Dog Psychology

The book I read to research this post was Do Dogs Need Shrinks? by Dr Peter Neville which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. Interestingly the red fox isn't an ancestor to the development of the dog. We know this because you can't cross a red fox with a dog, they're completely different species. However animals which we know will interbreed with dogs include jackals, wolves, the arctic fox, dingoes & the fennec fox suggesting they have probably contributed to the development of the dog in the past. The smallness of dogs primarily comes from the asiatic wolf & the sleekness which can be seen in breeds like the greyhound probably comes from the indian wolf. Some people have tried to bring up fox & wolf cubs but when they get older they challenge peoples authority more & more & become quite aggressive. This indicates that the domestication of the dog was a gradual process. They at first probably followed tribes & had a share of any kills & then gradually they got them to help kill animals & guard. Out of the pedigree breeds collies are the worst biters followed by alsations. Rottweillers aren't as bad as their reputation. Poodles are the hardest to house train despite being one of the most intelligent. Some breeds particularly boxers, labradors & alsations suffer from separation anxiety which is when a dog gets traumatically upset at the owner leaving them on their own. In extreme cases they bite their paws & tail & cause damage to things in the room. In serious cases they can be prescribed valium although obviously in much lower doses than what humans take. One bit of advise is to leave him in a room like the kitchen where he can do less damage. You shouldn't make a fuss of him prior to going out as that can make it worse. Another thing is leaving the radio on as he will think he has company. Finally you shouldn't let him know you are going out, you should just go out. Also one bit of advise I had when I first got a dog is you should start as you mean to go on which I think is good advise.