Common Behavior Problems Associated With Dogs

Some sorts of dog behaviour problems have been encountered by most people who have owned a dog for any length of time. Too often, the owner misinterprets the dog’s behaviour, whether it’s barking, biting, chewing, or another unwanted action, and doesn’t handle it properly. Maybe you have just adopted your first dog, you’re just thinking about making that committment or maybe you just want to have a better understanding of your dog’s behavior so that you can correct behavior problems more effectively. The first step in fixing or avoiding common dog behavior problems is to understand them fully. In order to get to the bottom of these problems, you’re going to want to educate yourself about obedience training.

The most common complaint about dog behavior is problem barking.

It’s normal for dogs to bark to some degree, and some also whine or howl. However, when this barking or howling starts to disturb the neighborhood you’ve got a behavior problem on your hands. A first step to correcting the problem is to figure out why your dog is making so much noise.

Once you know this you can start to get the barking problem under control. 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.

2. The Chewing Problem

Chewing is also an instinct for dogs, a normal part of their behaviour. Of course, if your dog is destroying things, then the natural behavior has morphed into a problem behavior.

By providing your dog with things that it’s okay to chew on you can provide positive reinforcement. 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. If you do happen upon your dog when he is chewing on an inappropriate object, stop him immediately by making a sharp sound. After you have got his attention remove the “bad” item and replace it with something that he is allowed to chew. Getting your dog an adequate amount of exercise can also cut down on problem chewing in addition to a host of other behavior problems.

3. The Digging Problem

Under the right conditions most dogs will do some digging. It’s instinctual. The backgrounds of certain breeds, terriers for example, are more likely cause them to be diggers.

But it will still be annoying when you find your your lawn or flower bed has been dug up by your dog. If you’re able to figure out why the dog is digging you can then go straight to the root of the problem. You may need to spend some extra time with your dog, be sure he gets additional exercise and possibly more training too. Another option is to give your dog a special sandbox or other area and train it to only dig there.

Anxiety When You’re Not Around

A very widespread behavior problem is known as separation anxiety. This is an entire host of problems that will manifest when you’re not around, including everything from excessive barking or whining, chewing on inappropriate things and even destroying things around the house.

Correcting separation anxiety is difficult, necessitating zealous training involving desensitizing and behavior modification exercises. If your dog’s anxiety is too severe you may even need to get medication from your vet.

Failure To Housebreak

Improper elimination is perhaps the most annoying of the dog behaviour problems. 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, especially those less than twelve weeks old, will have a certain amount of inappropriate elimination due to their level of maturity. 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.

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