Context, Trust, Rules, and Safety

Dogs learn in context. Until a dog learns to generalize, a change in context can be challenging for them. Just because a dog can perform a given behavior when you are in the kitchen, it doesn’t mean they know how to do it in the driveway.

Dogs cannot understand a world without rules, and despite appearances sometimes, they do better when they are not the ones making the rules. Dogs have no concept of equality, either you are making the rules or they are, either you have preferred access to resources or they do. Ideally, dogs look to us for leadership. The more confident, assertive, and clear you are; that is gentle, steady, firm, and strong, the better dogs will respond to you.

Dogs understand that they depend upon us, and they look to us to care for them, or advocate for them. We give them food, water, shelter, safety, veterinary care, grooming, teaching and training, and affection or love. In return, they do all of the cool things that dogs can do, like keep us company, protect or watch over us, find missing people, play, pull sleds, help us hunt for food, and more. When they are doing something for us and we in return are doing something for them, they are happier and healthier. Dogs are at their best when their relationship is reciprocal, and very little in life is free.