Genetics matter.

“It’s all in how you raise them.” A comment I see pop up all the time, especially when someone posts about a behaviour they’re struggling with with. And often times, the person isn’t trying to be helpful. They are more often than not trying to point a finger at the owner. And look, I get where it comes from. Training matters. Environment matters. The relationship you build with your dog matters enormously. But why are some people so quick to forget biology? Genetics are real. A kelpie, collies or heeler bred for generations to work livestock is going to have a drive to herd, chase, and react to movement – and that doesn’t disappear because you’re a good owner. Equally, you can’t create something that’s not there in the first place. This is why breed compatibility with your lifestyle is so important, with any breed. You can’t “raise away” the essence of who your dog is, what’s in their DNA, or try to force them fit your mould of a perfect dog. Too often, society views normal dog behaviours and breed traits as a training problem to change or fix, the moment they become an inconvenience to us. Behaviour is more complicated than that, and we owe it to our dogs to stop oversimplifying it. Do you think “it’s all in how they are raised”? #itshowyouraisethem #doggenetics #herdingdogs #kelpie workingdogs