Knowing how dogs think requires dedication and observation to understand that they are creatures that reason, feel and suffer. In addition to dog educators and ethologists, we are the owners who discover the ways in which they reason and think on a daily basis.
Although they are often governed by instincts, dogs are animals that repeat basic commands, understand and differentiate different commands and are even capable of detecting when we feel sad or excited.
Body and verbal language allow our dog to understand and respond to certain stimuli found in his environment. You want to know more? Keep reading this article on our site to discover how dogs think.
The psychology of the dog
Although it has a long way to go, science has not yet determined in depth all the processes that take place in the dog's mind, that is, we are talking about a field that has yet to be developed. Even so, we currently have canine educators, trainers and ethologists to help us understand certain behaviors of dogs. These are people with training who can deal more or less effectively with certain problems that dog owners encounter.
We must know that dogs are innately organized to live in a pack, a natural hierarchy in which one of them predominates and that they perform in a wild environment thus facilitating their survival. Domestic dogs show this behavior although we can see that it is a more social behavior due to the years of training and selection behind them.
Studies confirm the dog's mental abilities: comprehension, memory or communication. The dog responds to social stimuli through an area of the brain responsible for perception and learning. The mind of dogs goes further than that of other animals, their brain can be compared to that of a small child, capable of feeling empathy, love and sadness.
But let's go straight to psychology, How does the dog really think and how can we understand him?
The dog has the ability to recognize people and other animals, just like many other species do. They have the ability to develop friendship or love, they are also capable of memorizing and repeating commands that we teach them and some can remember up to more than 100 different words.
Each dog has a specific mental capacity and even if we decide to adopt a border collie, one of the most intelligent dogs in the world, he will not always show a higher level of intelligence. It will depend on each particular case.
Dogs understand the environment through a highly developed sense of smell as well as through colors, shapes and music. Once understood, they are able to communicate with gestural language, position, orientation of the ears, position and with the movement of the tail.
Dog education
Dogs have a different language than humans, which is why trainers around the world are looking for different methods to encourage communication.
Training a dog is not only about teaching tricks that make us laugh, but about communicating guidelines through which we understand and respect each other within a social group. Through education, coexistence becomes harmonic, positive and creates a bond between dog and family.
To promote good communication between dogs and humans, our site provides some tips:
Dogs require a socialization process when they are puppies, that is: in order for a dog to develop its full potential and not show behaviors that are inappropriate for its species, it must know its surroundings, other people and pets, objects and vehicles. It is something fundamental to achieve a mentally he althy adult dog
When you communicate with your dog you should use verbal and non-verbal language, this way your dog will better understand the commands you teach him and in case of suffering hearing deficiencies, they will be able to understand you better.
Do not scold your dog if he has committed a misdeed hours before, we can use a firm "No" if we observe an attitude that we do not like but we will never exceed the punishment or use physical aggression (although seem minor to us, it should never be done)
Using training methods such as the choke collar or electric shocks can generate a very serious stress situation in the dog, which does not understand why its physical discomfort occurs. Using this type of training leads to a negative reaction from the dog and even a redirection of his anger towards a person or pet
Dogs take from 5 to 20 times to learn a command or indication, depending on the particular dog. For this, it is essential that if we apply a rule we are consistent and always apply the same level of demand, otherwise our dog will be disoriented and will not understand what we expect of him
If what you want is a stable and calm dog, you should make it so. The dog learns from his family and environment, for this reason, if you are a calm and calm person, our dog will probably be too
Finally we recommend that you use positive education to educate him: it consists of offering treats, caresses or kind words in the face of a behavior that we like from our pet. It is the ideal form of education, in addition, it allows them to better remember what you expect of them
Understanding canine psychology or knowing how dogs think is complicated and particular in each case. If what you want is to understand the psychology of your dog in depth, it is essential that you pay attention to how it reacts or communicates, because nobody can understand your dog better than youThe love, perseverance and affection that you can offer are basic tools to understand the behavior and attitude of a dog.
