The knowledge of animal behaviour, particularly in relation to dogs, have been spontaneously and successfully developing around the world, especially in English-speaking countries, leading to its practical application. Specialists with an extensive knowledge and increasingly expanding experience are now considering it a branch of science.
You can come across leaders sharing their untypical experiences and an original philosophy of dealing with animals, and various centres and societies seek to spread knowledge on the subject, while helping in situations that require assistance.
One particularly interesting association of this type is APBC (Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors) from Great Britain, co-founded by John Fisher, a well-known author of two popular books on animal behaviour. It associates specialists in various fields, theoreticians and practitioners, psychologists, comparative psychologists, anthropozoologists, psychological and psychiatric clinicians as well as veterinarians. Doctors play a prominent role in exploring these issues. After all, in a rapidly developing science of companion animal veterinary medicine, which currently encapsulates such well-established areas of veterinary science as oncology, dentistry, cardiology, a new niche has emerged – comparative psychology that is both dazzling and tempting and can attract those of us who might consider it their medical career path. It is indeed worth considering, at least from a practical point of view, because a large number of patients visiting clinics have behaviour problems, not to mention that some "clinical" diseases is caused by such problems. However, there is one more thing that can encourage us to take an interest in this issue, namely the satisfaction from exploring new area of science and, at least to some extent, the experience of taking part in something that may resemble the times of the pioneers of other branches of medicine – Pasteur, Koch, Fleming, Ehrlich. In other words, the exploration of this field of science can be a great adventure. At the same time, it is important that we, as a society, could provide basic help to patients with behavioural problems, and we can be sure that such patients will always be there. We should remember that mankind has used the dog for several thousand years. It was domesticated about twelve thousand years ago and has been man's companion through both good and bad times ever since. Human development, in spite of its undeniable benefits, carries a lot of risks, especially for the psyche, often ill-serving both human, "a child of nature" and, to even greater extent, a dog, our companion. It is usually us, the veterinarians who, during our daily practice, observe the number of instances when the civilizational development causes problems to our dogs and how these problems are manifested in their behaviour. When we have a sick patient, we naturally want to help it. Many psychotropic drugs and a whole range of therapeutic procedures that can help in many instances of behavioural disorders are all at our disposal. We should remember, however, that prevention is better than cure, and this rule applies here as well. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that it is crucial, especially in case of behavioural disorders. And in this case the prevention means bringing up.
When should you start bringing up the puppy? Note that this aspect of dog's life is often neglected. It's hard not to avoid the impression that we do not devote too much attention to what we cannot directly perceive, which in this case is the animal psyche and we tend not to think about it until we personally experience problems associated with "strange" behaviour of the dog. On the other hand, the physical development of a dog is fully noticed by the owner and is expressed by paying attention to a proper diet, purchasing hair care products or other necessary accessories such as a leash or a collar. And yet, from the day of birth, the animal's physical development is accompanied by equally important mental development. The question of the proper upbringing comes up when the behavioural problems first appear. Often the owner tries to solve these problems by his own intuition, or by asking breeder, other dog owners or veterinarian for advice. Unfortunately, it often happens that some universal methods that are used to teach the dog not to engage in certain behaviours only exacerbate the problem or mask it temporarily. Unfortunately, there is no universal solution for every problem of every animal. Each species and each individual shows a different mental structure and motivation to learning. It is therefore advisable to get to know the dog prior to training.
It is well known that from the day of birth it is the mother who teaches the puppies how to live in coexistence and how to function within a group, and the learning is done by playing. Starting this period at the right time is another important aspect contributing to proper behaviour. When we start the upbringing too late, because of our concern about its health in contact with a potentially dangerous environment, we risk not being able to control its behaviour in the future.