09/21/2026
🐾 𝚄𝙽𝙳𝙴𝚁𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙱𝚁𝙴𝙴𝙳-𝚂𝙿𝙴𝙲𝙸𝙵𝙸𝙲 𝙽𝙴𝙴𝙳𝚂 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶
We often talk about meeting a dog’s needs ➡️ exercise, enrichment, training, rest, social interaction.
But there’s another piece of the puzzle that can be incredibly important:
💯 𝑈𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜．
💁🏼 Humans have selectively bred dogs for generations to perform very different jobs. Herding livestock. Guarding property. Retrieving game. Following scent trails. Hunting independently. Killing vermin. Pulling sleds. Working alongside people.
🙌 And although most of our dogs no longer need to perform those jobs, the behavioural tendencies we selected for haven’t simply disappeared.
🐾 A Border Collie may have an enormous drive to watch and control movement.
🐾 A Beagle may become completely absorbed by a scent.
🐾 A Terrier may have a powerful desire to chase, dig, grab and dissect.
🐾 A Retriever may naturally want to carry things around in their mouth.
🐾 A livestock guardian may be naturally vigilant, independent and suspicious of unfamiliar things.
🐾 A Husky may want to run … and may not consider staying conveniently beside you particularly important!
⚠️𝑁𝑂𝑁𝐸 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸𝑆𝐸 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑁𝐺𝑆 𝐴𝑈𝑇𝑂𝑀𝐴𝑇𝐼𝐶𝐴𝐿𝐿𝑌 𝑀𝐸𝐴𝑁 𝑇𝐻𝐸𝑅𝐸 𝐼𝑆 𝐴 𝐵𝐸𝐻𝐴𝑉𝐼𝑂𝑈𝑅 𝑃𝑅𝑂𝐵𝐿𝐸𝑀．
Sometimes we are simply seeing a dog doing something that makes perfect sense when we consider their genetics and breed history.
👀Of course, breed does not determine everything.
Every dog is an individual. Genetics, early development, socialisation, learning history, environment, health, stress, personality and life experiences all contribute to behaviour.
✅ But breed, and particularly the purpose for which a breed was developed, can give us valuable clues about what that individual dog might find naturally reinforcing and what needs may be especially important to them.
And this is where understanding breed-specific needs can make life better for both ends of the lead.
Instead of constantly fighting natural behaviour, we can 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚐𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚝.
🐕 A scent hound might love tracking, scent trails and sniff-heavy walks.
🐕 A retriever might thrive with retrieving games and opportunities to carry appropriate objects.
🐕 A terrier might adore digging boxes, searching games, tug and safe outlets for predatory sequences.
🐕 A herding breed may enjoy thoughtful activities involving movement, problem-solving and working collaboratively with their person.
🐕 A guardian breed may benefit enormously from having choice, predictable routines, appropriate space and not being expected to enthusiastically greet every stranger.
This doesn’t mean allowing dogs to do anything they want.
💯 Meeting a behavioural need and managing behaviour safely can exist at the same time.
We don’t need to let a Terrier chase wildlife to acknowledge their predatory needs. We don’t need sheep in the garden to enrich a Border Collie. And we don’t need to allow a guardian breed to patrol the neighbourhood.
✅ We can provide safe, appropriate alternatives that fulfil elements of those natural behavioural needs.
Understanding breed tendencies can also help us adjust our expectations.
⛔️The dog who stops constantly to sniff isn’t necessarily being stubborn.
⛔️The guardian who doesn’t want strangers touching them isn’t necessarily antisocial.
⛔️The retriever who constantly has something in their mouth isn’t necessarily naughty.
⛔️The terrier digging up the garden isn’t plotting your downfall.
😌Sometimes they’re simply being very good at being the kind of dog humans created them to be.
And when we understand that, our relationship with them can change.
߷Less frustration.
߷Less conflict.
߷More appropriate enrichment.
߷More realistic expectations.
߷Better management.
߷And often, a happier dog.
Before asking:
“How do I stop my dog doing this?”
It can be worth asking:
“Why does my dog want to do this ... and is there a need underneath the behaviour that I could meet in a better way?”
💯 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒂𝒈𝒆.
It’s about understanding the dog in front of us ➜including the genetics and history they arrived with ➜ and helping them thrive in the world we’ve asked them to live in. 🐾
