Oftentimes my clients will hear me talk about their dogs being in “Animal brain mode” or “Domestic brain mode” to help explain where their dog’s focus is. There’s a little more to it than just focus.

Dog domestication happened a LONG time ago – their ancestors came from their wild wolf cousins. There is a piece of their functionality that will always remain somewhat ‘wild’. This is their instinctual side, where prey drive and reactivity comes from.

I tend to work more with dogs that function at a higher percentage in Animal brain than they do in Domestic brain, because I specialize in severe behavioral issues and all forms of aggression. My dogs start out functioning at a level of instinct instead of partnership with their humans.

There was a study I read once, that when some dogs instinct kicks in during prey drive, the function of their hearing shuts off. They go so far into Animal brain mode that they literally cannot hear you, because that is the least helpful sense to a dog on the hunt. They gain laser focus and all they want to do is “GO get that thing!!”

I experienced this quite a bit with my Husky, Prince. When he would spot a cat or possum? That was it. There was no getting through to him. I can still see the hard look he would get. Eyes focused, body stiff, and those ears were pinned on the unsuspecting critter! I could yell or scream any command or even some of his favorite words “WALK? Bone! Prince, BONE! LEAVE IT AND COME GET THIS BONE!! Let’s go for a WALK!! DOG!!!” And before I could even finish my sentence… BOOM! He was flying after them. The joy of the hunt was far greater than any pathetic thing I could come up with.

Because I had so much practice with him and watching other clients dogs do the same when they’d spot a squirrel or cat or another dog on the leash, I got really good at spotting the signs and getting their attention before that Animal brain would click on. I could see the train track change coming up on the horizon. The trick is getting those tracks to not switch directions, to keep them going in a straight line in Domestic brain lane. That functioning partnership that we all love and know our dogs are capable of.

Domestic brain is where we like our dogs. They listen, they obey, and they stay in their own lanes. When I work with a dog to get them functioning more in Domestic brain, the transition is a bit stressful, for everyone involved. The dogs instincts are SCREAMING in their bodies, and they will succumb to it at times. But in order to work on it, they need to be continually exposed, in order to learn how to shut it off and stay in the right frame of mind. This is where our ability to be patient and loving and understanding comes in handy. And also a bit of knowledge in body language helps too.

So when your dog is barking out the window at passers by or rushing out the back door to go chase a squirrel, understand that they’re functioning off of something a bit more primal and calling them off may not always work. Catching their attention just before usually will.