By Fran Jewell
Because of the popularity of rescues, there are many mixed-breed dogs in our lives. There are many pros and cons to mixed breeds; however, we can do a few things to help us see more clearly how to live with and nurture our mixed-breed dogs. We are now capable of doing fairly reliable DNA testing, which is so easy to do with a cheek swab, to find out why our dog may be behaving a certain way.
Just as it is so important to know the history of your dog—where it came from; did it live in a barn, or was hit abandoned, or even left by the side of the road?—it helps us to understand our dog and direct our training.
I am a huge fan of DNA testing because there are so many breed characteristics that simply give us more understanding, compassion and direction about how to help our dog be the best he can be.
Herding breeds, such as the border collie, have certain characteristics that can be mistaken for aggression. They have what is known as the border collie stare. They are inherently going to stare at stock or at you. This stare can be mistaken for aggression very easily. If you have DNA testing on your dog and realize that there is border collie in your mix, it can greatly influence the direction and understanding you have for your dog.
Once you have DNA testing done, and you now know the breeds of your dog that are combined genetically, you can research those breeds and start identifying behaviors you thought might, in fact, be something else.
There are many influences to behavior. Environment can influence behavior and instill fearfulness or confidence in a young puppy. It can influence aggression, dominance or even submissive behavior. Another influence is genetics. Genetics can influence whether your dog is a “nose” dog, scenting everything high and low and never hearing your commands. Genetics can influence whether the dog will have the ability to learn “come,” which can be VERY difficult for a hound dog! Genetics can even influence whether your dog will have tendencies to fight or flee.
Some dog breeds are more “biddable” than others. Biddable means easy to train and LIKE to work for their owners. For instance, Labrador and golden retrievers tend to be more biddable than terriers, which is why they are so widely used for service work. Because terriers have so much drive to find and kill vermin, they can be very independent. You may be able to train a terrier quickly, but when they are in their hunt mode, all bets are off. That hunting instinct can be so powerful—nothing else is important to them, and they may be more apt to want to “spar” with other dogs.
Of course, the examples I gave are just examples. Every dog is an individual, just like a person. Understanding your breed(s) is one of the keys to having a deeper understanding of who your dog is and help you to direct his training needs so he can fit into your life AND you can keep him safe.
Fran Jewell is an IAABC Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, NADOI Certified Instructor and the owner of Positive Puppy Dog Training, LLC in Sun Valley. For more information, visit positivepuppy.com or call 208-578-1565.