Does Your Dog do your bidding, or is she . . . “Independent?”

Toby waiting for the good stuff

"Sit, Toby," I asked as I stood in front of him with my hand raised. We were on our morning walk. I was determined this year to work with Toby to see if I could train him not to go nuts when he saw other dogs.

As Barbara Leighnor, the volunteer coordinator at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, suggested, I was using "high-value" treats—in this case, sliced hot dogs.

I held a piece of hot dog in front of Toby, and he slowly sat down (he wasn't thrilled).

I said, "Good Boy!" and handed him the treat . . . and he spat it out.

It was as if he was thinking, "Game on."

The next day, I tried slices of ham. He was more interested. He slowly sat down, and politely took the ham. But on our second go at it, he just looked away and stayed standing. Since I don't eat ham, I kind of empathized with him.

I was dealing with a Great Pyrenees; it was not his idea of a high-value treat. My wife, Laurie, suggested that with Toby I need to speak louder and slower, like Americans do in foreign countries.

Our other dog, Maisie, a terrier-chihuahua mix, was an enthusiastic and treat-motivated "sitter." She had gotten so good that occasionally when a car drove by, or a human walked past us, she would come to me and "sit," knowing that a treat was coming. And she was okay with commercially available treats. (Although she's not impressed by kibble)

In this quasi-scientific experiment, we were deep into the world of nature-nurture. The canine trait in question is called "biddability," which refers to how well dogs respond to human direction. In layperson's terms, biddability is the willingness to do your bidding: come, sit, stay, or quit howling at the TV. In a column from last month, I cited a research paper, "Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes," by Kathleen Morrill et al. Their hypothesis was that although close to 80% of how a dog looks can be attributed to genes, only 9% of their behavior, their "personality" is inherited.

According to the researchers, there are breeds with high scores for biddability which is an inherited trait. These include German Shepherds, Australian Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, and Bernese Mountain Dogs. In general, these dogs aim to please and are theoretically easier to train. I say theoretically because there is as much variability between individual dogs in each breed as there is between breeds.

On the other end of the spectrum are the breeds that the researchers (tongue in cheek) label as "independent." Among those breeds are the usual suspects: Huskies, Malamutes, and, sigh, Great Pyrenees. Some other breeds that surprised me are Basset Hounds, Beagles, Terriers, and Dachshunds.

A quick shout out to these "independent" breeds. They are still lovable and playful and will take over your couch or bed. They are trainable; it just may take a different approach (and a little patience). Importantly, as with the highly biddable breeds, there is a lot of variability between individual dogs. (Adopt the dog, not the breed!)

With this little bit of knowledge, it has been interesting to watch the different behaviors of our two dogs, who are on opposite ends of the biddability spectrum.

When we walk, Maisie constantly looks back at me, I think, waiting for my hand to go into my pocket for treats. When she is off-leash, and I ask her to come, she immediately turns and returns (as long as no other dogs are around). When she sits, she stares into my eyes, looking for clues. (The infamous Chihuahua stare)

Toby, on walks, rarely makes eye contact. When I stand in front of him and say, "Sit," treat in hand, his first reaction is to try and get around me. His second reaction is to look away. I would never let Toby off leash (except in our fenced backyard) because I'm sure he'd ignore my pleas to "come." Instead, he'd go "walkabout" and maybe come back in a few hours.

An independent dog.

There is an old saying that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." That's just wrong. With a little knowledge and a willingness to learn, we can be better guardians for our dogs. With a bit of knowledge from a breed perspective and then observing your dog gives you better insight on how to train them and help them live their best life.

As for Toby and I, we are going to try sliced chicken. Who doesn't like chicken?

Hersch’s book, “Dog Lessons: Learning the Importatnt Stuff From our Best Friends” is available online and at bookstores everywhere. Woof!