Can You Train A Dog To Do Everything?

“But, unobserved, a ruinous logical error crept into behaviorist thinking: because only learning processes could be examined experimentally and since all behavior must be examined experimentally, then concluded those of the behaviorist school, all behavior must be learned – which, naturally, is not only logically false but also, factually, complete nonsense." – Konrad Lorenz, The Foundations of Ethology; p. 2

The biggest mistake I see from most dog owners is that they think that any dog can be trained to become anything. So many times, have I been requested to train an unsocialized dog and turn it into a service or therapy dog. Or the many times someone has acquired a dog of a breed that has X traits, but they wanted the dog to display Y traits of a completely different breed. 

 

It just doesn’t work that way. I also blame dog trainers who market themselves as gurus, claiming they can magically fix dogs, or train them to do just about anything. Even in the old books, there are trainers that claimed the same, so this isn’t a new thing. For example, one old trainer claimed in his book that he could train just about any dog to become a police dog. Today, there are trainers that claim they can protection train any dog, as well. Or the claims they can always “fix” dog aggression, whatever that means, and whatever the situation. 

 

For example, I was contacted years ago by someone who wanted me to train his Irish Wolfhounds to have brilliant obedience, protect his property, and have perfect manners in all circumstances. I turned him down. That isn’t what those dogs are… it’s a sight hound, meant to chase and kill ____ (Hint: wolves and large game). They are released in a small group of other Wolfhounds, released to chase a visible animal, grab and kill it. That’s it. Not much obedience necessary. Their brains aren’t programmed for that. Don’t expect to see a ton of high level, competitive, all breed obedience titles on Wolfhounds… they don’t exist. 

 

So, time to rethink. What is it that you want out of a dog? Get that dog. What is it that you want out of your current dog? Find that dog’s individual temperament, talents, and limitations and make the training program fit that.

 

Plan accordingly.