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. 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. The first step in fixing or avoiding common dog behavior problems is to understand them fully. 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.
Just about all dogs will make noise of some sort, barking, whining and howling are frequently used to communicate in canine society. 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.
Then you can take steps to correct the barking. It's important to be even handed and unchanging in your efforts. You may want to work on commands for barking and silencing your dog. Ultimately you need to stick with the training and provide your dog with positive reinforcement.
The Chewing Problem
Chewing is also an instinct for dogs, a normal part of their behaviour. This natural behavior can quickly run out of control though when your dog doesn't know what to chew and what not to chew.
By providing your dog with things that it's okay to chew on you can provide positive reinforcement. Also keep valuable personal possessions out of reach of your dog. Confine your dog to a safe area where he can't do any damage when you have to be away from the home. A sharp noise can be used to deter you dog if he is caught chewing on the wrong sort of item. Once you have its attention take away the thing it's chewing on and provide a safe chew toy. Getting your dog an adequate amount of exercise can also cut down on problem chewing in addition to a host of other behavior problems.
Digging is another popular pastime of dogs that can easily become a behavior problem.
Digging is another instinctual behavior that you need to redirect to more productive, less destructive actions. The backgrounds of certain breeds, terriers for example, are more likely cause them to be diggers.
You may find it quite unnerving if your dog is digging holes all over your yard. If you're able to figure out why the dog is digging you can then go straight to the root of the problem. Sometimes simply providing your dog with more exercise and engaging it in fun, instructive activities like training can have a positive effect. If you feel that digging is something that your dog will not do without, it's a good idea to give her a place where it's alright to dig, like a kid's sandbox.
Separation anxiety is really a disorder that shows multiple behavioral problems as symptoms.
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.
Correcting separation anxiety is difficult, necessitating zealous training involving desensitizing and behavior modification exercises. Extreme cases of anxiety may require medication, but only after every other remedy has failed.
Inappropriate elimination is a behavior issue that can become troublesome very quickly.
Improper elimination is perhaps the most annoying of the dog behaviour problems. It can cause damage to furnishings and floors in your house and make it so you can't take your dog with you to public locations or to the homes of your acquaintances. The first rule in dealing with inappropriate elimination is to consult a vet to be sure that there are not underlying medical problems causing the unwanted behavior.
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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