Dogs live in a world largely controlled by humans.
We decide when they eat, where they walk, whom they meet, when they play, when they rest, when they can relieve themselves, and what behavior we expect from them.
That makes agency for dogs an important part of canine welfare.
Agency is the ability to have some meaningful choice and control over what happens to you. For dogs, that can mean being able to make decisions, move toward things they enjoy, move away from things that make them uncomfortable and voluntarily engage with their environment.
It does not mean letting dogs do whatever they want.
It means asking:
Where can my dog safely have more choice?
Why Is Agency Important for Dogs?
Animal welfare research increasingly recognizes choice, control and agency as important components of positive welfare.
Dogs need more than food, shelter and veterinary care. They also benefit from opportunities to sniff, explore, play, rest, observe, forage, seek, and engage in behaviors that matter to them.
Sometimes choosing not to participate is also a choice.
That might mean walking away from petting, choosing not to greet another dog or standing back and observing instead of joining an activity.
When safe and appropriate, honoring those choices gives dogs greater control over their own experiences.
Kim Brophey, L.E.G.S.® and the Dog in Front of You
Kim Brophey’s L.E.G.S.® Model of Integrated Canine Science encourages us to understand behavior by looking at the whole dog:
- Learning — what the dog has experienced and learned
- Environment — what is happening around the dog
- Genetics — inherited traits and behavioral tendencies
- Self — the individual dog’s health, age, personality and other characteristics
Family Dog Mediation® builds on this approach by asking us to understand the dog we actually have rather than focusing only on changing behavior.
Its Total Welfare approach incorporates modern animal welfare science and emphasizes meeting dogs’ biological, emotional and behavioral needs.
That changes an important question.
Instead of always asking:
“How do I stop this behavior?”
we can also ask:
“What is my dog communicating, and how can I help them make a better choice?”
How Aversive Dog Training Can Reduce Agency
Agency also matters when we consider how we train dogs.
Aversive training uses an unpleasant consequence to reduce or stop behavior. Depending on the method, that can involve pain, discomfort, pressure, fear or intimidation.
Examples may include electronic collars, prong collars, choke collars, physical corrections and other punishment-based methods.
These methods can reduce a dog’s agency because avoiding the unpleasant consequence becomes a major factor controlling the dog’s behavior.
Consider a dog who barks and lunges when another dog approaches.
If barking results in a painful or frightening correction, the barking may eventually stop.
From the outside, that may look successful.
But what did the dog actually learn?
The dog may not have learned that the other dog is safe.
They may not have learned how to regulate themselves, increase distance appropriately or choose another coping strategy.
They may simply have learned:
If I do that, something unpleasant happens.
Research comparing dog training methods has found greater stress-related behaviors and other negative welfare outcomes among dogs trained with aversive-based methods compared with dogs trained using reward-based approaches.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior also recommends reward-based training and advises against aversive methods because of their potential impact on canine welfare and the human-animal relationship.
Reward-based teaching gives us another option.
Instead of only stopping barking or lunging, we can help a dog learn:
I can move farther away.
I can turn away.
I can check in with my person.
I can sniff.
I can leave the situation.
Those are coping skills.
And coping skills give dogs more choices.
What Does Giving a Dog More Agency Look Like?
Providing agency does not mean eliminating boundaries. We are still responsible for keeping our dogs, other animals and people safe.
Instead, think of it as creating safe boundaries with choices inside them.
Let Your Dog Sniff
Not every walk has to be about mileage.
Allow time for your dog to stop, investigate and gather information through scent.
Let Your Dog Choose Distance
Your dog does not need to greet every dog or person.
If your dog turns away, slows down, moves behind you or attempts to create space, listen when it is safe to do so.
We don’t have to wait for barking, growling or lunging before honoring that communication.
Allow Observation
Sometimes dogs want information without interaction.
Allowing a dog to watch another dog, person or activity from a comfortable distance can give them time to process what is happening without being forced to participate.
Offer Different Activities
Give dogs opportunities to sniff, search, dig, tug, chase, forage, shred, carry, swim or simply watch the world.
Then notice what your dog repeatedly chooses.
The L.E.G.S. framework helps explain why those preferences can vary dramatically from one dog to another.
Pause During Physical Interaction
Pet your dog briefly and stop.
Do they lean toward you, nudge your hand or ask for more?
Or do they move away?
Whenever possible, allow their response to influence what happens next.
Use Cooperative Care
Veterinary care and grooming sometimes have to happen whether a dog wants them to or not.
But cooperative care can increase predictability and participation, helping dogs have more control during situations where they traditionally have very little.
Give Your Dog More Opportunities to Choose
Dogs will never have complete agency while living in a human world.
Nor should they.
We have a responsibility to provide safety, boundaries and guidance.
But within those boundaries, there are countless opportunities to give dogs more choice.
One question can help us find them:
Does my dog have to do this my way, or can I safely give them a choice?
Then pay attention to the answer.
The choices dogs make tell us what they enjoy, what concerns them, what helps them feel safe and what behaviors matter to them.
When we listen to those choices, we move beyond simply asking dogs to comply with our lives.
We begin building lives that consider their needs, preferences and welfare too.
And that may be one of the most valuable things agency gives us:
a better understanding of the dog at the other end of the leash.
Research & Resources
- Kim Brophey / Family Dog Mediation® — L.E.G.S.® Model of Integrated Canine Science and Total Welfare.
- Englund & Cronin (2023) — Choice, control, and animal welfare: definitions and essential inquiries to advance animal welfare science. Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
- Vieira de Castro et al. (2020) — Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare. PLOS ONE.
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior — Humane Dog Training Position Statement.
