The only label we should ever give a dog is, 'good dog!'

Sitting with my breakfast this morning, listening to my cat Cindy run around the house, I opened up the news. I was prepared to discover the days’ bin fire of hubris and hatred, when I came across an interesting article in the Guardian by a clinical psychologist called Sanah Ahsan : https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/06/psychologist-devastating-lies-mental-health-problems-politics

In the article, they state we do patients a disservice in the way we diagnose, label and then support those suffering from mental health. The world we live in today is debilitating, painful and abusive to many of those around us – so to label them with a condition, and then implement the prescribed medications and therapy, is utterly insufficient as the route of the problem is environmental

One section struck me: “If a plant were wilting, we wouldn’t diagnose it with “wilting-plant-syndrome” – we would change its conditions. Yet when humans are suffering under unliveable conditions, we’re told something is wrong with us, and expected to keep pushing

through. To keep working and producing, without acknowledging our hurt.”

My mind started racing. Firstly, why was the cat so quiet? Then secondly, this applies to me personally (hello heavily labelled mind) and this applies to our dogs. I’ve seen this sentiment echoed by a lot of behaviourists recently – labelling dogs’ behaviours serves no purpose, and it is ultimately detrimental to them.

As some of you know, I work closely with local overseas rescues and dedicate a lot of my free time to them. A lot of us will say overseas dogs are more likely to be ‘aggressive’ or ‘reactive’. But does this language blame the dog – suggesting a fundamental flaw in their personality? Should we more accurately say these dogs endured 3 terrifying days being transported to a new country, where everything from the air, to the water, to the floor, smells, looks and feels different? The only experience they have had with people might have been being captured and shipped here. and now suddenly they find themselves trapped in a house with multiple strangers, or being stuck on a lead being petted by one, and also what in the fresh hell is a lead, so they are displaying behaviour to try and make the utterly petrifying people back off, and to try to escape to somewhere which may provide even an ounce of safety. Suddenly, it’s not the dog who is flawed and aggressive, but maybe perhaps the ‘rescuing charity’ themselves?

I strongly believe whenever we work with any dog, our first thought should be the environment. Not, is the environment affecting these behaviours, but is the environment good for this dog full stop? The more we grow as trainers and behaviourists, the more we understand that the environment a dog is in is what we address first. No commands or counterconditioning in the world will work if the dog is just in the wrong environment.

I am entirely convinced giving owners labels is futile. I think it encourages them to turn to Dr Google for their Labrador-shaped cookie cutter solution, for their out-of-control chihuahua. I also think it doesn’t convey the emotional trauma that the environment causes our animals. Which would motivate an owner to work with their dog more, separation anxiety, separation distress, or your dog can not cope and feels horrific blind panic when they are left alone?

Let’s not forget how differently the phrase ‘handling aggression’ could be interpreted by different vets or groomers. Does it mean muzzle and sedate this dog straight off, or does it mean to take it slow and steady? In cases like this, it could really negatively affect the way a dog is handled in certain situations, leading to the strengthening of that negative emotional response. If we put ‘aggressive’ on a vet record – suddenly that affects that dog’s ability to get insurance, and ultimately the very expensive medical checks or treatment a few years down the line.

I guess ultimately, I am addressing multiple issues here, are labelled detrimental, and do we consider the environment the dogs are in enough? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by Aria Butterwick