People often describe a dog's behavior in terms of labels:  dominant, submissive, aggressive, playful, etc.  "He is leash aggressive."  "He is dog aggressive." "She is a dominant dog."  "She is submissive."  These labels categorize our dogs rather than solve the issue.

Lately, not a day seems to go by without my noticing people applying labels to others... other people, animals and things.  We all label to some extent - it allows our brains to categorize and can simplify our thinking.  But when the labels cause us to misread others, it's time to find other ways to think.

Lately, the "dominance" label has reared its ugly head as it applies to dogs.  It's difficult to imagine why it's so prevalent, especially when it has been disproven time and again.

Sound obvious?  Do you think of your dog as a child?  Do you call yourself your dog's mommy or daddy?  Do you dress your dog in cute outfits?  It's easy to anthropomorphize and call your dog "one of the family."  Dogs are great at blending in.  But your dog is still a dog.  His thought patterns are different than ours.  Dogs rely heavily upon instinct.  Living with humans creates a natural conflict between what a dog would do on its own versus what we want it to do.

I had to laugh just now as I heard that familiar tinkle of dog tags approaching.  As they reached my front yard, I heard a woman say, "No!"  I was reminded of the cartoon where one dog says to another, "My name is Ginger! Bad Dog!  What's yours?"

I recently attended a two-day seminar with Dr. Nicholas Dodman, the director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University.  The seminar was filled with information, and several things really stood out as good reminders.  One is that dogs do not have a language center in their brains.  Dogs are never, ever going to understand verbal language the way we do.

It happens all the time.  Two people with dogs approaching each other.  The dogs are straining at the end of their leashes to meet.  "Oh, he's friendly," one person will say.  The dogs touch noses and one of them starts barking.  The dog owner with the "friendly" dog will often be startled and assume the other dog is going to fight.  But what is really happening here?

It only took a second.  The Siberian Husky and Pomeranian had played before.  The owner of the Pomeranian didn't see any problem with the difference in size.  This time, the circumstances were different.  The Siberian Husky's owner neglected to pick up the food bowl -- the Husky guarded food.  Before anyone could intervene, it was over.  The Husky killed the Pomeranian with a singe bite to the neck.

Size matters when it comes to dogs.  No matter how friendly you may think your dog or the "other" dog is, circumstances can change before you can react.  It's important to understand and manage what is appropriate for your dog.  It is risky to assume your dog will react the same way in every circumstance.

There are many reasons people relinquish dogs to shelters, but many of the reasons have the same root cause: improper expectations.  Adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue group is a wonderful option, and it is important that your choice gives the adopted dog his or her "forever home."

It happens to all of us.  Right when we want our dog's attention, the dog finds something really interesting and ignores us.  It might be a sniff, another dog, a squirrel or any number of things dogs find interesting.  While it's easy to get frustrated or even angry, taking time to understand what is happening can save a lot of wasted time and frustration.

Dogs operate in a world of relevance.  They ignore things that have no impact on them.  They pay attention to things that matter.  Often, the things that matter to a dog have no relevance for us.  Hence the confusion.

When you want to get a dog's attention, you must offer something of greater importance than the thing that is capturing her attention at the moment.