Field Guide · Glossary
Species-typical behavior
EnrichmentBehavior a dog performs because they are a dog, such as sniffing, chewing, digging, shredding and chasing.
How it works
These behaviors are not learned and do not depend on a dog having been taught them, which is why they reappear in dogs raised in completely different households. Training can change where and when they happen, and it cannot remove the underlying drive. That distinction decides most enrichment planning: the practical question is not whether a dog will dig, but where they will be allowed to, and whether somewhere acceptable has been provided.
What it looks like
A dog digs holes in a lawn. A sand pit in one corner, seeded with buried toys, gives the same behavior a location. The digging continues, the lawn recovers, and nothing had to be suppressed.
Commonly confused with
- Behavioral needs
- Species-typical behavior describes what dogs do. Behavioral needs describes what a particular dog has to be able to do to be alright. The first is the catalogue; the second is the requirement for one dog.
Related terms
Where this comes up