Dogs, like us, have behavioral problems and here are the top five problems we usually encounter living with these mutts.
1. Barking
Barking is part of the canine nature but an excessive display of it makes it a problem. Before you act on the problem, know why your dog barks too much. He may be alerting you, feeling all excited, seeking attention, anxious, bored, or simply responding to his same kind.
You can learn to control the behavior — just be consistent, and most especially, be patience. Teaching them takes a lot of time and effort, but soon, they’ll get things right, just be patient.
2. Chewing
Chewing is normal for them. However, chewing it can become a problem when he starts chewing your slippers and other furniture at home. Here are some common reasons why they do such: puppy teething, boredom / excess energy, anxiety, or curiosity (especially for puppies).
To stop this, encourage your dog to chew on the right things by providing plenty of chew toys. Keep personal items away from your dog. Crate him when you are not home. And, if you catch your dog chewing the wrong thing, quickly correct him, startle him, then, and replace the item with a chew toy. Tiring him works, too!
3. Digging
Having holes at your lawn certainly is a problem. To correct this habit, know the reasons behind it first: boredom or excess energy, anxiety or fear, hunting instinct, comfort-seeking (such as nesting or cooling off), hiding possessions (like bones or toys), or to escape or gain access.
Deal with this by spending more time with your dog, give him more exercise, and work on extra training. If it is really unavoidable, set aside an area where your dog can do the act, as in a sand box.
4. Separation Anxiety
This may be characterized by vocalization, chewing, inappropriate urination and defecation, and other forms of destruction happening when he is separated from his owner. But for some, the dog displays anxiety when owner prepares to leave, misbehavior occurs in the first 15-45 minutes after owner leaves, he follows the around constantly, and tries to be touching his owner whenever possible.
True separation anxiety needs training, behavior modification and desensitization exercises to be properly dealt with. For extreme cases, medications are utilized already.
5. Inappropriate Elimination
Frustrating as it may seem but yeah, it’s part of them. This may be due to medical problems or just behavioral.
Inappropriate elimination is unavoidable especially in puppies, usually before 12 weeks of age. For older dogs, they may need serious behavior modification with this problem.