Staticity: The Bread and Butter of Domestic Dogs

Staticity- The condition of being static. Of what importance does this have and what relevancy does it make to dogs? Staticity is an entirely different perspective to most dogs, and in most canine behavior you will find a dog acting differently in the same situation previously unproblematic if you require the dog to be still. 

A simple example would be making your dog lay down or sit in a quiet at home situation. Now invite one friend over and expect him to remain still while you hug, converse and interact. You are going to see your dog have an incredibly hard time remaining still. That is with most dogs. Within staticity there are many different fields and levels of reactions. Some simple examples include: a dog not reacting to a person moving but as soon as they stop the dog gets weirded out. The dog doesn't mind approaching people as long as he can wiggle and rear up, but making him sit will require more mental work on his part. 

The dog doesn't mind moving traffic as long as he can properly avert his attention and physical placement out of fear or anxiety caused by the vibration of trucks, loud exhausts or other undesirables. But to make him sit, in a static standstill and be calm during such events can be quite the task. Dogs personality ranges can be like mountains... some are very low, some are high. Its what we do with these different temperaments that mold the dogs we have. 

You can have two of the same breed be completely opposite in behaviors. One dog wants to sleep, lay down, ignore any signs of excitement and be a doormat, while the other needs to run full speed, leap out of windows, grab chew dig and whine for hours when you don't look at him. The interesting thing about the difference in dogs is...you can get the hyper one to be calm, and the calm one to be hyper, however to exchange these genetic traits can be hard work. 

Dogs do things out of repetitive action, basically what works for them should always work..until it doesn't anymore. And MOST dogs who I get the call for are those who ARE NOT the doormat type. You want to be able to take your dog out anywhere in any situation? you want to be able to go on nice walks without purple hands or panic attacks? You want to be able to go to a friends house without needing to give your dog every second of your attention?  

Start practicing STATIC operations. More times then not, when your dog is exemplifying energy during a time you'd wish he'd sit still...practice it! MAKE HIM sit still. Every time your dog does something undesirable he learns he can do something...undesirable. And he does not care if you are unhappy. He is happy, and that is all that matters to him. In order to get that dog that does nothing, that is calm and static, you have to teach him that doing nothing is the better option.