But do not forget that, whatever the circumstances, your companion is always going to react as a dog, with a dog´s understanding and a dog´s reflexes. Like all mammals, a dog will adapt- several times in the course of its life, if need be- to very different conditions, families and environments.It represents a blend of instinctive messages, reflexes and more complex learned sequences combining posture, vocalisation and emission. It is able to acquire social rituals favouring the harmony of the group and to forge individual bonds with one or other members of it.įor dogs, communication involves all of the senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch). The very long period of its dependence on its mother (or human tutors) goes with its considerable learning capacity.
This is when it learns the basic features of its environment, and how to control itself. Its development is based on attachment, and the first weeks are crucial for the rest of its life. In their natural environment, dogs live in groups with complex hierarchical social rules. or, on the contrary, acting as though it were no more than a machine, devoid of feeling and of understanding.thinking of the animal as a human being as far as intellectual and emotional capacities are concerned.In particular, you must avoid two big mistakes: It is indeed these first weeks of life together which, to a large extent, will set the pattern for your pet´s behaviour in future years. But, if these good relations are to last, you will have to make sure that the situation of the puppy you have just acquired is one which eases integration. After often several weeks of waiting, the newcomer is the centre of care and attention. It is always a great event when a puppy arrives in its host family.