Depending on your level of experience with dogs you may have questions about why your dog is displaying problem behaviors. Many of the most common behaviors in dogs, including barking, biting and chewing, are frequently handled poorly by dog owners who may not understand the behaviors at all. You might have no experience with dogs and are looking into getting your first one, or maybe you already have a dog that has began exhibiting these kind of problems. Regardless, the best way to either improve your dog’s behavior or stop your new dog from ever developing problems it is to know where the behavior originates. If you have good command of obedience training it can really help you to avoid the most common dog behavior problems or avoid them altogether.
The most common complaint about dog behavior is problem barking.
Almost every dog out there is going to vocalize to some degree. But if they continue to bark or whine more than is necessary, that can soon become a major annoyance to you and your guests and neighbors. You really do need to figure out why your dog is barking to begin with before you can correct the problem.
So how do we learn to control how much a dog barks? The first rule of training is to be consistent and very patient when working on a problem. Teach your dog to obey the command to be quiet. The most important components to dealing with this issue are your own dedication to the job and attention to detail.
Destroying Furniture, Shoes and Other Possessions
Chewing is also an instinct for dogs, a normal part of their behaviour. But it can quickly become a serious problem if your dog chews on valuable belongings in the home.
First things first, you need to give your dog a chance to chew on the correct types of items. Make sure he has lots of safe chew toys. Be sure to keep you own items that you don’t want chewed up out of your dog’s reach. It’s also possible to simply keep your dog in a specific area or even crate it when you’re not around to watch it. Sharp noises are a good way to deter problem behaviors like chewing, but you must catch your dog in the act. After you have got his attention remove the “bad” item and replace it with something that he is allowed to chew. If your make sure your dog is getting a lot of exercise, you war well on your way to fixing this and a lot of other major behavior issues.
Digging Up The yard
Digging is another instinctual behavior that you need to redirect to more productive, less destructive actions. Some kinds of dogs, such as terriers, will dig more than others, mainly because of their breeding as hunting dogs.
But it will still be annoying when you find your your lawn or flower bed has been dug up by your dog. You first have to find out why your dog is digging, then try to get rid of the cause. You may need to spend some extra time with your dog, be sure he gets additional exercise and possibly more training too. You can also provide a place where your dog can dig without doing any harm, such as a sandbox, and let him know that it’s okay to dig there.
Separation Anxiety Behaviours
A common dog behaviour problem is anxiety caused by separation from its owner. Separation anxiety may manifest itself as inappropriate elimination, chewing, howling, backing and other destructive behaviors that are preformed when the dog is apart from it’s owner.
If your dog really suffers from separation anxiety it will tale a lot of commitment to training, behavior modification exercises and work at desensitization to solve the problems. As a last resort, some extreme cases are prescribed medications.
Failure To Housebreak
Possibly the most frustrating of all canine behavior issues is that of inappropriate elimination. This is when a dog urinates or defecates where it is not supposed to. Such problems can make your dog an unwelcome guest in other people’s homes, in public and can cause damage to your own home. Check first with your dog’s veterinarian to be sure there isn’t some physical condition causing this problem.
Puppies under twelve weeks old will of course not be able to control their elimination. With full grown dogs though you may need to look into behavior modification and other training techniques as this is a very difficult behavior to correct once it has been learned.
Hugo is a consultant who specializes in dog training methods to increase the pet owner’s satisfaction with their pet. Looking for a free guide to dog training? Visit James’ site to get one, see other helpful hints and read training product reviews. Take a look at: Online Dog Training , Dog Training Guide