Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Ironically, today was the day I had the most time to type up a blog, but then again, having a baby will do that! Today's topic is the most common causes of canine misbehaviour - in no particular order. These are the main triggers for the bulk of our clientele.
1. Inconsistency
Topping our list here is a fairly common occurrence; owners that are not consistent every day. This is often caused by either a lack of understanding or lack of desire to correct behaviours before they begin, and/or which behaviours are problematic at which point. Even many dog trainers, seasoned ones, us included, have fallen victim to this. Most often, it's caused by a simple oversight, such as not realizing something has happened, or missing a behaviour entirely. It's also caused by thinking if a dog is corrected or redirected once, that's all that is needed.
2. Not Training From Day One
Another common issue is when people purchase, adopt, or foster a dog into their home, and believe the dog needs "buffer time", or a time to adjust to the new space with no rules or boundaries. This myth creates a vast and severe issue with all dogs; they need guidance and control in order to feel as if they have a place, a purpose, and a role. If this need isn't satisfied, they fill in those gaps themselves - and usually in a way that upsets the balance of the household. Dogs are not like adopted human children - they don't need the buffer zone, as they crave and desire leadership. Instead of allowing them this massive gap of confusing freedom, it is far healthier and beneficial to establish your expectations immediately - and preempt any possible issues, even before they enter your home.
3. Not Fulfilling Exercise and Mental Needs
The majority of owners seem to misunderstand the actual depth of exercise needs of their dogs - and tend to overlook two thirds of it. All dogs need at least an hour a day, and that's just for the laziest dogs, such as bloodhounds and bulldogs. Most dogs need much more than this. However, physical exercise is vastly secondary to mental exercise needs, and the need to explore and hunt. These primal needs override physical exercise needs, and most owners tend to overlook or not even realize their pets need this outlet. Dogs desperately need to think and learn on a daily basis, to use their minds, and discover new things. A dog that is trained to ignore this need is often frustrated, and seems to stop learning things the owner wishes to teach them, which is the main issue with 100% dominance training. As well as that, dogs need to visit new places and explore them - a need that is often left behind.
4. Ignoring Breed Need
Some, but not all people bring dogs home based on looks, without taking in to consideration what the breed is intended for. This creates frustration and trust issues, and devalues the dog. For instance, picking a Husky for it's looks, without realizing they need 12 hours of solid, intense exercise a day (and brushing four times a day!) or a Jack Russel without taking into account they are a high energy working breed that is supposed to hunt and flush out rodents and game. When a dog isn't fulfilling what it's meant to, it creates massive problems.
5. Too Many Rules
When someone goes overboard on giving a dog boundaries and overdoes the control, a dog won't know it's place or purpose - instead, it will believe it cannot do anything right, and will become frustrated, and lash out, or become mischievous. It is very important that a dog have structure, rules, and a routine, but when it's taken too far, it ends up being counter productive - and isn't fun for anyone.
6. Not Enough Rules
As opposed to too many rules, it happens to be far more common for someone to not have enough. If a dog is given too many freedoms, it ends up most often believing it is the one in control, and not the human - something not only unnatural, but confusing, and frustrating. When a dog doesn't have natural boundaries that make sense in the dog world, it ends up being like a spoiled toddler. Just like kids, dogs need structure. While all people like to give dogs freedom, things like off leash walking or freedom of toy play can and do lead to dangerous and often heart breaking ends.
7. Spoiled
By giving too much affection (to a dog, it's not just petting that is affection; it's their name being said, your voice, certain moments of eye contact, treats, meal time, and many other things equate to affection). An overdose of these things leads to an entitled dog - one that will often push the point to get what it wants, because it believes it is owed to them. Difficult for humans to undo this habit as it is, it's doubly so for the dog to adjust.
8. No Training Whatsoever
Some people bring a dog into their lives and hit all the prior marks, but fail to train their dogs at all. Commands and skills are vital to the confidence and communication skills of a dog; without them, they don't speak human language, and become dangerous to take anywhere. These dogs are often terrors on four legs, because they cannot understand human-canine social boundaries, and have absolutely no relationship with their human.
9. Stopping Training At Puppy-Hood
Many people stop teaching their dog new things once they reach adulthood, believing that sit, no, and down are sufficient skills for a dog, when this is the farthest from the truth. Dogs always need to add new skills and commands to their repertoire to learn and communicate better with humans; new skills also teach confidence, and flawless obedience. While it might be easier for the human to not have to train new skills to a dog, it's far more vital for the dog. Owning a dog isn't solely about the human after all.
10. Misreading Symptoms
By far the number one issue of all of these is the frequency at which people misread their dogs. So many people mistake dominance for aggression, fear for uncertainty, or excitement for happiness. It is so damaging to categorize and normalize behaviours that are not healthy. While any good trainer and owner should be able to utilize these behaviours to redirect and retrain a dog, they first must understand a behaviour's roots, and why they aren't healthy. Excitement can be used to teach intensity and accuracy of a behaviour, however when allowed on its own and misunderstood as happiness, the dog can very quickly become unstable.
11. BONUS: Not Enforcing Rules Fast Enough!
When a dog misbehaves, you have about one second to react before you lose effectiveness. When you first meet a dog, you have about three seconds to make an impression, establish the rules, and make a solid expectation of the relationship. While on most encounters with dogs you will likely never meet again, this skill is not important. However, this skill is absolutely vital with dogs you'll meet more than once.
Have a great day, everyone!
