Lantley wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
Lantley wrote:
Interesting to me is that dogs are bound to adapt to the traits of the owner.
If the owner is nervous, the dog will be nervous. If the owner is agressive the dog will be aggressive. If the owner is laid back the dog will be laid back.
The owners personality will be an influence before any socialization even begins!
I disagree with that. I don't see like creates like in the personality of dogs.
An aggressive owner is just as likely to instill nervousness and fear into their dog as they are aggression. A nervous owner is just as likely to have an aggressive dog as a nervous one. And some dogs are well adjusted despite all the well meaning efforts of the owner.
IMO, creating a unbalanced dog has more to do with not understanding the breed/puppy, failure to build a strong bond of trust between owner and dog, and/or abuse or trauma.
And an aggressive or nervous dog can become a well adjusted dog with trust and understanding.
I agree and agressive or nervous dog can be retrained but the nervous, aggresive or high strung owner does not realize these traits within themselves. They often are not aware there nervousness is being tranfered to the dog.
If you remain calm and relaxed the dog will remain calm and relaxed.
If you are high strung and hyper the dog will inherit these traits.
The dog develops the owners attitude. This applies to socializing as well. The dog will be as well socialized as the owner.
If the owner is outgoing and friendly these traiits will be reflected in the dog. If the owner is not outgoing the dog is not going to be outgoing.
I understand the dogs start with their own traits and personalities, but from there the owner influences the dogs behavior with their own behavior
Again, I disagree. Dogs can't "inherit" traits from their owners. They may feed off an emotion, but that has more to do with lack of trust and training than anything else.
Look at all the little yappy aggressive dogs owned by lazy people. The dog didn't "inherit" a lazy personality. Rather the dog was raised without structure and became hyper and aggressive.
