Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, has made popular the term dog psychology, dog behavior modification, and dog behaviorist.

Since then, many dog trainers have relabeled themselves as dog psychologists or dog behaviorists.

What does dog psychology or dog behavior modification mean and how are they different from dog training?

What is Dog Psychology?

Dog psychology tries to understand bad dog behavior from a canine perspective rather than from a human perspective.

Because dogs are such close companions to us, it is easy to humanize them. Many dog movies and television shows including Lassie, 101 Dalmations, Lady and the Tramp, Bolt, and others have encouraged this view.

However, dogs are not humans, and humans are not dogs.

Humanizing a dog causes miscommunication between human and canine, which can result in a variety of dog behavioral issues.

For example, many dog owners attribute their dog pooping on their favorite carpet, when they are not home, as an act of vengeance. In actuality, it is just a symptom of stress from having an unexpected change in their routine (separation anxiety).

How Do Dogs Think?

Since dogs are not human, it makes sense to use dog psychology instead of human psychology. Therefore,

How do dogs think?

Dogs do not read or write so they do not think in words and symbols the way humans do. However, just like us, dogs have needs and goals. Some of those needs may include the need for food, the need for shelter, the need to herd, the need to hunt, and the need to play.

When we do not provide proper activities for our dogs to fulfill those needs, they will act on their own. This is when, in our eyes, they suddenly become bad and destructive. Without any warning, it seems, they are chewing up our shoes, digging up our prize roses, and tearing apart our furniture.

When we lock our dogs up to keep them away from our shoes, couch, and roses; their needs and goals are still there, they just no longer have an outlet for them. As a result, they become frustrated, and that frequently leads to dog aggression.

Contrary to common belief, dogs are not slaves put on this Earth to please their human masters. Dogs have their own needs and it is important to fulfill our dog’s needs and not just use the dog to fulfill our own.

Another important aspect of how dogs think, is how dogs learn.

How Do Dogs Learn?

Dogs can learn from other dogs through social learning. They can also learn from us through a process called conditioning.

Psychologists such as Pavlov, Skinner, and others have done many experiments on animals, including dogs, in the area of behavioral conditioning. The behavioral conditioning methods that we use to train all dogs today are based on their extensive work and studies.

Dogs respond to classical and operant conditioning. Simply put, classical conditioning is responsible for involuntary responses, e.g. a dog salivating when dinner is served, while operant conditioning is responsible for voluntary responses, e.g. a dog sitting for a treat.

Classical conditioning can be useful in giving positive associations to potentially negative objects (e.g. muzzle, nail clipper/grinder, harness). For example, bring out and show your dog a muzzle right before dinner time every night. He sees the muzzle, then he gets dinner. Very soon he will start associating the muzzle with dinner and will start to salivate when he sees the muzzle.

Based on operant conditioning, there are two classes of techniques for shaping a dog’s voluntary behavior, reward dog training (positive reinforcement, negative punishment) and aversive dog training (negative reinforcement, positive punishment).

Operant conditioning techniques are what we mostly use today to modify the behavior of our dogs, and to train them to do tricks and commands.

The Dog Psychology Behind Cesar Millan

According to Cesar Millan, he uses dog psychology, and other trainers use food, do obedience training and dog tricks.

Cesar Millan prefers to use the term dog behaviorist to describe someone, like himself, who does dog psychology and behavior modification. In contrast, the term dog trainer is used to describe someone who uses food to teach dogs obedience commands.

A dog who has undergone obedience training may understand training commands such as Sit, Down, and Heel, but may still engage in destructive and aggressive behaviors, such as chewing your designer shoes, or digging up your prize roses.

Frankly, this separation of terms is unnecessary and just complicates matters.

Dog behavior modification, dog training, and dog tricks are ALL based on operant conditioning.

And yes, operant conditioning forms a big part of what we understand of dog psychology and animal psychology. Therefore, dog behavior modification, dog training, and dog tricks are ALL based on dog psychology.

Operant conditioning consists of aversive methods and reward methods. Both aversive and reward methods, can be used to alter dog behavior, train a dog to follow commands, and teach a dog tricks.

Misunderstanding of Dog Psychology

• The claim that dog obedience training, and dog tricks are somehow not based on dog psychology is false.
• The claim that food only works for obedience training and dog tricks is false.
• The claim that using food in dog training is bribery, and somehow ineffective is false.
• The claim that using food is humanizing the dog and therefore inappropriate is false.
• The claim that reward dog training is only based on food is false.
• The claim that aversive dog training, particularly physical force training, is more effective at behavior modification than reward training is false.
• The claim that physical force is required to modify dog behavior is false.
• The claim that physical force is an integral part of dog psychology is false.

Both aversive and reward techniques, can be used to “train” your dog to sit on command, to sit instead of dig on command, to drop whatever he is chewing, to chew his toy instead of your shoes, and to dig in the sand pit instead of in your rose-bed.

The divide between dog behavior modification and dog training simply does not exist.

Many of the techniques that Cesar Millan uses including leash jerks, alpha rolls, and finger pokes, are aversive conditioning techniques. Cesar Millan also uses some reward conditioning techniques including body blocks, and no-talk,no-touch,no-eye-contact.

Dog Psychology and Dominance/Pack Theory

Some have tried to argue that dog psychology is based on dominance or pack theory.

Dominance theory is based on the observation that wolf packs and wild dog packs are ruled by an alpha male and an alpha female. This alpha pair controls all of the pack’s resources and sets all of the pack rules. There are also rituals that pack members must follow including letting the alpha pair have access to the best food, best sleeping area, and best resources.

The theory is that when dogs come to live with us, we become part of their pack and must assume the alpha male and alpha female positions. Part of assuming this position, is to follow similar pack rituals including eating before your followers, not letting your followers have access to beds and couches, always walking in front of your followers, and using physical force to establish and maintain your pack leadership position.

However, recent studies have shown that wolf packs and also wild dog packs are a lot more complex than this simple alpha-pair model. Leadership tends to be more dynamic in nature, and the alpha dogs rule through the control of resources rather than through physical force.

Therefore, even dominance theory cannot be used to support the false claim that physical force is a necessary or even effective part of dog behavior modification.

While dominance theory and dog pack dynamics are interesting areas of study, the argument of whether they apply to us and our domesticated dogs, is actually a moot point.

Just as dogs are not humans, humans are not dogs.

Contrary to common belief, dogs know that they are dogs and not human. They also know that we are human and not dogs. It is us humans who frequently get confused on these matters.

Since we are human, we are not expected by our dogs to act like dogs. We must communicate with them in a way that they can understand, but that does not mean that we should try to act like them. Not only would we be poor imitators, but however well we pretend, we would still be human, and our dogs will always know what we are.

Because our dogs live in our very complex human world, it is necessary for us to assume leadership and teach them our rules. We must provide for them not just in terms of food and shelter, but also in terms of their health and safety.

To properly manage the safety of your dog (to himself, to other dogs, and to the people around him) it is necessary to institute certain human rules, and to train him to follow those rules. Training of these rules can be achieved through aversive methods or reward methods.

It is as simple as that. No dominance theory required.

Dog Behaviorist vs. Dog Trainer

By using operant conditioning techniques, you can shape behavior to prepare your dog for obedience trials, or agility competitions. You can also shape behavior to make your dog into a good citizen at home.

A good dog trainer or dog behaviorist is someone who understands classical and operant conditioning theories; has good technique (i.e. good timing, execution, redirection); can quickly and accurately read a dog’s body language; and is a good and patient teacher.

There are dog trainers, like Cesar Millan, who mostly use aversive training. There are dog trainers, like Victoria Stillwell, who mostly use reward training. And there are dog trainers who use both.

Reward dog training and aversive dog training have their own advantages and disadvantages, so make sure to pick a dog trainer that uses the style of training or behavior modification that you feel is most appropriate for you and your dog.

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers is a great resource for finding professional dog training help in your area.

Which is Better, Which is Right, and Which is Dog Psychology?

Many arguments arise in the dog behavior modification or dog training arena because many want to claim that their way is better or that their way is right.

To do this, they must first differentiate their way from all other ways. That is why there are so many terms, including dog psychology, dog behavior modification, dog training, dog tricks, and many more, describing essentially the same thing.

Moral judgements such as dog cruelty, dog bribery, evilness and goodness get thrown into the same pot and what results is a whole lot of smoke and not much else.

When you boil dog training or dog behavior modification down to its basics you are always left with conditioning. And all of us use either aversive operant conditioning methods or reward operant conditioning methods to shape our dog’s behavior.

Both are dog psychology. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

I cannot say that one is absolutely better than the other, or that one is absolutely right. I can only say that I use reward dog training and only reward dog training because it is more effective than the aversive methods I have tried.