Thursday Thoughts: Animals acting like animals

A killer whale peers through a window at an underwater viewing area of SeaWorld
in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Feb. 26, 2010. SeaWorld will restart its killer whale shows
this weekend after Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, dragged a trainer to her
death in the water at the Orlando park. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

For the past day or two, news wire and social media have been abuzz with news that a captive orca killed its trainer. Tilikum had a history of predatory aggression, and was reportedly responsible for at least one other death prior to killing Dawn Brancheau, a long-time trainer for Sea World Orlando.

Many people react with surprise mixed in with dismay when an incident like the one in Orlando occurs, however, it bears emphasizing that these are the risks that are undertaken when you keep animals in captivity. It is poignantly clear in the case of captive wild animals, but it's also true with pets and domesticated animals.

We love our pets, we share our homes and often our beds with our dogs, and many of us treat them like surrogate children. They are not children, however, they are animals. It is incredibly important when dealing with dogs, as with any animal, to remember that they do not have human motivations and reactions to stimuli. Dogs act like dogs, no matter how we relate to them or humanize them. They do things for dog reasons, they think the ways dogs do, and their actions are informed by canine patterns of reasoning.

Animals of any shape or form can be dangerous. They have instincts to chase, to bite, to defend, and even well-trained domesticated dogs can be pushed over the line and act as they were created: like dogs. Instinct can and will override training or conditioning, you need only observe a high-prey drive dog run through an electric fence to chase a squirrel for proof of that.

By all means love your dog and seek to understand him, but always remember that he is an animal. Take precautions to keep yourself safe, no matter how steady and reliable your dog may be. Any dog can be provoked by circumstances to act contrary to his own history and general nature, and not respecting the boundaries of even domesticated and well-trained animals is courting disaster.

If you notice signs of aggression in your dog, do not wait, contact a qualified professional right away.

Local dog trainers who use positive training methods:

Pamela Dennison's Positive Motivation Dog Training
Side by Side Dog Trainin with Sarah Walker
Silver Sky Canine Behavior Consulting with Nicole S. Silvers
Sit and Stay Dog Training and Behavioral Counseling with Joana Watsky
St. Hubert's Dog Training School

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