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Animal Behavior
Good Dog, Bad Dog, Happy Dog, Sad Dog: The Limits of Labels
We must be very careful when calling a dog a "this" or a "that."
Updated July 30, 2024 Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Key points
- The words we use shape our thoughts, beliefs, and judgments and ultimately how we feel about and treat dogs.
- Labels can affect how you interact with your dog based on often unfounded generalizations and expectations.
- It's a win-win for all to consider context and the dog's point of view and mindset as something is unfolding.
Many people seem to think calling a dog good, bad, happy, sad, aggressive, stubborn, bold, shy, vicious, alpha, pessimistic, optimistic, or abnormal can help us understand what they’re thinking and feeling, but stereotyping isn't always accurate or helpful. Here we point out how using labels that characterize a dog can have serious shortcomings and how context must be given serious consideration when pigeonholing a dog as "this" or "that." This post was written by force-free dog trainer Mary Angilly and Marc Bekoff.
The words we use shape our thoughts, beliefs, and judgments and ultimately how we feel about dogs and other living beings. For example, If you consistently tell yourself that your dog is a "good" dog, you will be more inclined to notice and appreciate positive behaviors. Alternatively, if you consistently tell yourself that your dog is a “bad” dog, you will likely more often notice and observe behaviors you deem to be bad and undesirable. These positive and negative labels can affect how you interact with your dog based on often unfounded generalizations and expectations. This can be especially harmful when it comes to dogs who are already regular victims of misinformation and myths.
What’s in a name? The importance of context
Let’s look at these sentences from a client (names have been changed) with whom Mary has worked. “My dog is stubborn on walks. I know he’s being alpha, but my last trainer told me I need to be dominant and it isn’t working.”
There are key pieces of information missing from these statements. When someone is labeling, it’s important to look at the overt (observable and measurable) behavior that’s leading to these labels to arrive at a more accurate definition. What does being “stubborn” and being “alpha” actually look like? And what does “need to be dominant” mean in the context in which it’s being used? The word context refers to who is involved in an interaction—who the dogs are, do they know one another, and what is their history?—and who the humans are if they're part of the encounter; where it's occurring—a dog's feelings and personality can change depending on whether they're home where they feel comfortable and safe or on other familiar turf, or if they're somewhere unfamiliar; and how the dogs and humans are feeling—are they having a good or bad day, or something in-between?
Dog behaviors don't occur in a vacuum, and it’s critical to consider the context when studying dogs. Context provides critical information about who’s involved—dogs and humans, where they are, and what caused a dog to do whatever they’re doing. For example, certain actions or behaviors such as bared teeth and growling can mean different things in different contexts. These behaviors are not necessarily aggressive. The same can be said for mounting and humping because they're not necessarily sexual overtures.
This seems obvious to many people, but context is incredibly important to consider when trying to figure out what a dog is doing and what it means. A wagging tail, erect ears, stiff gait, and barking can mean different things when considered in combination with one another—called a composite signal—and considering context, and that is one reason why simple photos or drawings claiming that a wagging tail or other body movement means "this" or "that" are inaccurate interpretations of what a dog wants and needs.
When Mary asked more about what those labels meant, human Jeff told her that on walks dog Darwin would often completely stop walking and pull in the direction of the house no matter what Jeff would do. Jeff hired a trainer to help him with this behavior and was told he needed to stop letting Darwin sleep on his bed, that Darwin could eat only after Jeff was done eating, and that Darwin needed to wear a prong collar on walks. These are bizarre recommendations and there was no reason at all to punish Darwin using aversive methods.
After getting more information and going on a walk together, Mary and Jeff determined Darwin, who was newly adopted from a reservation, was terrified of loud vehicles and would attempt to go home anytime a truck drove by while he and Jeff were on a walk. Jeff worked with Darwin to gradually desensitize and counter-condition him to vehicles, and after their deep dedication to training, Darwin and Jeff were walking in the neighborhood together with no problems at all. Jeff was relieved to know he didn’t have to use a prong collar, that Darwin could eat whenever he wanted, and that he could start letting Darwin sleep in bed with him again.
Is my dog abnormal or nuts? Consider the dog's point of view
In Dogs Demystified: An A-to-Z Guide to All Things Canine, Marc defined abnormal behavior as “...any problematic behavior that falls outside of what we normally might expect. When identifying ‘abnormal dog behavior,’ a good deal hangs on the words normal and expect.” Labels are not necessarily synonymous with what we think they are. Is our definition of normal based on the human-centric society in which dogs live? If so, sniffing butts might be considered abnormal to humans, when it’s a very normal and dog-appropriate behavior.
It's also important to understand what is happening for a dog, especially when you're inclined to label some behavior as abnormal. We need to be very careful in labeling something as abnormal—or normalizing certain behaviors—because we know that dogs and many other animals show great variability in behavior depending on the context, including what’s happening around them, who’s there, and where they are.
We also need to view personality traits and behavior on a spectrum. Knowing the context in which a behavior is occurring is essential, and depending on the situation, any dog can be sweet, aggressive, lazy, shy, bold, or whatever we choose to call them.
When we divide dogs into binary categories, valuable information about an individual dog is lost. Dogs are more than either “aggressive or passive,” “alpha or beta,” or “intelligent or unintelligent,” and they all have a unique combination of experiences, traits, and variations. Labels might be useful if everyone agrees on their definitions and understands when something "abnormal" for a particular dog needs attention
When observing your dog’s behaviors and personality traits, think about what your dog is actually doing, thinking, and feeling—what they're trying to tell you—and what they want and need before you use a label. It's a win-win for all to consider context and the dog's point of view and mindset as something is about to happen or unfolding.
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