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Chapter 1 - What is a Dog?

To communicate with your puppy properly you need to understand what makes it tick. And to understand that, you must first understand the answer to what might seem like a simple question: what is a dog? The answer is more complicated than you might imagine. But it will explain everything you need to know about the animal that is about to become your new best friend.

Of all the animals on earth, the dog is by far man’s oldest and closest domestic partner. Our remarkable friendship dates back some 14,000 years. It was around then, so scientists believe, that wolves were first taken in by humans living in early communities. It was a good deal for both sides, as they both got something out of the new alliance. Wolves provided humans with their superior senses, which gave them an early warning system as well as powerful hunting and tracking abilities. Man provided their new partners with easy access to that precious commodity, food.

As the wolf learned to live in close proximity to humans, it evolved into a different kind of animal. It no longer had to rely on hunting and killing other animals for food. It amended its behaviour to gain acceptance in human society. As its diet changed from raw meat to human leftovers, its skull and teeth became smaller relative to the rest of its body. Its brain shrank too. Slowly the wolf became the first species to be domesticated by mankind. The wild animal became a tame one; Canis lupus became Canis familiaris.

In the thousands of years that have passed since then, selective breeding on the part of man has turned the dog into the most varied species on the planet. If dogs had been left to survive in the natural world, they would have evolved very little. Instead, over the centuries man has crossbred dogs with different traits and talents, creating what are in effect hybrids. And these dogs have reflected the different physical demands, as well as the aesthetic tastes and fashions, of humans through the ages and around the world.

THE MAIN GROUPS OF DOG

Dogs have been bred to specialise in a variety of roles, from running down prey to retrieving shot birds, from guarding houses to acting as guides for blind people.

Their DNA, and even their basic skeletal structure, remains identical to that of the wolf. But the several hundred different breeds of dog that now exist come in every conceivable shape, size and design. And while some dogs, such as the Siberian Husky or Alaskan Malamute, closely resemble the prototype of the species, other breeds bear little resemblance to their forefather. You certainly wouldn’t automatically assume that the Miniature Poodle and the Old English Sheepdog have common ancestors.

Broadly speaking, there are seven main groups of dogs. Descriptions of each follow, along with a list of the main breeds within each group.

GUNDOGS OR SPORTING DOGS

A large number of dog breeds evolved according to the jobs humans needed them to do. When the invention of the gun provided a new way of hunting, new varieties of dogs were bred to perform very specific tasks. Dogs with sensitive noses were bred to locate or ‘point’ to the hunters’ targets. Other breeds were developed to flush out or ‘spring’ the prey, usually birds. Yet more dogs were bred to retrieve the prey once it had been shot. Specific traits were bred into each of these dogs. Retrieving dogs, for instance, were bred to have ‘soft mouths’, which ensured there was no damage to the birds they recovered.

Common breeds within this category include the Golden Retriever; German Shorthaired Pointer; the Irish, Gordon and English Setters; the Cocker, American Cocker, English Springer and Field Spaniels; and the Labrador and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. The group also includes the Weimaraner and the Hungarian Vizsla.

WORKING DOGS

Over the centuries, humans have bred dogs to do a huge range of different jobs. Breeds have been produced specifically to rescue people from drowning, guide them across snow-covered mountains, alert them to intruders, sniff out explosives and guide the blind. This diverse collection of working dogs includes the Alaskan Malamute and the Bernese Mountain Dog, the St Bernard and the Dobermann, the Boxer and the Bullmastiff. Each of these was bred to excel at specific activities.

HOUNDS

Some of the earliest breeds developed by man were used as ‘sight’ or ‘gaze’ hounds. Such dogs are described in ancient Persian manuscripts and appear in Egyptian tomb paintings. Their special skill was to hunt down prey that humans and their horses, bows and arrows couldn’t reach in open country. Often helped by trained falcons, these dogs had the ability to creep up swiftly and silently, running down the prey so that the hunters could close in for the kill. The Saluki and the Afghan are amongst the oldest examples of this group of dog. More modern versions include the Irish Wolfhound and the Greyhound. Centuries later, Europeans developed ‘scent’ hound breeds that were able to trail quarry over long distances, eventually exhausting it. Some killed the prey, others kept it cornered while baying to attract the hunters to them. The Elkhound was a typical example of this type of dog. More modern versions include the Bloodhound and the Basset Hound.

It is a measure of the diversity of the demands humans have placed on their dogs that this group contains some of the greatest contrasts within the canine world: from the tallest of breeds, the Irish Wolfhound, to one of the shortest, the Dachshund; from the fastest, the Greyhound, to the most silent, the only non-barking breed, the Basenji.

TERRIERS

The name Terrier comes from the Latin terra, meaning earth. As the name suggests, the original terriers were bred to hunt creatures considered by humans as vermin that lived both above and below the ground, such as foxes, badgers, rats and otters. Terriers date back many centuries and are believed to have originated largely in Britain. Popular breeds include the Airedale and the Bull, the Cairn and the Fox, the Irish and the West Highland.

TOY DOGS

Dogs haven’t only been bred for working purposes, however. Throughout history, man has produced dogs that have provided him with nothing more than warmth and companionship, affection and aesthetic pleasure. Lapdogs, for instance, were – as their name suggests – bred specifically to sit on the laps of Tibetan monks. Elsewhere, aristocrats produced breeds that appealed only for the admiring looks they won in and around the royal court. Toy breeds include the Maltese and the Pomeranian, the Pekingese and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the Yorkshire Terrier and the Bichon Frise.

UTILITY OR NON-SPORTING DOGS

Such is the range of breeds man has created, there are many that don’t fit conveniently into any of the main categories in terms of sport or work. Unsurprisingly, the dogs within this group have hugely contrasting appearances. They include such diverse dogs as the Japanese Akita and the Miniature Poodle, the Dalmatian and the Chow Chow, the Mexican Hairless and the Lhasa Apso.

PASTORAL OR HERDING DOGS

Among the most useful and intelligent dogs ever bred are those traditionally used for herding. They have been bred to work in different climates and with different animals, from cattle and sheep to reindeer. Because they work in the face of the elements, they have evolved tough, weatherproofed double coats to protect them from even the most severe weather conditions. The most popular breeds of this type are the German Shepherd and the Border Collie, the Old English Sheepdog and the Samoyed. In different parts of the world, breeds range from the Australian Shepherd and Cattle Dogs to the Belgian Shepherd Dog, from the Finnish Lapphund to the Norwegian Buhund, from the Polish Lowland Sheepdog to the Pyrenean Mountain Dog.

THE WOLF IN YOUR PUPPY

Given their physical differences and the very different environments into which they will be introduced, modern dogs live lives more diverse than those of any other species on earth. Some will work, whether as sheepdogs or guide dogs, sniffer dogs or police dogs, some will breed and raise families, while others will simply provide companionship and pleasure. Whatever breed they are – and whatever life they lead – two things are certain. They all share the same DNA and the same basic programming as their ancient ancestor, the wolf. And because of this each of their lives will conform to a distinct pattern.

It may not seem as though your adorable ball of fluff is a wild animal as it curls itself up in front of your fireplace but, deep within its DNA, that’s precisely what it is. You can take the dog out of the wolf pack, but you can’t take the wolf pack out of the dog. To understand what your puppy is going through during its first six months, you first need to understand what happens in the natural world.

A wolf pup spends the first part of its life, around six months, in close proximity to the den where it is raised. During these months it passes through the first distinct phases of its life.

For the first three weeks or so, the wolf pup is utterly dependent on its mother. It remains close to her at all times, suckling from her bosom in the den. During this time, the family unit remains undisturbed by the rest of the pack. Despite being the leader of the pack, even their father, the alpha male, stays away during this time.

After three weeks or so, the puppies will be able to walk and make their first, furtive movements away from their mother. At the same time their father, the alpha, and the rest of the pack begin interacting with them. A wolf pack is a well-oiled machine, a tightly knit team in which each member knows its place and its job. And from the very beginning each wolf is groomed to take its position in that chain of command.

During the pups’ first weeks every adult wolf has become ‘broody’, producing a hormone called prolactin. They know the newcomers represent the pack’s future survival. They know too that more than half of the new litter will not survive into adulthood. Disease, starvation and predators claim 60 per cent of young wolves before they reach the age of two. So as the pups emerge into the den, the pack begins the job of educating their new members about the day-to-day realities of surviving lupine life.

The messages the pups receive during this phase are powerful and formative ones. They see how facial expression and body language convey important signals about status. They learn how their elders use these signals to avoid confrontations. They see that rank is determined by a combination of experience and personality, with the stronger characters rising to the top of the pack. And by watching the way the grown-up wolves interact, particularly with the alpha male, the pups get their first glimpses of how the very top of that hierarchy works.

But the most immediate lessons they learn come from play. As they begin chasing, retrieving and play-fighting with their siblings, they develop their physical abilities and begin to see where their strengths – and ultimately their place in the pack – lie. This is the very beginning of their preparation for fully-fledged membership of the pack. In time the natural herders, stalkers and attackers will emerge.

By the time it is eight weeks or so old, a wolf pup will be ready to venture a little further afield. It will begin to chase insects, birds or other creatures that gather around the pack. The play rituals it undergoes with its siblings and other members of the pack will intensify. The young wolf will develop its abilities to run and jump, wrestle and bite, skills that it will come to need when it joins the hunters. Any ideas a young wolf might have of heading off on the hunt will be quickly dispelled, however. Leaving the den at this stage would make it vulnerable to attack by predators. The senior wolves will give pups a signal, delivered in clear, unequivocal terms: ‘Stay at home; you’re not ready to join us yet.’ They will also choose one senior wolf to remain with the pups. Once again, the hierarchy of the pack – and the young wolf’s place within that structure – is driven home.

By the time it reaches its fifth and sixth months, the wolf pup is developing fast both physically and mentally. Inside the den and around its perimeter, the building blocks are continuing to be laid for its emergence – eighteen months or so down the line – as a mature, adult wolf.

It may seem hard to equate the life of a wild animal to that of the lovable creature that shares your life but it is crucial that you do. The stages of their development are very similar, as are their capabilities at each age. Certain wolf instincts are hard-wired into the brains of domestic dogs, and it is only by seeing your pet as a domesticated wolf that you will be able to understand its behaviour and learn how to deal with it effectively.

In this book, I’ll explain all about looking after dogs from birth up to six months, and show the ways in which your puppy’s ancestors continue to affect it today.