatic dogs. But this is perhaps just an example of societal trends which, like everything else, also ties into behaviour – especially the kinds of behavioural issues we may see. 

“Dog breed popularity has been primarily determined by fashion rather than function,” concluded a 2013 investigation, adding that “breeds can become popular despite problematic behaviour.” Again, this was focused on Western culture: a culture which has perhaps become associated with irresponsible breeders and the subsequent birth of dogs with a higher prevalence of behavioural issues like aggression and separation. Just a few recent headlines show the kinds of impacts that UK culture may be having on breed popularity, canine behaviour and even the way people think about dogs in the region. 

Understanding dog behaviour and its complexities

So what to make of it all? The bottom line is each dog is a product of a smorgasbord of influences, from genetic predispositions and environmental experiences to social relationships and overall health. This behavioural complexity is still not well understood but having an awareness of each factor is vital to working with and living with other species. In summary: focus on the individual, rather than the stereotype.