It’s All In How You Raise Them, Right?

It's all in how you raise them right? Yes, but how you raise them depends on their genetics. So in order to raise them right, you need to validate the dog’s genetics. 

Genetics create specific predispositions for behaviors are increased or decreased over many generations due to selection pressure.

Selection pressure is different forms of pressure in an animal’s environment that shapes them into who they are. This pressure directly affects their offspring. Since a majority of dog breeds have been bred for thousands of years to do a specific kind of job & are only now in the past 100 years pets, it is important to know the history behind their genetics in order to properly raise & train a dog now.

No matter how much we want to see our dogs as “furbabies,” the truth is that a majority of breeds of dogs have a history in which humans capitalized on the ferocity, tenacity, and strong work ethic of the domesticated dog. We saw their bite force, speed, agility, and intensity as things to strengthen in order to protect us, hunt for us, and herd our livestock. These behaviors are hardwired into our dogs not just because of our intervention over thousands of years, but because dogs have done these things since before they were dogs. When they were wolves, before homosapiens even existed, they were hunting, herding, and killing in order to survive. Nature & humans alike spent thousands of years putting pressure on dog genetics in order to shape the domesticated dog into a highly intelligent animal with a need to hunt, herd, bite, find, protect, and work. 

It does the domesticated dog a huge disservice to only acknowledge its place in society now, what the dog represents now is drastically different than who it is and who it has been since the beginning of time. To face the facts & understand that the dog is a predator animal with a violent past, present, and future will only strengthen your bond with your dog. Giving your dog an outlet that is applicable to their genetics so they can tug, chase, or find something of value will only help their mental health. If you want a pet that does not have the need to kill, get a herbivore.