The Two Dogs (A Cautionary Tale)

boston dog training urban hound

This post originally appeared on the website of our Master Trainer, Nick Miller. For more of Nick’s daily training insights, visit nicktmiller.com

One day, two puppies arrive in two different homes in the same neighborhood.

The first puppy is introduced to a consistent schedule, a crate, and supervision when outside of the crate. He is taught early on how to walk on a leash. It takes time, but over the course of months and months, the puppy slowly learns what is expected of him and starts to gain more and more freedom.

The puppy grows into young adulthood and because of his consistent training and supervision, he has a happy understanding of where his place is in his family. Sure, he tries to push the envelope and gets caught digging in a planter and chewing on a shoe more often then he (or his owners) would care to admit. But those are merely small bumps along the road of puppyhood and the puppy and his owners quickly get back on track. Because of this guidance throughout the dog’s life, he gains a balanced state of mind and view of the world. He gains the freedom of obedience, and goes on to live a happy and fulfilled life.

The second puppy is not introduced to a consistent schedule, crate, or supervision when outside of the crate. Since the family has a backyard they figure — why walk him on the leash when he can just run around in the yard? The puppy has freedom from the moment he comes home but, because he is too young and uneducated to properly deal with the freedom, he makes mistake after mistake. Of course these are not mistakes in the puppy’s mind, he is simply living his life the only way he knows how.

The second puppy grows into young adulthood but, because he has never been taught his place and his role in his family, he starts to develop a few problems. The lack of a crate and supervision has severely halted his housebreaking. When his humans come home he has often peed or pooped in the house. The humans don’t understand why he doesn’t use the doggy door to go potty in the backyard. The young dog, having never been given any guidance, doesn’t understand why he would do anything else.

Every so often the owners of the second puppy try to take him out of the house but because walking him on the leash is such a struggle, it doesn’t go well. The puppy is just excited to be out of the house (a rare thing for him) and his overstimulation, coupled with his lack of exercise, equals a lot of pulling and erratic movements on the leash. Good times in the puppy’s mind!

Since the leash walks are so frustrating for the humans, the second puppy spends most of his time in the house and the backyard. Because he is the one who spends the most time at home and in the yard, he starts to see it as his. In the absence of guidance, supervision, and training, he develops a feeling of ownership and protection towards the house. He starts barking at other people and dogs that come near the house. Over time his confidence builds as he sees their response (they move quickly away from him!) to his actions. He’s just under two years old when he bites his first human. An unexpected visitor arrives at to the house, and he does what he has been trained to do.

What he has trained himself to do merely through an absence of training by his humans.

Every dog is a trained dog. It’s just a question of whether we do the training, or if the dog does the training. The second dog was not a bad dog. He just wasn’t a member of the small percentage of dogs that excel at training themselves despite a complete lack of guidance and structure from their owners.

That’s why I recommend starting your relationship with your puppy with the end in mind. It’s simply not worth the risk any other way.