There is a wealth of scientific research out there about animals and nature; now we have to apply it to dogs. Stuck on the desks of academics and researchers, a great deal of the relevant science has for too long been out of reach of many dog owners. Well-established fields like evolutionary biology, applied behavior analysis, neurology, and ethology (and newer interdisciplinary fields such as epi-genetics, behavioral ecology, and neuro-ethology) all have their two cents to add to our understanding. There’s no leap of logic in applying the natural sciences to our dogs; the remarkable thing is that we haven’t done so already.

L.E.G.S.® accounts for all these elements that experts have discovered to be contributors to your dog’s behavior; and it can help you easily understand the four fundamental parts that balance to make your dog tick.

LEARNING: Learning is the heartbeat of life’s adaptation to ever-changing circumstances, and your dog is no exception to its influence. The incredible truth is that your dog is taking notes all the time. Your habits, reactions, moods, friends, choices, routines, associations, and activities are all the subject of his unwavering scrutiny as a captive audience in your home with nothing better to do—and everything to gain from his attentiveness. The fact that you give Blakey that chewy treat to quiet him down every time he barks at the television has taught him to bark the moment you pick up the remote control so he can get his goody.

What your dog has learned about the consequences of his choices will affect his behavior in the future. What is pleasant and what is unpleasant? What matters to him and what makes no difference at all? What is the best way to get what he wants? What works for him?

Forget the notion of finding time to “train your dog.” You are teaching him, and the world is teaching him, all day long in one big, dirty, meaningful experiment of trial and error. The only question is what he’s actually learning. Everything sets a precedent for something else.

ENVIRONMENT: As for every species on earth, external conditions play a powerful role in the behavior a dog will express. We wouldn’t put a hamster in a fish tank, and we can appreciate the inherent problems for an African lion trying to survive in the arctic tundra. We look at our dogs and struggle to understand what he could possibly be lacking. He’s got it pretty good, right?