A Dog's Real Needs

Excerpt from

A Dog's Real Needs

currently in revision

Here is a checklist of needs
that every dog has

These are all needs that we must meet in a timely way, if we are not to leave the dog to meet the needs itself as best it can.

The dog-needs we need to meet always in a timely way include:

1. Daily opportunities for the dog to act as the dog it is, both in its DogNess and in its individuality.
2. Trust in us, its humans, to provide it with safety, security, stability: being able to predict that its needs will be met in a reasonably timely way.
3. Social feedback, including full membership in the family-group: being with its human caretakers and guides, active and effective communication that flows in both directions, dog-to-human and human-to-dog.
4. Safe, comfortable and interesting places in which to be the dog it is: places in which to rest undisturbed, places in which to explore and to play.
5. Water, food, shelter, protection from the elements.
6. Grooming and medical care; touch to the body, opportunity to touch other warm bodies.
7. At least adequate mental stimulation and concomitant rest time;
8. At least adequate physical exercise and concomitant rest time;
9. Human caretaker recognition of and relief of any distress the dog may be in that it cannot itself relieve.

A Dog's Real Needs

Temporary revision
Sunday, 27 Feb 2005

Dogs we breed or adopt as companion or family dogs cannot survive long nor well on their own.

We raise human children with the goal of guiding them so that they eventually grow up and go out into the world to survive on their own - and we hope, do better than just to survive.

We treat family or companion dogs differently. We expect puppies to grow up into adult dogs, but not to leave home and go out into the world to make their fortunes. (Of course, there are those who expect dogs to make humans fortunes.)

As I see it, then, we humans are completely responsible for taking care of these dogs.

Human Views of
Dog Behavior

I know of at least two titles "Dogs Behaving Badly."

My goodness, what amazing titles. The descriptions of "bad behavior" are of dogs behaving as dogs do; they do what dogs do because they are what dogs are.

Humans say dogs "behave badly" when the humans are inconvenienced, or don't know what to do to make the dog do what they want the dogs to do, or don't know how to stop the dog from doing what the dogs are doing.

Well-behaved Dogs

A well-behaved dog is one who is well-cared-for.

It's not necessary to train a dog formally; it is definitely necessary to teach a family or companion dog how to survive in a world of humans.

Dogs give hints; we can listen. They take hints, too; we can give hints.

My concern for dogs, and for all living creatures they live with, is, safety, health and comfort, in that order.

I don't know why I was surprised to discover, or learn, that a dog whose needs I met behaved well. I thought about that quite a lot, and sure enough, if one of my dogs started "misbehaving," would you believe it; that dog had a need I hadn't met. It was a real need.

Reading dogs

We can learn canine calming signals easily these days, because we have new resources for learning.

To learn about calming signals, you can begin by visiting the Calming Signals Community, the web site where Turid Rugaas, Norwegian dog-trainer, presents articles, photographs of calming signals, and answers questions.

Magda Urban of Poland presents a considerable collection of pictures of Calming Signals on her web site.

Learning the signals helps us sort out dog-body-language, and makes it easy to take hints from our dogs. It takes time and practice for us to develop skills in reading and using the signals, but the payoffs for doing so are very large. Also, the learning is fun, so I strongly recommmend trying it.

You can, and should, test this information for yourself. You can have a lot of fun doing it, too! Your dogs will appreciate you for doing so. You will find that as long as you meet their real needs, your dogs will become the great dogs you always thought they were.

Caring for Dogs

Any pun intended

When we care for dogs, we do our very best to take good care of them. And we, with the dogs, reap the rewards of doing that. Our dogs can become the dogs they are, in depth and in detail, and we happy humans get to watch them being the astounding creatures they are, day in, day out.

When their needs are met, dogs learn easily to live with us humans.

Carol Whitney is a retired ethnomusicologist who has been specializing in communication between living creatures all her life.

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