Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
I agree with your overall point, but "dog instincts" is even a little vague. Dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years for specific purposes. Dogs with particular genetic traits were chosen to breed with dogs with similar traits which has created genetic dispositions. Some breeds were created for work or companionship, and some for guarding or fighting (like pitbulls). Instincts for different breeds depend on why the breeds were created in the first place (ie. the instictual trigger for defense and aggression is going to be a lot more tuned in a fighting dog than other breeds). Just like dogs that were bred for hunting will often have the urge to chase things, or a dog that was bred for burrowing will have the urge to dig. Removing these traits through training is not always possible. I would even argue that is unfair to put them under the stress. Like you said, they aren't humans that can control their urges with reason.
Training does play a role, but it can never overcome genetics. Some pitbull breeders are trying to only breed the gentler individuals to remove the aggression traits, but it takes a long time to do.
The same thing is true with cats. Siamese cats often display similar character traits to other Siamese cats, same with tabbies, Persian, etc... Humans have changed both species in ways that removed them from nature.
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I agree, "dog instincts" is definitely vague, as is my understanding of what those are. You definitely can't paint all dog breeds with the same brush just as you can't paint all individual dogs within a breed the same. They are individuals, our Boxer is leery of chocolate labs ever since he was a puppy. He was attacked twice by the same lab on different dates at an offleash park and he never treated them the same after this. He gets nervous and defensive when they are around and has growled and snapped at them on occasion. He also does not take well to being mounted by dominant males and will growl and snap if they mount him (this is not biting mind you, but more of a "display"). My point is, I don't know how my dog will react in every situation and while it is my responsibility to work with him and try and correct these behaviours, it is equally my responsibility to keep him from situations where his instincts will cause issues.
At the end of the day I don't think there is a smoking gun or an easy fix. If we can encourage and enforce responsible pet ownership I think a lot of these issues could be minimized, but NEVER completely eliminated while we co-habitate with animals.