How your raise your dog is important, but it is only one piece of the puzzle. Dogs come with a set of built in characteristics based on their genetic history. Breed or type tendencies will of course vary from dog to dog, but due to the long history of breeding specifically for behaviour traits, there are behaviours that we are likely to see in each breed or type. No one is surprised to see a Golden Retriever who loves puddles and fetching tennis balls!
Check out Kim Brophey’s Book “Meet Your Dog”
Multi-Dog Home
When we live with a number of dogs, having dogs that ‘speak the same language’ can help them get along. Dogs with very different natural inclinations and play styles may struggle to understand each other, mistaking play for aggression, or vice versa. Listen to our podcast episode that discusses this concept.
L.E.G.S model
Brophey’s L.E.G.S model explains that there are four components, or legs, to each dog, each just as important as the others.
‘L’earning – What is our dog’s learning history?
‘E’nvironment – What environment is our dog living in now?
‘G’enetics – What has our dog been bred to do? What feels intrinsically good to them?
‘S’elf – Who is this dog? What makes them unique?
Common characteristics in each of the 10 categories of dogs:
Legion of Dogs 