Owning a dog can be equally as challenging and fun. The fun aspect is almost similar to every dog owner. However, the challenging parts of being a dog owner are relative to the type and the character of the dog. One of the challenging aspects is correcting bad behavior in dogs. Most dog owners respond to bad behavior by yelling and dishing out punishments.
However, many are times when dogs do not understand the reason why they are being punished. This results in the dog hiding lousy behavior as opposed to changing it. Different behaviors fall in the bad behavior category. In this post, we discuss examples of bad practices in dogs and how to respond to them.
- Inappropriate Chewing
Most dogs are fond of chewing. Chewing is a form of exploring the environment for dogs. For dogs, chewing is also a form of stress relief and relieving boredom. It is, therefore, not a bad behavior when it is done on the right items as it can also be a way of cleaning the dog’s teeth.
However, there comes a time when dogs begin to chew on almost anything that they find. This is what is considered bad behavior. To discourage this behavior, the most appropriate response would be to redirect the practice to the right object. For example, if your puppy is chewing on a shoe, you can take away the shoe and replace it with a toy. Doing this consistently helps to condition the behavior in dogs.
- Inappropriate barking
Barking is a natural habit in dogs. It is a form of communication hence should not be eradicated. However, it stops being appropriate when it is directed towards people (like a delivery guy) or when it becomes a nuisance (wakes up kids).
The right approach to correcting the behavior would be to desensitize the dog to the stimulus. Yelling at the dog is an inappropriate response as it would appear as though you are encouraging the barking. You can also opt to teach the dog a quiet command.
- Inappropriate potty behavior
Potty training is one of the hardest tasks that most dog owners have to go through. Inappropriate potty behavior entails a dog doing his or her business in inappropriate places. The most appropriate way of responding to this habit is potty training. Part of potty training is punishing the dog for the habit. Denying the dog a toy or a treat is an appropriate punishment. However, beating the dog is never the right approach. Rewarding good potty habits may also help to curb the issue.
- Biting
There is no situation where biting can fall under the category of appropriate behavior in dogs. If your dog is biting, you can make a loud noise to startle it and stop it from biting. Once the dog has stopped biting, redirect the behavior to an appropriate object like a bone.
Final Word
Before embarking on training your dog against ill-habits, you first need to understand the causal factor. Understanding the cause of dog behavior will help you come up with the best solution. For instance, if a dog is persistently barking because he or she wants to play, playing is the obvious solution. If you want to get some products to help you train your dog, click this website to know more.
