The 100 Most Silly Things That Have Ever Been Said
About Dogs
Copyright 2007 by Alexandra Semyonova -- All Rights Reserved
About Dogs
Copyright 2007 by Alexandra Semyonova -- All Rights Reserved
Before you start:
Instructions for using this book
This book is intended as a new guide to dogs. Because many widespread beliefs about dogs are not only
outdated, but also bad for dogs, I want this book to be useful to the widest possible audience. I’ve written
this book so it can be read two ways.
This book can be read as a whole, from chapter one to chapter one hundred. Those who do this will, at
the end, have a firm grasp of much the new knowledge we have about dogs.
This book can also be used to check each belief separately. You can read the book in bits and pieces,
looking up things that strike your interest, or checking something your neighbor, dog trainer or local
scientist is telling you. Each chapter can stand alone and will teach you something important.
No matter which way you read it, this book will improve your understanding of why dogs really do things the
way they do, and it will increase your appreciation of this marvellous species so many of us share our lives
with.
Please note that when I use the expression “normal dogs,” I mean two things. The first is, dogs who are
not of the breeds we have bred for aggression and/or for extremely large body size and mass. When I talk
about normal dogs, I am explicitly excluding these breeds. The second thing “normal dogs” means is dogs
who have had a chance to learn about being a dog from other dogs.
Go to the book, Part 1
Instructions for using this book
This book is intended as a new guide to dogs. Because many widespread beliefs about dogs are not only
outdated, but also bad for dogs, I want this book to be useful to the widest possible audience. I’ve written
this book so it can be read two ways.
This book can be read as a whole, from chapter one to chapter one hundred. Those who do this will, at
the end, have a firm grasp of much the new knowledge we have about dogs.
This book can also be used to check each belief separately. You can read the book in bits and pieces,
looking up things that strike your interest, or checking something your neighbor, dog trainer or local
scientist is telling you. Each chapter can stand alone and will teach you something important.
No matter which way you read it, this book will improve your understanding of why dogs really do things the
way they do, and it will increase your appreciation of this marvellous species so many of us share our lives
with.
Please note that when I use the expression “normal dogs,” I mean two things. The first is, dogs who are
not of the breeds we have bred for aggression and/or for extremely large body size and mass. When I talk
about normal dogs, I am explicitly excluding these breeds. The second thing “normal dogs” means is dogs
who have had a chance to learn about being a dog from other dogs.
Go to the book, Part 1
Nonlinear Dogs
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Preface
This book is called “The 100 Most Silly Things That Have Ever Been Said About Dogs”. These silly ideas
are all based on old-fashioned ideas about Nature in general, and about dogs in specific. In this book, I try
to present the reader with the newest knowledge we have about dogs. As I go along, I debunk various
myths and fables that most people believe in, replacing them with real insight about what real dogs are
really all about. It’s inevitable that the reader will – after some thought – put some of the old ideas aside,
since new knowledge usually causes a shift in the way we look at things. As you read along, you’ll see
your dog doing things I talk about in this book. You’ll discover new things in him each day, things you
never noticed before because you didn’t know what they meant – or that they even had any meaning. You’
ll also find your relationship with your dog improving, as you interact with him on the basis of real
knowledge instead of the old dogmas. Never mind what you used to think about dogs. Despite the title, I
most definitely don’t want any of my readers to feel silly as they read. I just hope you will feel the same
excitement I felt as I made my discoveries.
Don’t feel guilty, either. Even if you’ve always believed in all one hundred of the myths this book debunks,
you remain innocent of any wrongdoing. You probably, just like me, somehow ended up with a dog one
day. And, just like me, you probably thought, “I’d better go get some advice from an expert, to be sure I do
it right.” When they told you their silly ideas, they probably sounded so self-confident that it didn’t occur to
you to doubt they knew what they were talking about.
The same thing happened to me. After getting a degree in the behavioral sciences, I ended up some
years later with a dog. He was an adult dog. All I needed to do was use the same techniques I’d used in
the behavior lab – reward the behavior I wanted, and make sure I didn’t reward behavior I didn’t like. Piece
of cake, perfect dog.
I wasn’t exposed to all the stories dog people tell until I got my first puppy. I realized that raising a young
animal, with all its species-specific developmental requirements, was a totally different thing than simply
applying the laws of behavior to an adult. Time to research dogs. I read every book I could get my hands
on and talked to scads of trainers. All sources agreed that dogs live in a hierarchy, and that they spend all
their time being either dominant or submissive to each other. Even play is about determining relative rank
within the group. Any request my dog made to me (to fulfill one of his needs, to play with him) was a secret
attempt to increase his own rank in the hope of taking over someday. I was told I needed to make sure I
was the Alpha Leader. The nice way to do this involved a number of things, which were explained to me as
a sort of psychological warfare. I was told to ignore all requests from my dog. I should always go before
my dog through a door, to show that I was the courageous leader. I had to eat first before I fed the dog,
since the Alpha wolf always eats first and then determines who gets to eat next. The dog wasn’t allowed
on the couch, since the Alpha wolf always lies on the highest spot when the pack is resting. I should never
approach the dog, since the submissive wolf always approaches the dominant wolf – but on the other
hand, I should make sure the dog moves aside when I’m comin’ through, since the dominant wolf never
moves aside for the lesser pack members (I sort of wondered how I was going to do this one without
approaching the dog…). Even if he was lying somewhere, I wasn’t to go around him, but to step over him,
because otherwise I was letting him command the avenues of access to the territory. And so on and on,
absolutely crucial to maintain your Alpha rank.
This all seemed a bit far-fetched to me, and I kind of wondered why all had gone so well with all my
previous dogs (who were all allowed on the couch) – but who was I to argue with people who claimed to
know so much, or scientists who claimed to have studied dogs? Most of the trainers also pushed me to
train the pup with punishment. I definitely had to get a choke chain, get angry at behavior I didn’t like, and
do things like jerking on the puppy’s neck if he was leashed, or thrown cans of coins or marbles at him, or
squirt water in his face, if he wasn’t.
I never did use any kind of punishment. I was too experienced in the lab and knew what kinds of horrible
side effects punishment has on an animal, besides the fact that you can teach an animal perfectly well
without it. But I did believe the rest for a while. When I saw dogs together in a park, I thought I saw all
kinds of rank-establishing behavior. But I was only observing the dogs for short intervals, of course. My
doubts didn’t begin until my work for the SPCA led me to have many and various dogs in the house, and to
observe their group behavior for long periods of time, in groups with ever changing composition. I could
hardly believe my eyes. They weren’t behaving at all the way they were supposed to! I counted and
measured until I turned blue in the face – no matter what I did, I couldn’t find any kind of hierarchy. There
was no dog who always lay on the highest spot. It was always a different dog who was first to go through a
door. All of them avoided collisions any way they could, usually by both dogs moving aside a little. The
way they behaved around food and toys didn’t follow the rules, either. In fact, none of my own
observations confirmed any of what the experts had told me about dogs.
I decided to delve deeper into the literature. I also started my own research project. After fourteen years,
a totally new picture of canine reality emerged – a reality that means we have to adjust not only the layman’
s beliefs about dogs, but also the things science is saying about them. It turns out that many scientists
have written about dogs without first observing them first hand. When they have observed dogs first hand,
it has been under highly artificial circumstances (in the laboratory). Only a few have attempted to observe
dogs in their natural habitat. And there isn’t one single study that has looked at dogs anywhere, under
any circumstances, for more than a few months.
This is strange. If you want to understand a social species, you have to observe a group of animals in
their natural surroundings, and you have to observe them for at least one whole life cycle of an average
member of the species. Biologists know this. I suppose no one thought we had to do it with dogs, because
they are so familiar. We assumed we already knew about them, and that we only needed to work out some
details. Wrong.
This book is based on real live observations of real live dogs, in their natural surroundings, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, for fourteen years. The intensity of my study gave me the chance to discover
which information was irrelevant, and which information was important. It was an anthropological study.
Besides watching them, I also participated in the dogs’ social system, trying to discover and use their rules
instead of imposing mine on them. By allowing the dogs to teach me, I gave them a chance to contradict
the myths we have built up about them – a chance to be heard, as it were. It turned out not to matter at all
to the social structure who went through a door first, or who got to keep food or a toy. Those things were
different every time, and are not what their social structure is based on.
So, again, don’t feel silly as you read this book. Despite my education in the behavioral sciences, it took
me fourteen years to find the truth amidst all the nonsense. There is, however, one group that definitely
should feel silly – the trainers and other “experts” who have blown so much hot air into the world without
bothering to be sure they really knew what they were talking about. Knowledge about how animals learn
has, after all, been available since 1938. But it is science that should be truly ashamed of itself here. At
least two whole generations of scientists failed utterly in examining their own motivations and assumptions,
in looking critically at their methodology, and – thus – in being fair to this wonderful species we call dogs.
Go to the book, Part I
This book is called “The 100 Most Silly Things That Have Ever Been Said About Dogs”. These silly ideas
are all based on old-fashioned ideas about Nature in general, and about dogs in specific. In this book, I try
to present the reader with the newest knowledge we have about dogs. As I go along, I debunk various
myths and fables that most people believe in, replacing them with real insight about what real dogs are
really all about. It’s inevitable that the reader will – after some thought – put some of the old ideas aside,
since new knowledge usually causes a shift in the way we look at things. As you read along, you’ll see
your dog doing things I talk about in this book. You’ll discover new things in him each day, things you
never noticed before because you didn’t know what they meant – or that they even had any meaning. You’
ll also find your relationship with your dog improving, as you interact with him on the basis of real
knowledge instead of the old dogmas. Never mind what you used to think about dogs. Despite the title, I
most definitely don’t want any of my readers to feel silly as they read. I just hope you will feel the same
excitement I felt as I made my discoveries.
Don’t feel guilty, either. Even if you’ve always believed in all one hundred of the myths this book debunks,
you remain innocent of any wrongdoing. You probably, just like me, somehow ended up with a dog one
day. And, just like me, you probably thought, “I’d better go get some advice from an expert, to be sure I do
it right.” When they told you their silly ideas, they probably sounded so self-confident that it didn’t occur to
you to doubt they knew what they were talking about.
The same thing happened to me. After getting a degree in the behavioral sciences, I ended up some
years later with a dog. He was an adult dog. All I needed to do was use the same techniques I’d used in
the behavior lab – reward the behavior I wanted, and make sure I didn’t reward behavior I didn’t like. Piece
of cake, perfect dog.
I wasn’t exposed to all the stories dog people tell until I got my first puppy. I realized that raising a young
animal, with all its species-specific developmental requirements, was a totally different thing than simply
applying the laws of behavior to an adult. Time to research dogs. I read every book I could get my hands
on and talked to scads of trainers. All sources agreed that dogs live in a hierarchy, and that they spend all
their time being either dominant or submissive to each other. Even play is about determining relative rank
within the group. Any request my dog made to me (to fulfill one of his needs, to play with him) was a secret
attempt to increase his own rank in the hope of taking over someday. I was told I needed to make sure I
was the Alpha Leader. The nice way to do this involved a number of things, which were explained to me as
a sort of psychological warfare. I was told to ignore all requests from my dog. I should always go before
my dog through a door, to show that I was the courageous leader. I had to eat first before I fed the dog,
since the Alpha wolf always eats first and then determines who gets to eat next. The dog wasn’t allowed
on the couch, since the Alpha wolf always lies on the highest spot when the pack is resting. I should never
approach the dog, since the submissive wolf always approaches the dominant wolf – but on the other
hand, I should make sure the dog moves aside when I’m comin’ through, since the dominant wolf never
moves aside for the lesser pack members (I sort of wondered how I was going to do this one without
approaching the dog…). Even if he was lying somewhere, I wasn’t to go around him, but to step over him,
because otherwise I was letting him command the avenues of access to the territory. And so on and on,
absolutely crucial to maintain your Alpha rank.
This all seemed a bit far-fetched to me, and I kind of wondered why all had gone so well with all my
previous dogs (who were all allowed on the couch) – but who was I to argue with people who claimed to
know so much, or scientists who claimed to have studied dogs? Most of the trainers also pushed me to
train the pup with punishment. I definitely had to get a choke chain, get angry at behavior I didn’t like, and
do things like jerking on the puppy’s neck if he was leashed, or thrown cans of coins or marbles at him, or
squirt water in his face, if he wasn’t.
I never did use any kind of punishment. I was too experienced in the lab and knew what kinds of horrible
side effects punishment has on an animal, besides the fact that you can teach an animal perfectly well
without it. But I did believe the rest for a while. When I saw dogs together in a park, I thought I saw all
kinds of rank-establishing behavior. But I was only observing the dogs for short intervals, of course. My
doubts didn’t begin until my work for the SPCA led me to have many and various dogs in the house, and to
observe their group behavior for long periods of time, in groups with ever changing composition. I could
hardly believe my eyes. They weren’t behaving at all the way they were supposed to! I counted and
measured until I turned blue in the face – no matter what I did, I couldn’t find any kind of hierarchy. There
was no dog who always lay on the highest spot. It was always a different dog who was first to go through a
door. All of them avoided collisions any way they could, usually by both dogs moving aside a little. The
way they behaved around food and toys didn’t follow the rules, either. In fact, none of my own
observations confirmed any of what the experts had told me about dogs.
I decided to delve deeper into the literature. I also started my own research project. After fourteen years,
a totally new picture of canine reality emerged – a reality that means we have to adjust not only the layman’
s beliefs about dogs, but also the things science is saying about them. It turns out that many scientists
have written about dogs without first observing them first hand. When they have observed dogs first hand,
it has been under highly artificial circumstances (in the laboratory). Only a few have attempted to observe
dogs in their natural habitat. And there isn’t one single study that has looked at dogs anywhere, under
any circumstances, for more than a few months.
This is strange. If you want to understand a social species, you have to observe a group of animals in
their natural surroundings, and you have to observe them for at least one whole life cycle of an average
member of the species. Biologists know this. I suppose no one thought we had to do it with dogs, because
they are so familiar. We assumed we already knew about them, and that we only needed to work out some
details. Wrong.
This book is based on real live observations of real live dogs, in their natural surroundings, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, for fourteen years. The intensity of my study gave me the chance to discover
which information was irrelevant, and which information was important. It was an anthropological study.
Besides watching them, I also participated in the dogs’ social system, trying to discover and use their rules
instead of imposing mine on them. By allowing the dogs to teach me, I gave them a chance to contradict
the myths we have built up about them – a chance to be heard, as it were. It turned out not to matter at all
to the social structure who went through a door first, or who got to keep food or a toy. Those things were
different every time, and are not what their social structure is based on.
So, again, don’t feel silly as you read this book. Despite my education in the behavioral sciences, it took
me fourteen years to find the truth amidst all the nonsense. There is, however, one group that definitely
should feel silly – the trainers and other “experts” who have blown so much hot air into the world without
bothering to be sure they really knew what they were talking about. Knowledge about how animals learn
has, after all, been available since 1938. But it is science that should be truly ashamed of itself here. At
least two whole generations of scientists failed utterly in examining their own motivations and assumptions,
in looking critically at their methodology, and – thus – in being fair to this wonderful species we call dogs.
Go to the book, Part I