dog behavior problem solving

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10 Most Common Dog Behavior Problems & Vet-Approved Solutions

Image Credit: Zanna Pesnina, Shutterstock

Last Updated on August 25, 2024 by Dogster Team

VET APPROVED

REVIEWED & FACT-CHECKED BY

Dr. Chyrle Bonk

DVM (Veterinarian)

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

When dogs develop certain unsavory behaviors, it can be very challenging for their owners to navigate. Unfortunately, it can affect the entire dynamic of a household and needs proper training or accommodations.

Bad behaviors can strain relationships long-term and is often the number one reason some families rehome their pets. So, knowing about potential challenges and how to correct them is important. Here are 10 of the most common dog behavior problems and how to help solve them.

• The 10 Most Common Dog Behavior Problems

Chewing can be a very problematic behavior in dogs. One of the ways that a dog learns about their world is through smell and taste, so putting things in their mouth is quite normal. For puppies, that need to chew is even more pronounced due to teething discomforts. Since chewing is a completely natural behavior, you just need to help teach your dog what they can and can’t chew on.

• Keep Belongings Put Up: While you might feel like you shouldn’t have to be so cautious in your own home, putting your belongings up will be best. Whether it’s sentimental or not, if you don’t want it chewed, it should be placed up high or kept behind a closed door.
• Offer Lots of Options: A heavy chewer will do best with lots of things to keep their mouth busy. You can buy all sorts of toys and chew treats with different textures, flavors, and noise stimulators for your dog to try. If your dog is a highly aggressive chewer, chewing up toys within minutes, try to opt for heavy-duty toys that can withstand the impact. Not only will that help stretch your dollar, but it will give your dog a run for their money too as they try to chew the toy to oblivion. Useful training commands that can be used in lots of situations are “leave it” and “drop it”. When your dog starts to chew something they shouldn’t, tell them to drop it and then give them an appropriate chew toy.
• 2. Mouthing

If your dog is a mouther, you’re going to want to get a handle on it as quickly as possible. It’s quite normal for puppies to bite as a way of playing, but it’s not something that you want to encourage or leave unchecked.

• Ignore Your Dog: It might sound like the opposite of what you will want to do, but rather than punishing your pup for biting you, ignore them. Stop playing or giving them attention and possibly even move them somewhere else to calm down. The aim is to become so boring that your dog stops interacting with you. As soon as they do stop, reward this calm behavior instead. You can reward your puppy for playing with manners rather than punishing bad behavior. It is important to remember that, as with toddlers, often any attention is better than none.
• Be Consistent: Do not let up with bite inhibition training. If they carry this behavior into their adult years, they could face serious consequences if they do it to the wrong person. So, try your best to keep up with positive training methods so the unwanted behavior will stop and make sure the whole family is on board.  Don’t be afraid to seek help from a professional trainer if mouthing becomes a bigger issue.

Barking is a natural way of communicating for dogs, but it can be a real problem for many pet owners. Barking can be disruptive, not only to your family but to those that live near you as well.

• Figure Out Why They’re Barking: The first step to solving excessive barking is to figure out why they’re barking in the first place. Some dogs bark when they hear any noise, and some bark when they sense a threat. But some bark for seemingly no reason at all. If you can find a reason for your dog’s barking, try to address that reason. If you can’t find a reason, try distracting them with something else until they have calmed down.
• Don’t Yell: It will be really tempting to yell at or punish your dog when they’re annoying you with barking. However, yelling at them is like you’re answering their bark, which may elicit more barking. The punishment may also appear threatening, which may also elicit more barking. Instead, look for ways to reward non-barking behaviors and try to curb their barking through other means. Teaching the command for “speak” is often recommended to help reduce problem barking. It trains the dog to bark on command and when to stop giving more control over vocalizations.
• Make Sure Your Dog Is Getting Enough Exercise: Barking can be a sign that your dog has a lot of pent-up energy. Make sure that they are exercised regularly and thoroughly. Along with physical exercise, a dog also needs mental stimulation. For some dogs, just going for a walk will be enough, while others may need games or toys to keep them entertained and decrease their barking.
• 4. Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is a very big deal with some dogs. They get very attached to their human companions, and it can be challenging to be away from them for any period of time. Separation anxiety can lead to lots of negative behaviors, including destructive tendencies and excessive barking.

It can even lead to going to the bathroom inside their enclosure or home. Separation anxiety is a real thing, and if your dog has it, it should be dealt with accordingly.

• Practice Separation: It is important to practice small intervals of separation. If your dog is very used to you being around, you can separate for a couple of minutes at a time, even if it means going into another room of the home and closing the door. They know you’re there but having that layer of separation can essentially desensitize them. Reward them when you come back. Repeat this process with longer and longer time periods until they are comfortable being away from you. For very anxious dogs you may need to start with a see through barrier such as a baby gate and progress to closed doors.
• Give Them Things to Do: Leaving your dog with a to-do list of toys or games to do while you’re away can help distract them from the separation. Be sure to give your pup these toys well before your leave so that they are less likely to notice that you’re gone. You may also want to find someone that can check on your pup once or twice throughout the day to offer some companionship as well. Ideally some form of crate training is recommended so that your pup has a safe place that they are comfortable in and can be treated as a den with special treats in.
• Consider Medication or Supplements: If your dog has a chronic anxiety problem, your vet might recommend over-the-counter supplements or even prescription medication. These methods can help your dog relax a little more instead of being so wound up or rambunctious when you leave the home. Never start any supplement without speaking to your vet first, despite reviews and personal opinions you may have read.
• 5. Fear Aggression

Some dogs can be very fearful. Often, dogs that do not have enough early socialization or those that have been neglected or abused tend to show a bit more fear aggression. It can also be more common in certain breeds based on genetics.

• Never Punish: The worst thing you could do for a fear-based aggression is to punish your dog. When you become the aggressor, you are simply reinforcing the idea that there is something to be afraid of. Your dog has to feel safe with their owners in order to reduce this behavior.
• Build Confidence: You may be able to help your pup conquer their fears by exposing them to unpredictable things in a safe manner. Allow your pup an opportunity to interact with new objects or situations in their own time, with you around for comfort. Praise and reward for good behavior but don’t punish bad behavior. Over time some dogs may increase in confidence and their ability to react appropriately. Games such as a “noise box” where you put different objects in a cardboard box such as empty plastic bottles and scrunched up paper, then sprinkle in some dog treats. Let your dog explore the box as they root out the treats.
• Try Pheromones: Speak with your vet first, but using pheromones may work in your favor. Certain pheromones  can make them feel calmer and less fearful which can lower aggression rooted in fear.
• Seek Help: Never be afraid to get professional help if you are unable to achieve your goals. Animal professionals are there for a reason and can help us better understand the behavior of our beloved pooches. You can choose the method that works best for you in your budget.
• 6. Leash Pulling

Leash pulling can be very annoying to the person trying to walk the dog. If your dog is yanking on your arm, especially if they’re a very large dog, it can actually really hurt as well. Teaching your dog basic leash manners shouldn’t be difficult, but it can be time-consuming at first.

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of things that can help you with this training process. Certain harnesses are developed to make the learning process easier for dogs.

• Stop Walking: If your dog is pulling on a leash, the best thing you can do is stop walking completely. Wait for them to give you some slack, and then resume walking. This continual behavior will show your dog that pulling on a leash will not achieve faster results. Aim for loose leash walking rather than strictly at your heel.
• Buy a Special Harness: Training harnesses are designed in a way that makes leash training simpler. They have a front D-ring attachment that allows better control and assists you in teaching the dog to walk in a mannerly fashion.
• 7. Same-Sex Dog Aggression

Dogs reach sexual maturity while they are still considered puppies, and when dogs reach sexual maturity, things can really change for them. They can go from being playful, loving animals to getting in fights with their other doggy friends in the home. Same-sex dog aggression is very common and ranges in severity. This is not something that should be under-estimated as sadly some dogs will fight so fiercely that one is killed in the process.

• Separate Them: Separate the two dogs whenever you are not around to supervise. When you’re home, you can allow them to be together and reward them for good behavior, but separate them if there’s a problem. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it can teach boundaries and alleviate some of the regular fighting.
• Professional Training: Professional training can sometimes help with same-sex dog aggression. Unfortunately, this is often simply the product of personality and is sometimes not resolvable. But if you can’t help at home, a professional is your next best option to stopping or at least managing the behavior.

Digging can be problematic, and some dogs absolutely thrive while doing it, especially dogs that have burrowing instincts, such as Beagles, Dachshunds, and Terriers. Some will persevere no matter what barriers you put in between them and whatever they want to dig up.

The aesthetics of a dug up lawn aside, many dogs love to dig under their enclosure, creating an escape route, leading to potential danger.

• Natural Remedies: There are some natural dog repellents that you can use in your home or garden to deter your pet from digging. For example, some use citrus fruits or coffee grounds because they are known to keep dogs away. Some people swear by burying the dog’s own poop in the hole if they persistently dig up the same spot.This is not a surefire way to eliminate the problem, so you should always take other security measures as well.
• Create a Digging Zone: You can turn problematic behavior into a fun experience for your dog. Create a digging zone where they can play as much as they want. Make the site extremely alluring to dogs by using sand or another dry, grainy material to encourage your dog to dig. You can put bones, toys, and feather goodies in the sand for your dog to dig up. This could become a common outdoor game, and the dog might forget all about their favorite digging spot in the corner of the yard.
• 9. Resource Guarding

Some dogs can be very possessive about their belongings and resources such as food. They know when something is precious or important to them, and they will hold on to it for dear life, even if it comes down to a fight.

Dogs who resource guard often growl, pause, and show other aggressive and territorial tendencies when anyone tries to take something from them. This can be dangerous especially for children and other animals, requiring immediate behavioral intervention.

• Separate Resources: One way to help solve the resource guarding problem is to make sure that the dog has their own space that they don’t have to share with other dogs or people. For example, if you have multiple dogs, feed them in separate areas, even if you have to do so behind closed doors to keep the other dog out. Make sure everyone has the resources they need, enough food and water bowls for each animal. Start showing how to share using non-preferred items. Get your dog to share with you by offering lots of praise when they let you touch or take one of these items. As they get better at this, you can start to share their more preferred items, and then start letting other dogs or older children share with them.
• Teach Children to Give Space: Dogs can become aggressive if they think children are trying to take their food or toys, even if the child is just coming close to the dog while they are eating or playing. Teach children to give the dog space while eating, and teach children how to properly pet and interact with dogs to prevent them from taking something out of the dog’s mouth.
• Professional Help: Resource guarding may require the help of a professional. Speak to your vet, an animal behaviorist, or a professional trainer for advice on how to manage and prevent resource guarding.

If you need to speak with a vet but can’t get to one, head over to PangoVet . It’s an online service where you can talk to a vet online and get the personalized advice you need for your pet — all at an affordable price!

Click to Speak With a Vet

• 10. Mounting / Sexual Behaviors

One final problem that you might experience with dogs is mounting and other behaviors associated with sexual maturity. Dogs can reach sexual maturity as early as 4 to 6 months old, so you may start to see these behaviors even when they are still puppies.

Dogs may mount and “hump” objects, other pets, and even people. They may mark their territory and roam away from home when they are let outside, which can be dangerous for them. And it can lead to unwanted litters of puppies.

• Distract and Redirect: Some mounting behavior can be seen in dogs even if they are spayed or neutered. This behavior may be due to excitement or anxiety that is best calmed by a repetitive motion. For these instances, distracting your dog and then redirecting them with a toy or other activity often works well.
• Spay/Neuter: The best way to solve undesirable sexual behaviors is to spay or neuter your dog as soon as your vet deems it appropriate. You can talk to your vet about the benefits and risks as well as the best time to perform the surgery.
• When Is Rehoming Necessary?

While it’s an unpopular opinion, there are some circumstances where a pair-up just does not work. Certain behavioral problems can make it impossible for you to live a functional life with your dog, the dog may be better off in someone else’s hands .

If you find yourself losing hope and patience, and it seems that you’ve gone down every avenue or tried every solution and still came up empty-handed, it may be time to consider other options. You can speak with your vet, professional trainers, and shelters and rescues to find the best option or solution.

We certainly do not recommend getting rid of any dog before taking all measures to ensure you can keep them in your home. But when it comes to certain issues, such as aggression, it’s simply not safe to have a dog like that in your presence.

Here are a couple of problematic areas that will likely not be resolved within the home.

• Biting People

Biting any human is bad news for a dog. You certainly don’t want your dog to bite members of your family, and really don’t want them to bite guests in your home. Not only is this traumatic, it can also carry legal repercussions.

• Incapacity to Care for the Animal

Sometimes, we take on commitments we aren’t quite prepared for. If you’re a person who is losing a little mobility, has recently been diagnosed with a health condition, or otherwise had any kind of lifestyle change, you might not be able to keep up with your dog any more.

If they’re exhibiting extreme behavioral problems or some of the issues we mentioned in our list, it might be very hard, if not impossible, for you to keep up with demands.

The reality is no one gets a dog with the notion that they might get rid of them. In certain circumstances, people should absolutely keep the commitments that they said. And others, it can be a very complicated matter, and one that should cause no shame.

Dogs can develop bad behaviors for a number of reasons, some of which we can easily control and others that will take a significant investment of time or even money. No matter what your dog’s problem behavior is, you should seek advice from your veterinarian first to ensure that your dog is healthy and for tips on how to best correct that behavior.

• See also:   Why Do Good Dogs Go Bad? 8 Vet Reviewed Reasons & Solutions
• https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues
• https://www.merckvetmanual.com/behavior/normal-social-behavior-and-behavioral-problems-of-domestic-animals/behavioral-problems-of-dogs

Featured Image Credit: Zanna Pesnina, Shutterstock

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About the Author

Ashley Bates

Ashley Bates is a freelance dog writer and pet enthusiast who is currently studying the art of animal therapy. A mother to four human children— and 23 furry and feathery kids, too – Ashley volunteers at local shelters , advocates for animal well-being, and rescues every creature in need. Her mission is to create awareness, education, and entertainment about pets to prevent homelessness. Her specialties are dogs and cats.

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13 Common Dog Behavioral Issues & Tips to Solve Them

In this article:.

#1: Barking

#2: Separation Anxiety

#3: Fear of Loud Noises

#4: Destructive Chewing

#5: Digging

#6: Excessive Licking

#7: Aggression

#8: Eating Anything and Everything

#9: Begging

#10: Jumping

#11: Playing Too Roughly

#12: Submissive Urination

#13: Stealing Food, Clothing, or Other Objects

Whether it’s barking at nothing, digging holes in the yard, or even gnawing on your favorite shoes, many dog behavior problems may challenge your patience.

The good news? There are ways to help solve these issues! Let’s explore 13 common problems, understand why your dog engages in them, and learn some dog behavior training tips to help.

A note before we dig in: At the first sign of a problem behavior, it’s best to work on correcting it immediately. The longer you let it go, the harder it will be to reverse. Don’t hesitate to contact a professional trainer to help with these dog behavioral issues.

Behavioral Issue #1: Barking

Although you perceive barking as a bad dog behavior, it’s a natural habit that many dogs find enjoyable!

Why Dogs Do It

Barking is your dog’s way of expressing emotions like excitement, fear, or boredom. It’s typically a way to alert you, like if a visitor is at the door or another dog’s walking down the street. Otherwise, if your dog is hungry, needs to go potty, or is just happy to see you, they’ll “woof” to capture your attention.

Tips to Help Solve It

• Don’t “bark” back: Avoid yelling at or pleading with your dog as they bark. They could interpret it as needing to bark louder or repeating themselves until you stop.
• Teach them to bark on command: Use words like "speak" or "bark” as they’re barking. To encourage them, say "good speak” and give them a reward (they’ll need to stop barking to chew and swallow). When they’re finally quiet, say "good shush” and reward them again. 

Behavioral Issue #2: Separation Anxiety

If your furry friend excessively barks, whines, or attempts to destroy their surroundings every time you leave them, they may experience dog separation anxiety . In fact, it’s one of the most common dog behavior issues affecting 76% of American dogs, according to Certapet .

Although there is no one answer to what causes separation anxiety, some common reasons include the feeling of rejection (especially in dogs who have experienced loneliness and isolation before), a change in routine, a new environment, or discomfort with alone time.

Rehearse leaving your dog alone: The best way to acclimate your dog to your departures? Practice! Here’s a dog behavior training routine to try:  

• Decide to leave the house, but don’t make a big fuss. Put your furry friend in their crate or dog room , turn on some music, quietly grab your belongings, and leave. 
• Stay nearby, trying to keep an eye and ear on your dog without them knowing. If they get upset, allow them time to settle down. Otherwise, enjoy a silent cheer.
• When they’re quiet and you've been out for at least five minutes, return as if nothing happened. Put your things down and quietly & calmly greet your dog—no smothering them with affection. 
• Put on their leash and take them outside, just as you would if you were returning from a longer trip. They’ll eventually learn that you care for their needs once you come home.

Repeat this a few times a day in the first days and weeks, increasing the amount of time you are gone. If you're confining them to a single room, be careful about leaving anything they can accidentally chew or consume.

If you feel you've tried your best and the situation hasn’t improved, consider working with a dog trainer and your veterinarian. Your dog may need a remedy that helps with their nerves and dog behavior training to help them cope easier.

Behavioral Issue #3: Fear of Loud Noises

If your dog’s afraid of thunderstorms , sirens, or even the vacuum cleaner, there are two main reasons why: they have acute sense of hearing and/or they associate the sound with fear. 

Dogs can hear frequencies much higher than our own; in fact, there are some sounds only dogs can hear ! So, a high buzz or loud boom can be especially overwhelming for their ears.  Additionally, dogs connect familiar sounds with feelings. This can be joyful, like keys jingling in the door meaning their favorite person is home! But it can be nerve-wracking, like firework bangs reminding them of another stressful July 4th. 

Play chill music: Soothing music may help them relax and drown out undesirable noises. You can even find a playlist of calm music  for dogs! Keep your cool: Your dog often takes cues from you , so set a good example.  Consider a calming supplement: There’s a variety of chews or tablets with soothing ingredients like chamomile extract or ginger root that can help pacify your dog. Talk to your veterinarian for other solutions such as a prescribed medication. Talk to a behaviorist: If your dog is riled up no matter what you do, consult a professional to help identify the origin(s) of your dog’s stress.

🐶 Related: How to Calm an Anxious Dog: 5 Soothing Methods

Behavioral Issue #4: Destructive Chewing

First, it’s a bedroom slipper. Then it’s the dining table’s legs. It’s not long before your wonder why your dog is chewing everything in sight! 

Your dog is a natural-born chewer. Aside from its mental and physical benefits, chewing is a fun thing to do…and not a “bad” dog behavior issue as many believe. With appropriate chewing outlets, your dog can safely indulge their natural instinct to chew.

Offer chew toys: They’re a fun and flavor-packed way to let your furry friend do what they want: chew! There are many options to choose from, including cute chew toy  shapes, intriguing textures, and engaging flavors your dog will love. Chew toys not only entertain, but they help encourage positive chewing habits in the future.

Find Chew Toys

Behavioral Issue #5: Digging

Just like chewing, digging is a natural instinct for dogs. However, you’ll want to set some boundaries to ensure your furry friend isn’t creating holes around your yard!

This bad dog behavior is more common in breeds like terriers or hounds who were bred to hunt burrowing animals. Your dog might start digging out of excitement if they sense a creature underground, or they may be trying to stash their favorite toys—just how their wolf ancestors stored their food. And, as with many dog behavioral issues, boredom can also be to blame! 

Embrace the desire to dig: Set up a small sandbox in your yard where your dog can satisfy their instinct to dig. To encourage them to use that spot, bury something they need to dig out and offer lots of praise when they do. 

Redirect the behavior: If you don’t have a dedicated outdoor spot and your dog starts digging, they’re probably bored. Grab a dog play toy  and start a round of fetch. The same goes for indoors—your dog needs something better to do! Take them to their crate, bed, or dog room to enjoy a chew toy.

Behavioral Issue #6: Excessive Licking

Occasional self-grooming is normal…to a degree. It’s typical for dogs to lick their paws, legs, or tail to remove debris. But if your dog is excessively licking  and you suspect something is up, you’re probably right! 

Dogs sometimes lick to ease skin irritation, a food allergy, an ache, or even a parasite. It’s best to talk to your veterinarian to rule out more serious issues. Otherwise, the licking is a behavioral issue rooted in boredom or anxiety—and there’s plenty you can do to keep your dog occupied!

Provide mental stimulation: It’s time to change up your furry friend’s routine. Playing tug-of-war with your dog , teaching them a new trick, or exploring a new walking route are all simple things you can try today.

For an independent activity, toys are an easy, fun way to help keep your dog’s brain busy. This could be anything from a durable chew toy that helps your dog unwind to a more challenging puzzle or treat toy that delivers the enrichment they crave.

Create a calm environment: Just as mental stimulation can help ease feelings of stress, so can a relaxing space! Provide your furry friend a safe area to retreat, especially when they feel anxious.

Behavioral Issue #7: Aggression

It can be tricky to tell the difference between dog aggression vs. playing , especially because aggression can manifest in many ways. 

Does your dog stand and guard their food bowl? Do they bare their teeth at you when you try to grab their toy? Does their tail go high and stiff when they encounter another dog? These are all signs of aggressive tendencies. 

• Exposed teeth
• Ears flattened against the head
• A hard stare
• A high and stiff tail
• Sudden yawning
• Stay calm: Instead of an emotional reaction like yelling or stomping, maintain a calm voice and composed demeanor.
• Reward good behavior only: Distracting your dog with a treat or toy will send the wrong message. Only offer rewards once they simmer down.
• Alter their surroundings: Adjust your dog’s immediate environment, like removing the person or animal who’s triggering the behavior.
• Use a muzzle: Dog muzzles can help in certain scenarios where your dog is especially excitable, such as an at-home grooming session or introduction to a new pet. 

Behavioral Issue #8: Eating Anything and Everything

Furry friends who regularly eat nonfood items may suffer from pica in dogs, a condition where they’re compelled to eat almost anything they come across: grass, sticks, rocks, other animals’ droppings (known as coprophagia in dogs )—the list goes on. 

Dogs are descendants of wolves, so it makes sense that their eating habits are rooted in history. Because not all hunting expeditions were successful, wolves needed to eat what they could to survive.  Other factors at play include attention-seeking behavior, dog boredom , the desire to clean up their space, or plain ol’ hunger.

Restrict access to trash: Be sure to clean up your yard and keep trash cans securely closed. Eliminate table scraps: If your furry friend already tends to eat everything, feeding them from the table only reinforces pica in dogs. Increase meals: Talk to your veterinarian about your dog’s current mealtime routine and possible tweaks to keep them better satisfied. Give a stool eating deterrent: If your dog is eating their own feces, find a product that discourages the behavior. Our friends at Four Paws make Potty Mouth , a stool eating deterrent that’s formulated with cayenne pepper to make stool unattractive and yucca schidigera extract to reduce stool odor.   Keep your dog entertained: Going on walks, playing games, offering toys, and generally engaging in exercise will give your dog more to think about than what they can get their mouths on next!

Behavioral Issue #9: Begging

We can’t blame our furry friends for wanting to taste what we’re eating, but begging for food can quickly turn into a dog behavioral issue you face daily. It’s easier to prevent this habit than to reverse it completely, so create good habits as early as possible. 

Like chewing and digging, begging may be rooted in our dog’s instincts. Because their wild ancestors didn’t get regular meals, they needed to eat whenever they could. This means your dog has a natural knack for sniffing out tastiness!  Plus, if you’ve ever snuck your dog a table scrap (we’ve all been there), you’ve unfortunately taught them that their begging worked, and it’s now a learned behavior.  

Dine separately from your dog from the start: If you have a new furry friend in your home, start this routine from day 1! When it's time for you to eat, put your dog in their crate or another room with an occupying chew toy. Only let them out when you're finished. 

Confine your dog once they beg: It’ll be tough, but try to endure the barking and whining for as long as it takes. Once your dog quiets down, let them out. If you repeat this enough, they should learn that begging will not get them what they want. 

Feed leftovers in their food bowl: If you want to feed leftovers (just make sure they’re healthy human foods for dogs !), put them in your pup’s designated food bowl so it’s a regular part of their meal time. 

Behavioral Issue #10: Jumping

A jumping dog is hard to ignore! In fact, that’s likely why your dog jumps in the first place—to get your attention. While your dog’s intentions may be honorable, there are ways to help them avoid this bad dog behavior.  

Jumping is your dog’s way of saying “Hi, hey, hello!” Aside from wanting to greet you , they also may be excited about hearing someone at the door or seeing another dog. Other reasons could be anxiety or fear, but it’s not as common. If you think that’s possible, talk to your veterinarian or a behaviorist.

Master the “sit” command: Your dog can’t jump if they’re sitting down! Find a family member, friend, or neighbor to play “the guest” in this dog behavior training exercise:  

• Put your dog on their leash and have someone ring the doorbell.
• Tell your dog to sit.
• If they sit, you open the door. If they don't sit, wait until they do.
• When the guest comes in, hand them a couple dog treats  and ask them to give the “sit” command. If your dog sits, they get a treat. If they don’t sit, your guest turns their back on the dog for a moment while you hold their leash to ensure they don’t jump. 
• Both you and your guest should repeatedly ask the dog until they comply.

Behavioral Issue #11: Playing Too Roughly

Mouthing, tugging, wrestling, and chasing are all common ways dogs play, but sometimes sessions get a little too action-packed. In these cases, it's critical to settle rough play immediately. 

Like jumping, dogs play rough usually out of excitement. Younger dogs especially may not comprehend boundaries, so they need to learn what’s acceptable and what’s not. Otherwise, if they learned that rough behavior gets your attention, it’ll become a learned behavior. 

Create a calmer mood: You set the tone! Stop moving, quiet down, and keep your hands & arms close to your body. Even if your dog’s jumping on you, act like a statue. The same goes for anyone else who’s playing at the time; everyone should stop paying attention to the dog. 

Give a time-out: Once your dog’s settled enough to physically handle them, pick them up or lead them to their crate or room for a time-out. 

Reinforce appropriate behavior: You can have another play session later—but be firm in how you manage it. As soon as your dog gets overexcited, calm them down and stop. You can even run through some obedience training exercises to reinforce that you're the leader.

Behavioral Issue #12: Submissive Urination

If your dog has ever wet themselves when you greet them, scold them, or meet new people, you may have a submissive urinator.

As the name suggests, submissive urination is an act of deferring to someone else (in many cases, you, because you’re the one in charge). Your dog may tinkle to diffuse tension, let you know they come in peace, or signal they’re uneasy.

Rule out health issues: First, check with your vet to make sure the problem isn't due to something else. 

Confine your dog to an easy-clean spot: If you know there’s a good chance your dog will urinate, at least avoid it being on carpet.  

Greet them with minimal emotion: When you approach your dog after being away for a bit, be as emotionless as possible. Our furry friends can pick up on our feelings, which can contribute to their own anxiousness. If you suspect your dog will urinate, avoid acting reluctant, anxious, or generally suspicious. 

Lead them outside ASAP: Pretend they’re a stranger whom you must take outside as calmly and quickly as possible. If they urinate on the way, don't react. Keep heading outside and let them do their thing. Confine them again while you clean up any messes, and then get on with the rest of your day. Repeat this process! 

Behavioral Issue #13: Stealing Food, Clothing, or Other Objects

That single sock that randomly disappears? We can relate. Fortunately, stealing is among the easiest dog behavior problems to solve. After all, your dog can't steal what they can't access! 

If your dog ever snagged a snack from the table, it could be because they couldn’t resist the delicious scent. And if you then chased after them, they thought you just started a fun game! Knowing they got a reaction from you could prompt them to try it again, so it’s best to avoid indulging these antics. 

If your dog’s stealing personal items like socks or clothes, it’s because the items carry your familiar scent. It may be annoying, but the sentiment is sweet; they’re trying to feel closer to you, especially if you’ve spent some time away.

Otherwise, like many dog behavior problems, your furry friend may just be bored. Be sure to have other activities on hand: a mentally stimulating treat toy, an engaging chew toy, or play toys for some interactive fun. 

Resist a game of chase: If your dog does steal something, don't chase them, or you're initiating a game. Call them to you or go after them methodically and unemotionally until you can hold them. Give them the "leave it" command as you open their mouth. Just be careful doing this; if you sense your dog is getting aggressive, leave them be and confine them. If it happens repeatedly, consider visiting a behaviorist. 

On Your Way to a Well-Behaved Best Bud

Whether training your dog to learn a new behavior or modifying an existing habit, it's important to remember that every dog is different, and some tips may work better for some than others!

As you monitor your furry friend’s behaviors, stay as objective as possible. This will help you truly determine the source of the problem or what’s triggering them. Involve everyone in your household in the game plan to try to solve any dog behavioral issues.

Finally, if you aren't succeeding but know something must be done, seek professional help. With lots of commitment and patience, your dog will reward you with their love and trust!

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• Dog Training Tips

Common Behavior Problems in Dogs

32 common dog behavior problems and solutions

If you feel your dog is acting out of sorts then it’s worth looking at these 32 common dog behavior problems and solutions

Dogs don’t always behave in the way that you expect. They can bite, bark, respond poorly to commands, chew and constantly up jump on people – a far cry from the happy, waggy, playful little doggie that you always envisioned welcoming into your home.

But common dog behavior problems aren’t always a sign that there is something inherently wrong with your pooch. Likewise, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have failed to do something or that what you have done is wrong.

So here we present 32 common dog behavior problems and solutions to help put your pooch back on track. Half the battle is understanding why your dog is behaving in such a way and fixing problems isn't always difficult.

1. Excessive barking

Some dogs bark at everything and anyone. They may be fearful, frustrated, in pain, over-tired, bored or feeling distressed at being left alone. Try to work out what the trigger could be. Maybe the solution lies in desensitizing dogs , slowly working on one trigger at a time. Or perhaps it’s as simple as introducing the best dog toys to help mentally stimulate your canine.

2. Aggression

Aggression is a highly undesirable behavior and it can be dangerous to people and animals if left uncontrolled. It is usually caused by fear, frustration, dominance, possessive behavior and pain and illness. If you want to know how to tackle dog aggression rather than seek professional help, reinforce basic obedience training and use distraction tactics, perhaps with the best dog treats .

3. Nipping or play biting when a puppy

It’s natural for a puppy to nip or play bite. It can be a sign that they’re becoming familiar with the world, testing boundaries or even teething. But if it's tipping into aggressive behavior or the nips and bites are growing in frequency, take action. Try immediately and silently moving away from your dog for a very brief time to show that you don’t like the behavior. Make sure you don’t give the best dog treats at this moment and move your pet’s attention to something else such as the best dog chew toys .

4. Nipping or play biting when an adult

If nipping and play biting is still a problem in adulthood, there is usually an underlying problem. Sometimes the biting or nipping is out of fear or pain. Often it’s because a dog doesn’t understand the boundaries of play or they’ve become startled. The solution? You need to exercise your dog well, work on socializing them and allay their fears by showing them that you and others are not threatened. Teaching impulse control is important. A dog needs to understand (and act upon) commands such as “sit” and “no bite”.

5. Rough play

Dogs can play rough with you or with other dogs and it’s important to keep a close eye on them to make sure sessions don’t get out of hand or rough play becomes normalized. Watch for signs that dogs are becoming tense, starting to show their teeth or beginning to bark or growl. Remain calm, call your dog’s name, seek to distract them and end the play time. You may want to send your dog to their bed, put them on a lead or give them one of the longest lasting dog chews but don’t shout.

6. Lead pulling

Going for a walk is not supposed to be a battle of wills where you’re constantly having to stop your dog from pulling on the lead. Dogs pull on their leash because they become distracted and excited with the world around them. Knowing how to stop a dog pulling on a leash is, therefore, a lesson in getting them to focus their attention on what you want them to do and getting them to feel comfortable, ensuring their walks are calm. If they get to the end of their leads, stop and wait for your dog to realise that is their limit and, when they return, reward them.

7. Chewing and destructive behavior

Puppies should ideally grow out of chewing anything and everything by the time they reach adulthood but if they’re still gnawing and being destructive, be proactive. When younger, distract them with the best teething toys for puppies . Remove as many chewable items away from your dog as possible and identify potential causes such as separation anxiety (which we look at in more detail below). Is your dog hungry? Make sure they’re eating enough of the best dog food .

8. Separation anxiety

There’s a reason why dogs are humans’ best friend: there is mutual love. So when the bond is broken because you are absent, it can result in destructive behavior. Discovering how to reduce separation anxiety in dogs is crucial. You need to show your dog that you will be back – routines and building up the time you’re away can help with this. Be predictable and ensure your pet has their own comfortable space. Ensure your dog is well exercised and mentally stimulated, too, perhaps with the best dog puzzle toys .

9. Inappropriate elimination

This refers to dogs that are urinating and defecating at the wrong times and in the wrong places. Left unchecked, it can damage parts of your home, cause a stink and rapidly become unhygienic. Work on preventing unwanted poops and figure out how to stop your dog peeing in the house . Start by ensuring they’re getting plenty of opportunity to urinate and defecate outdoors, prevent them from becoming over excited and help relieve fears and anxieties. Be aware that infection or bladder stones can also be to blame, so seek professional help if you feel it’s appropriate.

10. Counter surfing

Nobody really wants to see dogs jumping up to grab food from the countertop, no matter how cute it was the first few times. So put a stop to dog counter surfing by placing a bowl of treats on the counter and, when you see that your dog isn’t reacting, reward them with one. If they jump up, say “no”, move the bowl and don’t allow them a treat. Eventually, your dog will realise that there’s nothing to be gained from leaping.

11. Begging

Dogs love food. That’s natural. We love food too. But you don’t want your dog to beg for your food or that of other people. As such, knowing how to stop dogs begging for food is useful and one of the first steps is to make sure nobody in your family feeds a dog from the table. It’s also a good idea to give your dog the best wet dog food while you’re eating by way of distracting them. With sufficient mental stimulation and rewards for those times your dog isn’t begging, you should be on your way to resolving the problem

12. Chasing other dogs

Dogs are interested in other dogs but you don’t want them to give chase. That can result in either your dog or the other dog (or both) being hurt. Early socialization and teaching dogs to respect commands such as “stop” and “come here” is important. When they do as you say, give your dog a tasty reward and lavish them with praise.

13. Chasing other animals

There’s a bit of a theme here. Dogs will also chase other animals and, in some cases, humans. If your dog has a natural high prey drive, then you need to be wary when taking them off-lead in public places or in situations where small animals are present. Again, early socialization is important, as is the teaching of stop commands.

14. Chasing anything that moves

You may find that your dog will seek to run after practically anything – including cars! Seeing your pet running after traffic is going to leave your heart in your mouth so familiarize yourself with 15 helpful ways to get your dog to come back to on off leash walks which includes good recall training, finding the right spaces to walk your dog, being consistent and offering appropriate rewards.

15. Jumping up on people

Dogs usually jump up on people because they want attention. And when people give a dog attention at this point, it only encourages them to continue behaving this way. The trick is to ignore your dog when it jumps and ask others to do the same. That means not looking at them, not pushing, not even talking. Eventually, dogs begin to understand that jumping up elicits no response.

16. Mounting

Dogs tend to hump – or mount – because they are bored, stressed, anxious or overstimulated. They may also be displaying sexual behavior because they are not yet spayed or neutered. Redirection and positive reinforcement can help, the idea being that you are distracting your pooch. Leaving them alone immediately after they have mounted can also be effective.

17. Digging

Ever wondered, “ why is my dog digging? ”. While your canine companion is likely acting on instinct, it’s nevertheless a common problem especially if you have a nice flower bed and your pet is destroying it! It can also be a sign of boredom and anxiety. The solution? Keeping a dog occupied in other ways by keeping them physically and mentally fit and by ensuring they have access to the best durable dog toys .

18. Food guarding

You would never want to chomp down on your dog’s food but your pet doesn’t know that. Get close to their food and they may become aggressive or even threaten to bite. In this situation you need to know how to stop puppy food aggression and that can involve actually giving them more food. You could also try feeding a dog from your hand (once they’ve calmed down, of course) to show that you’re a food giver not a taker.

 19. Fear of noises

It’s not unusual for anxiety in dogs to emerge when there are loud sounds such as fireworks or thunderstorms. You could try and get a dog used to these specific sounds by finding audio recordings of them online and playing them at a low volume before cranking it up gradually over time. Prevention is often better, though. Don’t take your dog for walks in a storm or when fireworks are being lit and try to mask the noises with other sounds such as rap music which is said to work well.

20. Howling

Howling is a form of communication. It grabs your attention and shows that dogs are alert to whatever is around them. Howling can be due to illness or separation anxiety, however, in which case seek professional guidance or find ways to comfort your dog when no-one is going to be around. If you feel howling is a way of seeking attention, ignoring the noise could help.

21. Whining

Whining is also a call for attention or a sign of anxiety in dogs . As with howling, it’s you suspect it’s a way of capturing your attention, ignore it and don’t give eye contact. Don’t show your dog that whining gets a response and try and treat your dog once the whining stops. If it’s due to anxiety, get to the bottom of what is causing the condition. A trip to the vet may be in order.

22. Hyperactivity

If a dog just can’t keep still and has far too much energy bubbling away inside its body, you may find that they’re simply not being exercised sufficiently. Always check the exercise requirements of your pooch to see how long they need to be walked and played with. If you’re not meeting a dog’s need for mental and physical stimulation, you will always have a boisterous pup on your hands.

23. Stealing items

Okay so your dog isn’t donning a mask, stripy jumper and carrying a sack with “swag” written across it but things do appear to be going missing and appearing in usual places. If this is happening then chances are your dog is trying to play a game with you. It knows that you will try to find the item or give chase if you catch the dog in the act. More attention and more playtime is often the answer.

24. Excessive licking

Are you finding excessive licking to be a little too gross? It feels fine every now and then but too much is actually a sign that something is wrong, whether that be an underlying health condition, anxiety, stress, boredom or pain. Self-licking is also a problem because it can damage the skin. If trying to calm your dog or stepping up the time you spend with your pet doesn’t work, it is worth popping to your vet for advice

25. Disobedience

So you issue commands, try and reason with your dog, give out treats and work through every trick in the book but still your dog is refusing to listen to you. It may be time to go back to square one and start obedience training from scratch. If you’re not sure what to do then bring a professional on board. Don’t bribe a dog and don’t punish either.

26. Overprotective of people

If your dog has become possessive of your or other people and won’t let anyone else come close, that’s a real problem. It’s a sign that they are feeling secure and they are trying to exert control. If you’ve gone past the early socialization stage, try and quietly put distance between you and the dog when it displays such behavior and seek treatment for separation anxiety. A trip to the vet is worthwhile.

27. Overprotective of property

Dogs can also become possessive of items, too. It’s fine if your dog doesn’t lose control or bite when someone approaches but you can encourage your dog to give up their toy by rewarding them with a treat when they drop it. You can also hand them an alternative and try to train dogs to understand that they will be rewarded every time they share a toy with you. Patience and understanding are key.

28. Escaping

Like Harry Houdini, your dog is proving to be something of an escape artist and you’re just not sure how to keep your dog in the yard . Working out why a dog is trying to escape, however, is important: is your pet feeling lonely, detached, sexually frustrated or isolated? In any case, the answer lies in ensuring a dog cannot escape so scour your home and yard for potential escape points and deal with them.

29. Eating feces

Yes it is gross but why do dogs eat poop? There are many reasons, hunger being one of them and if this is the case then make sure your pup is being well fed. Boredom can also be a cause so keep a dog mentally and physically stimulated, distracting their attention to any poops they may find. If these don’t work, consult a vet for further advice.

30. Excessive self-grooming

This is a similar problem to excessive licking and it will need to be tackled in case your dog is feeling stressed and anxious. Dogs who excessively lick around the joints could be unwittingly pointing out an underlying issue such as fractures or arthritis so visit a vet to assist if using the best dog toys don’t prove a good enough distraction.

31. Tail chasing

If you're desperate to know why do dogs chase their tails? then you are likely to have a pooch who is doing just that. They may simply be playing or be bored – engage with your dog at these times so the focus is away from the tail. It could, however, indicate an injury or irritation. Seek professional advice if you suspect something is wrong.

32. Showing fear at the vets

If your dog doesn’t like going to the vet, then you need to work with your vet on building your pooch’s confidence. Try taking your dog to the vet’s waiting room without the need for an examination then introduce some time with a nurse. If you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, you could book appointments during quiet periods. Your vet can advise the best times.

Want to find out why do dogs howl at sirens ? This feature reveals the answer. 

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5 Common Dog Behavior Issues and How to Solve Them

• September 20, 2023

Dealing with behavior issues is a significant part of owning a dog. From dogs running away to separation anxiety, each behavioral problem presents unique challenges.

In this blog post, we will do a deep dive into five common dog behavior issues and offer tips and strategies to help you solve them. These insights draw on techniques used at University of Dog to reinforce positive behaviors and reduce problematic ones. You can help your dog become a well-behaved family member through understanding, patience, setting boundaries, and consistency. 

1. My Dog Won’t Come When Called or Runs Away

One of the most common and potentially dangerous behavior issues is when your dog refuses to come when called or runs away. For instance, if a dog runs off in a public place, they could end up in a traffic-filled road or become lost in unfamiliar territory. If your dog refuses to respond to you, they may not be able to navigate safely back, resulting in harm or distress for both you and your dog.

Dog owners typically think this is an obedience problem, but it’s about the relationship you share with your dog. A strong, balanced relationship built on trust and respect will get your dog’s attention when a reward isn’t present.

Yes, obedience training helps, but when you’re not in practice mode, and treats aren’t involved, whether your dog comes when called depends on if they consider you important enough to listen to. Obedience training doesn’t make an obedient dog — building a solid relationship with your dog is crucial. 

Use Run Away Recalls

We use a technique at University of Dog called “run away recalls” – you run away and build your dog’s desire to come to you – with consistent practice and positive reinforcement to solve this issue through a strong reflexive response. 

When working on this skill with your dog, using a different phrase than your standard command for emergency recall can be helpful. Choose something unique – like “stat,” “pronto,” or “home” – and say it brightly, almost like a trumpet call. This specific sound will make the command more distinct for your dog.

Make sure not to overuse the recall cue. Only use this special cue in emergencies or when practicing obedience skills. When trained well, your dog will respond reflexively and come when called, no matter what’s happening around them. 

In practice, reward and praise your dog generously when they come when called. This must be done with your dog’s most prized reward: their favorite food, toy, or affection.

With time, patience, and consistency, you can train your dog to come when called, even when they’re running away. Remember that a strong relationship with your dog is the cornerstone of successful training. If your dog sees you as important in their world, they’re more likely to listen and take direction from you.

2. My dog pulls on the leash and lunges at strangers.

Does your dog pull on the leash or lunge at strangers, bikes, or other dogs when walking? This leash reactivity is a common concern among dog owners, which can turn a pleasant walk into a stressful experience.

The key to addressing this issue lies in understanding a simple formula:

A Tight Leash + Adrenaline = Reactivity

It’s like a match to gasoline. If we can teach very good loose leash walking, we can reduce leash reactivity by about 80%. The reason? There isn’t tension on the leash that often triggers the dog’s reactivity.

But what about the remaining 20% of dogs that still react? This subset may have been reactive for so long or might have genetic predispositions leading them to struggle with adrenaline response to excitement or fear. 

Around 5% of this subset may be stuck in an adrenaline/dopamine cycle – an addiction. These dogs may have had a legitimate reason to react defensively in the past, which led them to associate this state with empowerment. They seek out situations that trigger their adrenaline, contributing to their reactive behavior.

In these cases, applying appropriate perception modification principles and relaxation skills is crucial. This involves starting work with the dog under threshold and gradually raising the difficulty level, exercising patience in the process.

Teach Your Dog to Relax

To address reactivity, we must teach dogs how to enjoy relaxing and access GABA (a gamma-calming neurotransmitter). Many dogs don’t readily access this neurotransmitter, but once they experience the calming effect of GABA, they’re likely to seek it more often.

Think of relaxation and adrenaline as sitting on a 0-10 scale (0 is completely relaxed, and 10 is full adrenaline – barking, whining, and lunging). When a dog is out on a walk and primed for reactivity, they are sitting at a 7 or 8, on the verge of erupting. However, with relaxation practices, we can lower this baseline to a manageable 3 or 4, making them less likely to react at the slightest trigger.

At University of Dog, we teach a triad of relaxation practices for dogs that pull on the leash or lunge at strangers. In these practices, we teach dogs to self-satisfy through relaxing. Doing so improves their leash manners and contributes to their overall well-being.

3. My dog jumps on people. 

This issue is a common complaint among dog owners. Jumping can be a challenging habit to break, whether during greetings, when guests come over, or when the owner returns home. 

Often, this behavior traces back to puppyhood, making correcting it from the start crucial. Let’s see how we can nip this before it becomes a significant problem.

Addressing the Behavior in Puppyhood

The issue usually starts innocently. Imagine a 9-week-old puppy approaching you and placing their paws on your shins, seeking attention. If you pet them in response, you’re teaching them that putting their paws on you will get your attention. 

This pattern continues, and while it may not bother you when they’re small, it becomes a problem as they grow bigger. When this behavior that has worked for so long suddenly doesn’t yield the desired attention, the dog may resort to more vigorous attempts to gain your attention, such as jumping. 

So, it’s essential not to encourage such behavior in puppies. Instead, reward them when they keep their paws on the floor.

Addressing the Behavior in Dogs

If the dog has already developed the jumping habit, you can try to offset it. For food-motivated dogs, sprinkle a “confetti party” of high-value treats, like crumbled bacon, redirecting their excitement to search the floor, keeping their paws on the ground. Only acknowledge the dog once they have settled down.

Additionally, teaching dogs to respect threshold areas (such as the entrance door) can help manage this issue. Mark off these areas with painter’s tape, and through fair boundary correction and reward, the dog can learn to stay back when someone is coming through the door.

Teaching Alternative Behaviors

We can also teach them alternative behaviors, like going to a specific bed or area. The dog gets acknowledged in that area; thus, they begin to associate that area with positive reinforcement. But it’s essential to give your dog a choice; if you merely direct them to a spot without any options, they aren’t learning to control their behavior.

Letting the dog think they have a decision or shaping the situation so they believe it’s their idea often yields the best results. It’s always better when the dog thinks it’s their idea.

4. My dog steals and guards items.

A commonly observed behavior among dogs is what’s known as resource guarding. This refers to when a dog becomes overly protective or possessive over an item or “resource,” such as food, toys, or specific spaces. 

Understanding why this happens and how to address it is essential to maintaining a peaceful and safe home environment. Resource guarding often starts from puppyhood, and certain behaviors from their human counterparts can inadvertently encourage it. 

Implement a Trade System

If your puppy picks up something and you immediately take it from them, you’re teaching them to protect their finds. It’s the same principle as if you found a $100 bill on the street, and someone just came up and took it. The next time, you would guard it or hide it. 

It’s crucial to implement a trade system. Offer a treat or toy of higher value to encourage your dog to drop what they have willingly.

Puppy-Proof Your House

To reduce the chances of your dog taking something important, puppy-proof your house. Keep items that your dog might be inclined to steal out of reach. Also, avoid playing chase games, which can inadvertently encourage stealing and guarding behaviors.

If your dog has picked something up, an effective strategy is to drop multiple pieces of food, redirecting their attention from the object to the food. As they go to grab the food, you can calmly pick up the item and put it away.

Think About How You Feed

A common misconception is that you should put your hand in your puppy’s food bowl to prevent food guarding. However, this can be seen as threatening and can encourage resource guarding. 

Instead, you must build a solid relationship based on trust and respect . This means playing fair, sharing, and not coveting objects your dog values.

If you want to have your hand involved with feeding, consider hand-feeding your puppy. Doing so builds trust and helps you to develop a stronger bond.

Teach Reflexive Response to “Drop It” and “Leave It”

It’s important to teach behaviors like “drop it” and “leave it.” Playing games such as tug and fetch can also be helpful, as they allow your dog to practice these behaviors. For example, in a game of fetch, they’re instructed to drop the toy before they can play again.

Overall, addressing issues related to resource guarding requires patience, understanding, and consistent, fair training.

5. My dog has separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety can be a serious issue among dogs. It’s characterized by signs of distress and problematic behaviors when separated from their primary caretaker. It can be a significant challenge for many dog owners, but understanding its root causes and how to manage it can make a world of difference.

This issue usually begins during puppyhood. For instance, after bringing a new puppy home, many pet parents make the mistake of immediately responding to their puppy’s cries when placed in the crate. After this pattern repeats several times, the puppy learns to associate crying with getting let out of the crate, which can plant the seed for separation anxiety to develop.

Teach Your Puppy to Self-Soothe

It’s important to let your puppy learn to self-soothe. Cover the crate and let the puppy cry for a while, usually around 10-30 minutes before they stop. To simplify this process, consider using a puppy toy you can stuff with food and freeze. 

Remote feeders are also available that hang on the crate door and provide food at varying intervals. Doing so helps keep the puppy occupied and encourages them to settle.

If you notice that your puppy cries for over an hour straight, this may indicate a more serious problem, and you should seek professional help.

Handle Personal Space in a Healthy Way

If your dog tends to be overly clingy, introduce a place bed and teach them to stay on it even when you’re nearby. This is a great way to establish boundaries and promote independence.

Incorporate crate nap times in your routine, complete with a relaxing environment and a chew toy. “Exercise pens” are also excellent for teaching your puppy about boundaries. These are 4×4 areas that you can move around, providing a safe space for your puppy to play and rest while you’re a few feet away.

Separation Anxiety in Older Dogs

A three-sided approach may be helpful for older dogs with deeply ingrained separation anxiety. This process involves balancing the relationship, teaching them impulse control through good obedience training, and applying relaxation techniques. In some cases, short-term medication may also aid the training process.

Remember, dealing with dog separation anxiety requires patience and understanding. 

Solve Common Dog Behavior Issues at University of Dog

Each bark, growl, or wag has a meaning in the complex and nuanced language of dog behavior. As we have seen, many common behavioral issues stem from misunderstanding, fear, or the need for connection. 

Addressing them requires patience, consistent practice, and a balanced relationship built on mutual respect and trust. Here at the University of Dog, we understand these needs and have developed our training to help you navigate your journey as a pet parent. Whether you have a new puppy at home or an older dog exhibiting challenging behaviors, we can help. 

We use evidence-based methods grounded in best practices (Best Practices Dog Training™) that respect the emotional needs of your pet while providing you with the tools you need to guide them effectively. We believe in fostering strong, positive relationships between dogs and their owners that stand the test of time.

At University of Dog, we believe every dog deserves guidance and love. Take the first step in transforming your relationship with your dog – take a course today .

If you’re already experiencing difficult behaviors, you’re not alone. We offer a 90-minute behavioral consultation where you meet with our behavior modification specialist. She will answer your questions and explain how to address your dog’s behavior concerns with homework.

After 5-10 business days, you’ll receive a custom behavioral plan including various skills to learn and recommendations for classes and private sessions to address your dog’s behavior. You can schedule your consultation now !

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Home > Dog Training > Solving Dog Behavior Problems

Solving Dog Behavior Problems – Dog Training That Works

By Michele Welton , Dog Trainer, Breed Selection Consultant, Author of 15 Dog Books

All puppies (and adult dogs, too) do some things you would rather they not do!

So you're reading this page because your dog is doing something you don't like – some behavior you want him to do differently – or simply stop doing.

• Housebreaking "accidents"
• Barks too much
• Won't let go of things
• Steals food when you turn your back
• Jumps on people
• Chews on your hands
• Constantly seeks attention
• Guards his food or toys
• Pulls on the leash
• Aggressive toward people or other dogs
• Struggles when you try to restrain him
• Chases the cat
• Chews on the furniture or your belongings
• Did I mention housebreaking "accidents"?

The "magic word" for virtually all dog behavior problems is "No." But what you do AFTER you say "No" is the true solution for stopping dog behavior problems. Do you know what to do next?

"How can I stop my dog from....?"

One of the most common questions dog owners ask me is: "How can I stop my dog from (doing some specific behavior problem)?"

Alas, my answer is almost always the same, no matter what the misbehavior is. Here it is (free of charge):

You need to tell your dog, "No. Stop that."

Does that sound too simplistic? It probably does, because most owners respond in a frustrated voice, "But I already tell my dog No! He still doesn't listen!"

Fair enough. Here is what is going on. Either he really doesn't understand what No means (this is the truth in MANY cases), or else he understands it but doesn't see any reason why he should obey it.

There are two key points here, you see...your dog must understand the word (I can show you how to teach words properly) and then he must respect you enough to obey it. Because without respect, your dog may UNDERSTAND what you say, but he doesn't see any reason why he should DO what you say. (Unless you're bribing him with a cookie, which only works sometimes – usually NOT when you need it most.

No matter how large or how small, all dogs need to respect their owners. I teach my small dogs to respect me in the exact same ways I taught my German Shepherds.

Getting your dog to respect you means interacting with him in specific ways that encourage respect.

You might be thinking, "But I already know how to interact with my dog. I care for him and I love him.... it's easy."

Actually, it isn't so easy, because canines see and interpret the world differently than we do.

Whenever you do anything with your dog, even just walking through the kitchen, or petting him, or speaking to him.... he is busy judging your tone of voice, your facial expression, your body language, how you're touching him, how you're responding when he does "X" or "Y".

All of these seemingly little things are very, very important to your dog. They're the clues he uses to draw conclusions about you and to decide whether you're worthy of respect or not.

• If you interact with your dog in certain ways that are WRONG for canines, he will conclude that even though he loves you, he doesn't need to obey you. And you will see behavior problems.
• If you interact with your dog in all the alt ways, he will conclude that he not only loves you, but also that you're a capable leader worthy of respect. Then he will obey when you say, "No. Stop that." (assuming, of course, that you have taught him what it means so that he understands)

Respectful dogs don't misbehave. It is as simple as that.

Well, okay....ALMOST as simple as that. There are a few more things your dog needs in order to be well-behaved.

Dogs need enough exercise and active play sessions to tire them out. Some dogs need only moderate exercise, while others need LOTS to make them feel content. You must meet the needs of your particular dog.

Exercise, Activities, Companionship

Even respectful dogs will misbehave if they don't get enough exercise, interesting activities to do, and daily companionship.

Dogs are sociable creatures.

• If you leave your dog home alone for 8 hours , he will feel bored and frustrated.
• If you leave him outside for hours at a time, he will feel bored and frustrated.
• If you don't provide enough exercise and activities, he will feel bored and frustrated.

Boredom and frustration are major causes of behavior problems in dogs.

Dogs vent boredom and frustration by destroying things.... digging holes.... rambunctiousness.... escaping.... barking...

Those "misbehaviors" cannot be solved by training. Your dog has every right to vent his boredom and frustration when his needs of Exercise and Companionship are not being met. You must meet those needs while ALSO teaching commands and a respectful attitude. That's how you raise a well-behaved and contented dog.

What you should do right now to prevent or stop behavior problems

You need to learn the right ways to interact with your dog – and the wrong ways too, so you don't do those!

You need to know how to teach the Magic Word ("No") to your dog and how to respond if he doesn't obey it.

That's how you stop behavior problems. With that one word.... plus respect... plus however much exercise and companionship it takes to keep your dog satisfied.

I can guide you with my complete training program, which is available free on my website. Scroll down to read it!

My best-selling books – now available   FREE   on my website

Copyright © 2000-2024 by Michele Welton. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be copied, displayed on another website, or distributed in any way without permission from the author.

Dog Behavior Problems and Solutions: Tips for a Well-Behaved Dog

Bringing a dog into your home can be a wonderful experience, but it also comes with challenges. Dogs, like people, have their own personalities and habits, which sometimes lead to behavior problems.

From excessive barking to chewing on furniture or dealing with anxiety, these issues can be frustrating. However, with the right guidance and a bit of patience, you can help your dog become well-behaved and happy. In this blog, we’ll explore common dog behavior problems and give simple, effective solutions. Let’s get started!

Factors influencing dog behavior 

Dog behavior is influenced by a couple of factors, including genetics, environment, and training. Understanding these factors can help you better manage and improve your dog’s behavior.

Genetics plays a big role in how a dog behaves. Just like people, dogs inherit traits from their parents. Some breeds are naturally more active, while others are more calm. This is why some dogs may be more likely to bark, dig, or herd, depending on their breed’s history.

Environment is another key factor. A dog’s surroundings, including their home, neighborhood, and the people and animals they interact with, can greatly affect their behavior. A dog raised in a busy city may behave differently than one living in a quiet countryside. Stressful or chaotic environments can make dogs anxious or fearful, while a calm and positive environment can encourage good behavior.

Training is important in shaping a dog’s behavior. Dogs learn from their owners, and consistent training helps them understand what is expected of them. Positive reinforcement, like giving treats or praise for good behavior, can be very effective. On the other hand, lack of training or inconsistent rules can lead to confusion and unwanted behaviors.

By paying attention to these factors—genetics, environment, and training—you can help guide your dog toward better behavior and a happier life.

Common Dog Behavior Problems and Their Solutions

Dogs communicate through barking, but sometimes it can become too much. Understanding why your dog barks a lot is the first step to solving the problem.  Here, we’ll look at why dogs bark too much and offer easy solutions to help make your home quieter and more peaceful.

1. Excessive Barking

Excessive barking can be a problem that disturbs your home and stresses both you and your dog. Figuring out why your dog barks too much is the first step to solving it.

Causes of excessive barking

Excessive barking can be caused by many things, including boredom, fear, anxiety, or trying to get attention. Some dogs bark to alert their owners of something unusual, while others bark when they’re left alone for too long.

Solutions and training tips to reduce barking

To reduce excessive barking, try to figure out the reason first. If your dog is barking because it is bored, provide more exercise and mental stimulation. If they bark to get your attention, try not to respond immediately, so they learn that barking isn’t the way to get what they want. Training techniques like teaching the “quiet” command and rewarding your dog for calm behavior can also help. Be consistent with your training and patient as your dog learns.

2. Destructive Chewing

Destructive chewing is a common problem that can damage your belongings and frustrate you. Understanding why your dog chews destructively and finding effective ways to redirect this behavior will help protect your home and keep your dog happy.

Reasons dogs chew destructively

Dogs may chew destructively for a couple of reasons, such as boredom, anxiety, or teething. Puppies, in particular, chew because of their growing teeth. Adult dogs might chew things up if they are feeling stressed or if they don’t have enough toys to play with.

Effective methods to redirect chewing behavior

To stop destructive chewing, make sure your dog has a lot of toys to chew on, and keep your personal items out of reach. As we mentioned above, regular exercise and mental stimulation are important to keep them busy and reduce boredom. If your dog starts chewing something they shouldn’t gently redirect them to an appropriate chew toy and praise them when they use it. Using chew deterrent sprays on furniture and other items can also help discourage your dog from chewing on them.

3. Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is a challenging issue for both dogs and their owners. When dogs get anxious about being alone, they might act in ways that are upsetting. Knowing the signs of separation anxiety and taking steps to help your dog feel more comfortable on their own can make a big difference.

Signs of separation anxiety

Dogs with separation anxiety may show signs such as excessive barking or whining when you leave, destructive behavior like chewing or digging, and accidents in the house. They might also become overly clingy or anxious when you prepare to leave or when you’re away.

Steps to alleviate anxiety and build independence

To help your dog with separation anxiety, start by making your departures and arrivals low-key to avoid adding to their stress. Gradually get your dog used to being alone by leaving them for short periods and slowly increasing the time. Give them toys or puzzles to keep them occupied while you’re gone. Creating a comfortable space for your dog with their bed and favorite items can also help. Consistency and patience are key in helping your dog build confidence and feel more secure when alone.

4. Aggression

Aggression in dogs can be a serious problem, but understanding its types and learning how to manage it can help. Different types of aggression need different ways to handle them properly.

Types of aggression

• Fear Aggression: This happens when a dog feels threatened or scared. They may act aggressively to protect themselves from what they see as danger.
• Territorial Aggression: This happens when a dog feels that their space, such as their home or yard, is being invaded. They may show aggression towards anyone who enters their territory.
• Protective Aggression : Dogs may become aggressive when they feel the need to protect their family or other pets from what they see as threats.

Different types of aggression need different ways to be handled. For more details on managing fear aggression, like its causes and signs, check out our blog on Fear Aggression in Dogs: Causes, Signs, and Management Tips .

Techniques to manage and reduce aggressive behavior

To manage aggression, it’s important to first identify the cause.

-For fear aggression, slowly get your dog used to what scares them and use rewards to encourage calm behavior.

-For territorial aggression, avoid confrontations and provide clear boundaries to your dog while using positive reinforcement for good behavior. 

-For protective aggression, teach your dog to respond to commands and focus on training to reduce their need to protect. In all cases, be patient and consistent, and consider seeking advice from a professional dog trainer or behaviorist if needed.

5. Housebreaking Issues

Housebreaking issues are common, especially with puppies or newly adopted dogs. Understanding the problems and applying the right strategies can help your dog learn where to go to the bathroom.

Common housebreaking problems

Some common problems include dogs having accidents inside the house, not knowing where to go, or having trouble holding their bladder. Changes in routine, stress, or not being taken outside often enough can also lead to these issues.

Proven strategies for effective house training

To successfully house-train your dog, set a consistent schedule for bathroom breaks. Take your dog outside regularly, especially after they eat, drink, or wake up. Praise and reward your dog immediately when they go outside, so they learn that this is the right behavior. If there are accidents inside, clean up thoroughly to remove any smells that might attract them back to the same spot. Be patient and consistent, and avoid scolding your dog for accidents, because this can confuse them. With time and practice, your dog will understand where to go.

6. Jumping on People

Jumping on people is a common behavior in dogs, often seen as a way for them to greet or seek attention. Although it might seem cute when they’re small, it can become a problem as they grow. Understanding why dogs jump and using training tips to discourage it can help manage this behavior.

Why do dogs jump on people?

Dogs often jump on people because they are excited to see them and want to get closer to their faces. It’s their way of greeting or seeking attention. Sometimes, dogs also jump because they are trying to assert dominance or because they’ve been unintentionally rewarded for this behavior in the past.

Training tips to discourage jumping

To discourage jumping, try to ignore your dog when they jump on you. Turn away and avoid eye contact until they have all four paws on the ground, then reward them with attention or treats. You can also teach your dog an alternative behavior, like sitting when greeting people. Be consistent with this training, and ask friends and family to do the same, so your dog learns that jumping is not acceptable. Over time, your dog will understand that staying calm and keeping their paws on the ground is the best way to get attention.

7. Pulling on the Leash

Pulling on the leash is a common issue that can make walks stressful for both you and your dog. Let’s see why dogs do this and how to teach loose leash walking:

Causes of leash pulling

Dogs often pull on the leash because they are excited to explore their surroundings or because they haven’t been trained to walk properly. They may also pull to reach something interesting, like another dog or a smell, or simply because they walk faster than their owner.

Solutions to teach loose leash walking

To teach your dog to walk on a loose leash, start by rewarding them for staying close to you. When your dog begins to pull, stop walking and wait until the leash is loose again before continuing. This teaches your dog that pulling gets them nowhere. You can also use treats to encourage your dog to walk beside you. Practice in low-distraction areas before gradually moving to busier places. Consistency and patience are key; with time, your dog will learn to walk calmly by your side.

Digging is a natural behavior for many dogs, but it can become a problem when it damages your yard or garden. Let’s see why dogs do this and how to prevent them from digging:

Reasons for digging behavior

Dogs dig for a couple of reasons, including boredom, trying to cool down, hunting for small animals, or burying toys and food. Some dogs dig because it’s in their nature, especially breeds that were historically used for hunting or burrowing. Others might dig to create a comfortable resting spot or to escape from under a fence.

Tips to prevent and redirect digging

To prevent digging, make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, so they’re less likely to dig out of boredom. Give your dog suitable things to chew on or specific spots to dig in, like sand or soft soil. If your dog is digging to cool down, make sure they have a shaded area and plenty of water. If they’re digging to hunt or escape, block access to the areas where they dig and address the underlying issue. Channel their energy into better activities and reward them for good behavior to help cut down on unwanted digging.

Positive Reinforcement Training Techniques

Positive reinforcement training is a method that focuses on rewarding good behavior to encourage your dog to repeat it. It’s a gentle and effective way to teach your dog new commands and correct unwanted behaviors, making training a positive experience for both of you.

Positive reinforcement can be as simple as giving your dog treats, praise, or affection when they do something right. The key is to reward your dog immediately after the desired behavior so they can connect the action with the reward. This technique can be used to teach basic commands like “sit,” “stay,” and “come,” as well as to address issues like jumping, barking, or pulling on the leash.

Using positive reinforcement consistently will teach your dog that good behavior brings rewards, making them more likely to follow your commands. 

When to Seek Professional Help?

Sometimes, even with your best efforts, some dog behavior problems might be too hard to fix by yourself. 

If your dog shows aggressive behavior, severe anxiety, or problems that don’t get better with basic training, it might be time to see a professional dog trainer or a vet behaviorist. 

Professionals know how to understand your dog’s behavior, find out why it’s happening, and create a special training plan just for them. They can also help if your dog’s behavior is putting them or others at risk.

Preventing Future Behavior Problems

Preventing future behavior problems in your dog is easier when you start with good habits. Make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise and things to do, like playing games or learning tricks. This keeps them busy and less likely to get into trouble. Use positive reinforcement training to teach your dog what is right. Reward them with treats or praise when they do something good.

Socializing your dog with other dogs and people helps them feel comfortable in different situations. Keep a routine for feeding, walking, and playtime, so your dog knows what to expect. Regular vet visits are also important to make sure your dog is healthy.

FAQs About Dog Behavior Problems and Solutions

Understanding dog behavior can be challenging, and many pet owners have questions about how to address common issues. Here are some frequently asked questions to help you better manage and improve your dog’s behavior.

1. How long does it take to correct a behavior problem?

The time it takes to correct a behavior problem varies depending on the issue and the dog. Some problems may improve within a few weeks with consistent training, while others might take longer. Patience and consistency are key.

2. Can older dogs learn new behaviors?

Yes, older dogs can learn new behaviors. It might take them a bit longer to adjust, but with positive reinforcement and patience, they can learn just as well as younger dogs.

3. What are some quick fixes for minor issues?

For minor issues, try distracting your dog with a toy or treat, praising them for good behavior, and removing things that cause problems. These easy steps can often fix small issues quickly.

Addressing dog behavior problems can feel overwhelming, but with patience, consistency, and the right techniques, you can help your dog become well-behaved and happy. Whether it’s barking, chewing, or leash pulling, understanding the reasons behind these behaviors and using positive reinforcement can make a big difference.

Remember, every dog is unique, and some may need more time and guidance than others. Don’t hesitate to seek professional help if needed. By training your dog, giving them a loving environment, and being consistent, you can avoid many future problems and build a strong bond with your dog.

Hi, I'm Aleksandra. With years of experience in the grooming industry and a deep passion for animal care, I share my expert grooming tips and techniques to help pet owners keep their furry friends looking and feeling their best. Join me on Groom House for professional advice and tutorials tailored to your pet's grooming needs.

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Dog Problem-Solving Training

Did you know that a well-trained dog exhibits fewer behavioral problems and enjoys a happier life? Whether you’ve just welcomed a spirited puppy or a serene older dog into your home, embarking on a training journey can turn daily life into a joyful and harmonious adventure. The secret lies in timely guidance and dog problem-solving training, which are essential to building a bond filled with mutual respect and understanding. Let’s explore how to foster an ever-flourishing companionship with your furry friend.

Tackling Behavioral Issues Head-On

Addressing behavioral issues in dogs, such as excessive barking or furniture chewing, is a prevalent challenge many owners face. While these issues might seem overwhelming initially, effective problem-solving techniques can help you manage them successfully. Understanding your dog’s unique personality and needs is the first step in preventing minor issues from escalating. Here are some strategies to tackle behavioral issues effectively:

• Understanding the Root Cause : Identifying why your dog is acting out is the first step towards finding a solution.
• Personalized Training : Tailoring training to suit your dog’s personality and needs.
• Positive Reinforcement : Encouraging good behavior through rewards and praise

Embrace a Guided Approach to Problem-Solving

Our problem-solving lessons at The Dog Wizard offer a structured approach, assisting owners in effectively identifying and tackling a range of behavioral issues in dogs. This training process facilitates a more profound understanding between the owner and the dog, establishing a foundation built on mutual respect and trust. This method will solve existing issues and prevent potential problems, enhancing the joy of sharing your life with a loyal canine companion.

Establish a Safe Haven through Crate Training

Crate training is a priceless tool for all dog owners, creating a safe personal haven where dogs can relax, enjoy meals, or unwind. It aligns with a dog’s instinct to seek safety in an enclosed area. Combining crate training classes with leash training ensures safety and comfort during walks. Contact us through our form for personalized advice on crate training.

Uncover Your Dog’s Unique Personality

Effective problem-solving involves delving deep into your dog’s personality and instincts. Dogs, much like humans, have their quirks and traits. Spending time with your dog helps you grasp what captures your dog’s attention, setting the stage for rewarding training interventions. Watch how your furry friend behaves in different situations to understand their personality comprehensively.

Spot Early Signs of Problem Behaviors

Being proactive in recognizing the early signs of problem behaviors is vital. Sometimes, these behaviors originate from underlying factors that aren’t instantly noticeable. Paying attention to your dog’s habits and actions can unveil potential issues and prevent them from spiraling out of control. In cases where your dog exhibits signs of anxiety or aggression, consulting a professional trainer for guidance can be a game-changer.

Implement Strategies to Prevent Aggression

Aggression in dogs can manifest in different forms, such as growling or biting. These early signs are essential to prevent accidents and maintain a safe environment. Here are strategies to prevent aggression in your dog:

• Identifying Triggers : Recognize and understand the triggers, whether territorial or fear-induced, that cause aggressive behavior in your dog.
• Dog Obedience Training : Enroll your dog in obedience training to control and correct aggressive dog behaviors early on.
• Safe Environment : Create a safe and secure environment to prevent incidents and facilitate better control over your dog’s behavior.

Handling Destructive Behaviors: From Biting to Barking

Almost every dog owner will, at some point, need to address destructive behaviors like biting, chewing, or excessive noise. These behaviors might indicate discomfort, boredom, or anxiety. Addressing these issues swiftly can prevent further problems. Techniques such as positive reinforcement can guide your dog toward more desirable behaviors.

Redirecting Attention-Seeking Behaviors

Often, dogs develop attention-seeking behaviors to communicate with their owners. These can include persistent noise or destructive actions. Here are some strategies to identify and redirect these behaviors constructively:

• Identifying the Root Cause: Delve deep to understand the underlying reasons behind the attention-seeking behaviors.
• Engaging Activities: Introduce your dog to mentally stimulating activities or fun games to channel their energy positively.
• Setting Boundaries: Train your dog to understand and respect boundaries within the home.
• Consistent Responses: Maintain consistency in your response to prevent confusion and foster better understanding.

The Significance of Early Intervention

Early intervention in problem behaviors can prevent minor challenges from growing into difficult situations. Consistent private dog lessons from puppyhood can nurture a healthy bond, making it easier to address and solve issues as they arise. This proactive process fosters a less stressful and enjoyable training experience for both parties.

Building a Harmonious Connection

A harmonious owner-dog connection thrives on trust and mutual respect. Here’s how you can foster a fulfilling companionship with your pup:

• Understanding Your Dog’s Needs : Invest time in understanding your dog’s unique personality and preferences.
• Open Communication : Foster a communication line where your dog can ‘talk’ to you through signals and body language.
• Reward-Based Relationship : Build a bond that thrives on rewards, praise, and positive reinforcements.

Establishing Trust and Rapport: The Foundations of Problem-Solving

Trust and rapport are the cornerstone of successful problem-solving training. As an owner, building a trust-based relationship with your dog is vital. Recognizing and responding to your dog’s signals fosters a fruitful connection that enhances life for both parties.

Cultivating a Strong Bond with Your Dog

Building a bond with your dog is a continuous endeavor filled with play and fun. Activities that captivate both can strengthen this bond, making the training phase more enjoyable. Rewarding good behavior with treats or praise further solidifies this connection.

Embracing Your Role as the Owner During Training

In the lesson course, your role as the owner is central. Your patience, understanding, and familiarity with diverse training methods considerably influence the training’s success. Are you ready to train your dog in problem-solving? Gain access to expert advice by reaching out through our contact form.

Behavioral Analysis: Understanding and Addressing Underlying Causes

To kickstart effective problem-solving training, owners must pinpoint the triggers and underlying causes of their dog’s problematic behavior. Observing when and where problems like excessive noise can guide a successful training course. These insights pave the way to correcting these issues and cultivating a harmonious bond.

Leveraging Problem-Solving Techniques for Behavioral Analysis

Owners can employ problem-solving techniques to analyze better and comprehend their dog’s behaviors. Seeking assistance from experts like The Dog Wizard to create personalized training programs can be beneficial. Owners can foster a happier and healthier connection with their animals by focusing on specific areas and applying targeted solutions.

Training Approaches: Encouraging Positive Behavior

Positive reinforcement training is a vital tool in fostering good behavior in dogs. This approach emphasizes rewarding the dog for positive behavior, encouraging them to repeat it. This method has proven to be an easy way to address several behavioral issues successfully.

Using Treats Effectively in Training

Treats in training are a popular method to encourage dogs to behave well. Here’s how to use treats effectively in training:

• Positive Association : Utilize treats to create a positive association with desired actions.
• Balanced Approach : Maintain a balanced approach to avoid potential food aggression or over-dependence on treats.
• Choosing the Right Treats : Select treats suitable for your dog’s age, size, and dietary needs.
• Timing is Key : Offer treats at the right time to reinforce positive behavior effectively.

Encouraging Good Behavior Through Praise and Rewards

Giving praise and rewards when they display good behavior is key. This positive feedback encourages them to repeat these actions, fostering a loving and respectful bond. Rewards can range from verbal praise to a favorite toy, keeping the training sessions engaging and enjoyable.

Habituation and Conditioning: The Foundations of a Happy Canine

Understanding habituation is essential in problem-solving lessons. This process involves accustoming the dog to certain stimuli or situations where it no longer triggers a reaction, a fundamental aspect of conditioning a dog to display desirable behavior.

Introduction to Classical and Operant Conditioning

Comprehending and utilizing the principles of classical and operant conditioning are fundamental in dog lessons. These strategies form the basis of a rewarding problem-solving regimen, fostering the development of good habits and the elimination of undesirable ones.

Paving the Path to a Joyful Canine Companion

Embarking on a problem-solving journey with The Dog Wizard guarantees an enjoyable, educational, and bonding experience. Our expertise in handling different breeds and temperament types makes us your ideal partner in molding a well-mannered and joyful canine companion.

Embark on Your Dog’s Journey to Excellence with The Dog Wizard

Ready to forge a delightful, fulfilling, and joyful bond with your furry companion? Your search ends here! Join The Dog Wizard today for a revolutionary journey in problem-solving training.

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If you're looking for help treating your dog’s behavior issue, or just curious about why your dog does what he does, you've come to the right place. Find out more here about common dog behavior issues to help you and your pup address some of our canine friends' behaviors and habits.

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Effective Strategies for Solving Dog Behavior Problems

Every dog owner understands the joy and companionship of having a furry friend. However, along with the perks of canine companionship, there may be challenges in managing and understanding specific dog behavior problems. Addressing these issues is crucial for a harmonious relationship between you and your four-legged friend. Let’s explore some effective strategies for solving common dog behavior problems.

Identifying the Root Cause

Understanding the root cause of a dog’s behavior problem is the first step in finding a solution. Behavioral issues can stem from various factors, such as fear, anxiety, boredom, or even medical conditions. Observing your dog’s environment, routine, and triggers will help provide valuable insights into the underlying causes of their behavior.

Positive Reinforcement Training

Utilizing positive reinforcement proves highly effective for molding desired behaviors in dogs. Reinforce positive actions by rewarding good behavior with treats, praise, or toys, encouraging your dog to repeat them willingly.This method encourages a strong bond between you and your pet while effectively addressing unwanted behaviors.

Consistent Training Techniques

Consistency is key when it comes to training dogs. Establishing clear rules and consistently enforcing them helps your dog understand expectations. Whether it’s discouraging jumping, barking, or leash pulling, maintaining a consistent approach across all family members ensures that your dog receives clear and coherent signals.

Enrichment and Mental Stimulation

Many behavior problems in dogs result from boredom or lack of mental stimulation. Engaging your dog’s mind is achieved through enrichment activities like puzzle toys, interactive games, and routine walks. Mental stimulation alleviates boredom and reduces the likelihood of destructive behaviors.

Socialization Opportunities

Exposing your dog to various environments, people, and other animals is crucial for their social development. Proper socialization can prevent issues like aggression or fear-based behaviors. Gradual exposure to new experiences in a controlled manner helps build your dog’s confidence and adaptability.

Seeking Professional Guidance

Certain situations may necessitate the skills of a skilled dog trainer or behaviorist. These experts can evaluate your dog’s challenges and customize an effective training plan to resolve them. Seeking early guidance can prevent the escalation of behavior problems and ensure a positive outcome.

Creating a Safe and Comfortable Environment

Dogs often exhibit problematic behavior when they feel insecure or stressed. Ensuring a secure and cozy environment for your beloved pet is vital. Providing a designated space, using calming pheromones, and maintaining a consistent routine can contribute to a sense of security, reducing anxiety-related behaviors.

Regular Veterinary Check-ups

Medical issues can manifest as behavior problems in dogs. Regular veterinary check-ups help rule out any underlying health issues contributing to your dog’s behavior. Pain, discomfort, or hormonal imbalances can influence behavior and should be addressed promptly.

Patience, empathy, and dedication to positive reinforcement are crucial. Cultivate a joyful bond with your dog by uncovering root causes, applying steady training methods, and ensuring a holistic approach to their physical and mental health. Keep in mind, adapting your strategy to your dog’s distinct needs is essential for effectively managing behavior challenges.

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10 Dog Behavior Problems and How to Solve Them

From jumping and nipping to barking and begging, even the best dogs come with typical behavior issues that frustrate and upset owners. In fact, problem behaviors top the list of reasons why dogs end up abandoned or surrendered to shelters. Let’s take a look at some of the most common dog behavior problems. Along with them, we will also share few tips to follow and overcome such issues.

It's natural for dogs to jump up when greeting people, but this behavior can be dangerous and unwanted. To curb jumping:

• Turn away and ignore your dog when he jumps. Only give him attention when all four paws are on the ground.
• Ask guests to do the same.
• Teach an alternative behavior like "sit." Reward that instead of jumping.
• Practice greeting people calmly on leash so you can correct unwanted jumping.

Puppies explore objects by putting them in their mouths, while older dogs may chew when bored. To reduce chewing:

• Puppy-proof your home by removing shoes and other tempting objects.
• Provide lots of appropriate chewing toys so your dog always has an option.
• Use crates and baby gates to restrict access when you can't supervise.
• If your dog is chewing out of boredom or anxiety, increase his exercise, play time, and access to human company.

Begging/Counter Surfing

Dogs beg and steal food because they've learned it gets results. Instead:

• Feed your dog at scheduled times rather than leaving food out. It is a proven way to overcome dog behavior issues.
• Don't give table scraps or feed your dog during human mealtimes.
• Reinforce a "go to your spot" command during meals.
• Manage counter access via baby gates, keeping food out of reach, or by keeping your dog outside of the kitchen during meal prep.

Pulling on Leash

Dogs pull on leash because they want to explore faster than we walk. To curb pulling:

• Use high value treats to frequently reward slack leash walking.
• Stop moving when your dog pulls. Resume walking only once leash pressure eases.
• Try a no-pull body harness or head halter to reduce your dog's ability to pull.
• Take a loose leash walking training class for additional guidance.

Dogs may bark out of alarm, anxiety, greeting, playfulness, or boredom. Reduce excessive barking by addressing the underlying cause:

• Desensitize your dog to things that alarm him like noises, people, or other animals. Use counterconditioning techniques.
• Increase exercise, stimulation and companionship if barking from boredom or loneliness.
• Train your dog to stop barking on cue followed by a treat when he complies.
• Contact your vet if your dog's barking seems obsessive or anxiety driven.

Digging often signals exercise or stimulation needs aren't being met.

• Provide more daily exercise to ensure proper dog behavior. This includes both mental and physical - to see if this reduces digging urge.
• Restrict your dog's access to areas you don't want dug up.
• Try providing your dog with a designated digging area filled with loose soil or sand. Bury treats there to encourage using that space instead.

House Soiling

House soiling happens when a dog isn't fully potty trained, isn't given enough opportunities to "go" outside, or experiences sudden changes in habit like a health issue or new schedule. Solve by:

• Sticking to a consistent feeding and potty break schedule that matches your dog's needs.
• Completely clean all soiled areas with enzymatic cleaner to remove smells that draw dogs back.
• Limiting a young dog's access to the house until fully potty trained. Use crates and baby gates.
• Revisiting housetraining basics like rewarding all outdoor potties.
• Checking with your vet about urinary tract infections or digestive issues.

Separation Anxiety

Dogs with separation anxiety display undesirable behaviors like barking , destruction, and house soiling only when left alone. Improvements come from:

• Keeping departures/arrivals low key by downplaying hellos/goodbyes.
• Making sure your dog exercises beforehand and has food puzzle toys when alone.
• Recording your dog when alone to distinguish anxiety signs vs. boredom or reminders to potty.
• Very slowly getting your dog used to being alone, starting with seconds and building up.

Attention-Seeking

Attention-seeking behaviors like barking, whining, blocking your path, or nosing at you are often inadvertently rewarded by well-meaning owners petting or scolding them - which is still attention! Instead, reduce attention-seeking behaviors by:

• Making sure your dog receives enough daily exercise, play, training and enrichment.
• Requesting an alternate desirable behavior first before giving your dog what he wants, like petting.
• Completely ignoring attention-seeking behaviors unless dangerous. Pay attention again only when the behavior stops.

Aggression has a range of causes, requires professional intervention, and safety precautions like muzzles when needed. Your vet can refer you to trained behavior experts who use reward-based behavior modification programs to:

• Change your dog’s underlying emotional response to triggers like strangers or other dogs.
• Teach alternate non-aggressive behaviors.
• Help manage environments and prevent undesirable reactions.
• Prescribe anxiety medications if warranted alongside behavior modification plans.

Final Words

Don’t let frustration over your dog’s annoying behaviors overwhelm you. With knowledge of these common problems behind undesirable canine actions, you now have a starting point to curb each one with patience and persistence. Remember, you have the power to not only stop unwanted behaviors in their tracks, but also influence your dog’s conduct by managing his environment and rewarding actions you prefer instead.

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The Behavior Problems Flow Chart

All the most common dog behavior problems (and solutions) on one page!

What Kind of Dog Behavior Problem Does Your Dog Have?

And how can you resolve it?

Download the PDF version here:  Behavior Problems Flowchart 2023.pdf

You are welcome to share this document with anyone. 

Dog behavior problems can be confusing, frustrating, and overwhelming. Sometimes, it's hard to even figure out what the real problem is. Or which problem is most important. 

This flow chart brings clarity and order to the world of dog behavior problems and their respective solutions.

You can download the jpeg version of this file by Right-clicking on the image below, then selecting "Save Image As..." or something similar.

If you'd like to learn more about the dog training techniques that appear in this document, keep reading, or enroll in our free course;  Six Simple Steps to Solve Your Dog's Behavior Problems .

Or, join the Top Dog Academy to get access to ALL of our online courses, plus our private support community, for just $20/month.

As you can see, there's three main types of problems: Household Problems, Temperament Problems, and Obedience Problems.

Each type of problem comes with a set of solutions.

There is one solution that is universal. Stop feeding your dog from a food bowl. If your dog behaves in ways that you want to change, then it doesn't matter what type of problem they have, you should not feed them from a food bowl, because food is a very powerful and easy to use dog training tool.

HOUSEHOLD PROBLEMS The first type of dog behavior problem are household problems. These are the problems that occur when your dog is unsupervised at home. Dogs spend most of their time at home, unsupervised at home so resolving these problems is usually worth prioritizing. 

Resolving Household Problems is all about house training. You have to teach your dog how to behave in a human home. You need to teach your dog where to potty and how to spend their time. The key to all of this is teaching your dog to love chewing on their chew toys and spending time resting quietly in their crate or on their bed.

This is incredibly easy to do if you use your dog's daily allotment of food. Simply feed your dog while they are inside their crate with hollow chewtoys filled with food.

SEPARATION ANXIETY

If your dog is afraid about being left alone  it's very important that you proceed very gradually so you don't traumatize them, which can increase their fear. Chew toys and crates are still essential tools, except that you don't confine your dog inside their crate until you know they are happy being inside their crate. 

Once they are happy to be confined in their crate while you are present , you gradually train them to be happy being confined in their crate while you are absent, by very gradually decreasing the level of your presence your dog needs to feel comfortable and safe.

TEMPERAMENT PROBLEMS

When dogs are afraid, reactive, or aggressive, it demands immediate attention because it's a sign that the dog is suffering. Chronic fear and anxiety are very unpleasant and often have a terrible impact on quality of life, for dogs and their owners.

The first question with temperament problems is whether the dog is dangerous. If the dog is dangerous, as shown by one or more biting incidents where the dog caused serious injury to a person or another dog, then safety is the #1 priority because there is a very good chance someone will get injured by this dog again. In these cases you really need the guidance of a dog training professional who can evaluate the dog and their environment in-person.

Fortunately, most fearful, reactive, and even "aggressive" dogs have never caused a significant injury. They might bark, lunge, snap and even bite, but when all is said and done, no one was physically harmed. If that is the case then this dog is quite safe to work with, and the solution is simple. Progress should be immediate and evident, but fully resolving the problem can take months.

The key tool is Classical Conditioning, to teach the dog to feel good about things that currently make them feel bad. Food is often the simplest way to classically condition your dog, but attention, praise, toys, games and fun are all very powerful tools as well.

It's also very valuable to teach your dog some basic obedience skills so you can manage their behavior and attention. Teaching your dog to reliably Come, Sit-Stay, Watch Me, and play Tug gives you some really useful tools for redirecting your dog when they are feeling uncomfortable about something in their environment.

OBEDIENCE PROBLEMS

If your dog has a behavior problem and it isn't due to fear, and it doesn't happen when your dog is at home, unsupervised, then the solution is simple, but also complicated!

The simple answer is: Train your dog to do specific desirable behaviors on cue, promptly and reliably. When your dog engages in undesirable behaviors, ask your dog to do one of the desirable behavior instead.

The complicated part is: How do you go about teaching a dog to do a behavior on cue? What behaviors do you teach?  How do you get them to do it promptly and reliably?

One of those questions is pretty simple: you really only need to teach a handful of skills to take care of most dog behavior problems. In fact, a solid Sit-Stay will take care of almost all of them, all by itself, if the reliability is good enough.

In addition to Sit-Stay, it's helpful to have a reliable Settle-Down, Go to Your Bed/Mat, Come, Off, Take It, Get Your Chew Toy, Walk (on a Loose Leash), and Shush.

Teaching your dog to perform these to perform these behaviors on cue is also pretty simple.  The technique is called Lure Reward training and there are  4 steps: 1. Cue, 2. Lure, 3. Behavior, 4. Reward.

For example, 1. Give a  Cue (like a hand signal or a spoken word) and then 2. Use a Lure to get your dog to 3. Do the Behavior you want and then 4. Give your dog a Reward.

The tricky part is teaching your dog to do these behaviors on cue promptly and reliably, even when there are other interesting or exciting things happening in their environment.

To do this, you really have to harness the power of rewards that are even more powerful and meaningful to your dog than food. Food is a great place to start when teaching obedience skills, but it's only the first step.

If you'd like to learn more about the dog training techniques that appear in this document, keep reading, or enroll in our free course; Six Simple Steps to Solve Your Dog's Behavior Problems .

ANOTHER VERSION

Fitting everything onto one printable page was pretty tricky so we made this alternate version that isn't constrained in the same way. It's mostly the same concepts but with a little more space and information.

You are welcome to share this version as well. It's not intended for printing though so there's no PDF version.

Looking for more DADDs (Dunbar Academy Downloadable Documents)? You can find them here.

Behavior Problem Solving

Videos and handouts. Many times when pet owners try to solve a behavior issue, we end up unintentionally making it worse. Whether it’s jumping up, chewing, or a fear-based issue, you can learn the basics of how to begin helping your dog with his undesirable behaviors. While there are no miracle cures, and we recommend consulting with your veterinarian and/or a behavior consultant for any serious issues, you can get started on the right paw with some scientifically sound advice!

Fear Free Happy Homes. (2021). Behavior problem solving. Fear Free Happy Homes. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/kit/behavior-problem-solving/#video_link4

Photo: iStock.com/ThamKC

Related Resources

• Self-Reported Comprehension Ratings of Dog Behavior by Puppy Owners
• At-A-Glance: Social Interactions: Applications – CRONEY RESEARCH GROUP
• At-A-Glance: Social Interactions: Dogs and Other Dogs – CRONEY RESEARCH GROUP
• At-A-Glance: Social Interactions: Dogs and People – CRONEY RESEARCH GROUP
• At-A-Glance: Social Interactions: Handling – CRONEY RESEARCH GROUP

Solving Dog Behavior Problems Through Stimulus Control

Most of us teach our dogs a limited number of behaviors, usually only the ones which make our daily life manageable. Yet we also know that dogs develop certain behaviors on their own to some degree.

If we paid attention, we would realize what triggers and rewards lead to those behaviors that dogs seemingly develop out of the blue. Humans often simply miss those connections. Our dogs, however, don’t. They notice so much more than we realize. That’s frequently how problem behaviors take root.

If you’re up to the challenge (and this is some fairly advanced dog training), consider putting those problem behaviors under what’s called “stimulus control.” Essentially, you can teach your dog to do the behavior only when you ask for it – almost like a dog trick.

What is Stimulus Control?

There are 4 rules for stimulus control:

1. The dog does the behavior every time you “cue” or ask for it.

2. The dog does not offer the behavior if you haven’t asked for it.

3. The dog does not offer the behavior in response to any other cues or triggers.

4. The dog does not offer any other behaviors when you give the chosen cue.

Stimulus Control for Dogs Example #1: Jumping Up

For 9 years, I lived with a fearful Border Collie. One of the things she did when she got nervous was jump on me by standing on her hind legs and putting her paws on my chest.

I decided to honor her need for comfort by allowing her to jump on me in this way, but I wanted to control the behavior.

If we were in a situation where she needed my comfort, I could ask her to jump up on me (using the verbal cue “stretch” and the physical cue of tapping my chest). I like to think teaching this as a trick gave her some control too. Instead of a panic-driven behavior, it became one she chose to do because I’d asked for it and rewarded it.

Stimulus Control for Dogs Example #2: Barking

Barking is another problem behavior that some people try to put under stimulus control. Many fail because they don’t follow the process all the way through, and they don’t “proof” the behavior – which essentially means testing it to see if it meets all 4 rules of stimulus control.

When it comes to barking, which can be a self-rewarding behavior for dogs, people often choose to teach both a bark cue and a stop-barking cue. Think of it as an on/off switch for the behavior.

Others owners choose to teach a “quiet cue” instead. Getting dogs to bark on cue is one thing; getting them to stop barking in real-world situations is something else. You have to set up and train specific bark-inducing scenarios for training to be effective.

Miriam Hughes, a dog artist and dog trainer in North Carolina, teaches “bark”/”be quiet” in a 3-step plan which responds to a guest arriving at the home and ringing the doorbell:

1. Wait inside the closed door with your dog on a short leash.

2. Have your training “guest” ring the doorbell, but don’t open the door. Instead, say “Sssh” and give your dog a treat when she takes a break from barking. She will probably bark again. Wait for her to stop. Say “Sssh” again, and give her a treat. Do this at least 10 times (with one doorbell ring at a time) so your dog recognizes the pattern of getting a treat for being quiet (after a bark or two).

3. Have your training “guest” ring the doorbell and let them in this time. The guest must completely ignore the dog while you continue to “Sssh” and give treats.

Hughes admits that most people get frustrated with barking and fall back to telling the dog “NO!” The key is to stick with the plan and time your rewards well so that you are rewarding the quiet and not the barking.

…And a Stimulus Control Dog Failure

I talked to my own dog trainer about this article, and she told me that most people don’t follow the rules and don’t train the behavior completely. This results in dogs who bark (or exhibit any other problem behavior) more, not less. If you’re not fully committed to the process, stimulus control isn’t something you should try.

You really have to train in specific scenarios and test to see if your dog has the behavior under control. You cannot simply wait for real-world situations to crop up and try to teach stimulus control; you have to set up those situations and train your dog in a controlled environment.

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10 Best Dog Supplies for Solving Bad Dog Behavior Problems

Table of Contents

• 1PetSafe Clik-R Training Tool

2 How to Raise the Perfect Dog

• 3Citronella Spray Can Refill for Spray Bark Control Collars and Remote Trainers Safer Humane Bark Collars

4 Four Paws Wee-Wee Pads for Puppies/Adults

5 don't shoot the dog, 6 lupine training lead, 7 agility training for you and your dog, 8 the well-behaved puppy, don sullivan perfect dog fast results pet training package, 10 training the best dog ever.

M ost pet parents will have to deal with bad dog behavior. Anything from dog training issues to misbehavior like peeing in your home, chewing your belongings, or destroying your furniture when you're not home. Use some of the below-listed best dog supplies for correcting bad dog behavior problems.

Pet owners who are new to training dogs or solving their behavior issues should know that it's essential to get this as soon as possible. The minute you notice your Fido misbehaving, that's your cue to start thinking of how to correct this misbehavior. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to correct your pooch's habit of chewing your stuff.

Using a combination of a few dog supplies listed here, such as a good dog training book , dog clicker equipment, and a dog repellent spray, should be more than enough for the majority of pet owners to fix most bad behavior issues in their dogs. If you need more tips on correcting bad behavior, watch our video on how to stop dogs from chewing   or how to stop puppies from biting . These step-by-step instructions will help with training.

10 Best Dog Supplies for Bad Behavior Problems

1 PetSafe Clik-R Training Tool

This is one of the favorite dog training tools in many homes and certainly one of the best products for solving the most common dog behavior problems .

With the Clik-R from PetSafe , you can train your dog with just the click of a button. You'll be able to train your pet to sit, stay, lie down, and much more with this handheld dog training clicker. Spending some time training your dog is necessary to avoid many behavioral problems later down the line.

Many dog experts agree that clicker training is the ultimate way to train your pooch with the use of positive reinforcement – it's the most humane way of training dogs today. There are lots of tips and tricks out there for dog training , and the PetSafe Clik-R will help your dog understand that he will be rewarded for following commands.

Once you teach your pet that a click means a treat is coming, you’ll be ready to train them to do nearly anything , from the most basic obedience commands to difficult tricks and agility training. This device is equipped with a finger strap that makes it much more comfortable and easier to hold than other similar dog training products. Clicker training instructions and a lanyard are included in the package as well.

Cesar Milan is definitely a name you will hear in households with dogs who are beginning to train their dogs for the first time.

With his best-selling dog training book, How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond , you will have all the information you need to care for your pet from the time you bring your puppy home through all of their adult stages. Cesar always has plenty of tips , information, and advice for dog owners.

You'll learn everything you need to know in order to create the best environment for a well-balanced dog and what to expect throughout every stage of your canine's life. In the book, Cesar explains in great detail how to housebreak your puppy , how to establish rules and boundaries, and provide calm-assertive leadership.

Cesar Milan has a friendly and encouraging way of explaining things to dog owners, which has been proven to work time and time again. This book is packed with information that is geared toward both new and experienced dog owners. It answers owners' most commonly asked questions and will guide you toward a happy, loving, life-long relationship with your canine companion.

MORE READING: 25 Best Dog Books You'll Ever Need

3 Citronella Spray Can Refill for Spray Bark Control Collars and Remote Trainers Safer Humane Bark Collars

Citronella spray is considered to be one of the most humane methods of controlling excessive barking. Once Fido starts barking, it doesn't cause any physical harm to the dog. The spray is non-toxic and simply releases a strong scent that dogs find unpleasant.

Citronella spray can be effective because it distracts and interrupts the dog's barking. Once the dog starts barking, the citronella collar emits the spray, which will surprise your dog and stop him from barking.

Over time, Fido can become conditioned to associate the unpleasant citronella scent with barking, which can help reduce the frequency of excessive barking.

Pee pads are one of the best dog products for solving canine behavior issues because turning your home into a bathroom is what almost all puppies love to do.

These  Wee Wee Pads from Four Paws are great to have on hand while toilet training puppies and also work well for older dogs with incontinence issues.

Four Paws Wee-Wee Pads use the company's 5-ply leak-proof Floor Armor system, so they are extremely absorbent and come with a 100 percent leak-proof guarantee. They are also made with a heavy-duty leak-proof liner that protects floors and carpets from the wetness and odor of dog urine. It's a perfect tool to use while toilet training puppies .

The built-in attractant draws your dog to the pad for easier training, and the super-absorbent quilted core allows for maximum absorption. Plus, the quick-drying top layer prevents your pet from tracking their mess around the house . These Wee Wee Pads are available in many sizes to fit any dog, from puppies to extra-large breeds.

RELATED: 15 Best Puppy Potty Pads for Toilet Training

This is a very informative, easy-to-follow book that is full of must-know dog training tips.

Karen Pryor's Don't Shoot the Dog! The New Art of Teaching and Training has accompanied many home dog trainers on their road to a well-behaved dog. Karen is a dynamic animal trainer who believes in the principles and practical uses of positive reinforcement when teaching a dog new behaviors. In this book, she explains the main principles of animal behavior.

Don't Shoot the Dog!  has many examples that are used to teach and draw focus to a more positive way of working through behavioral challenges with your dog. Pryor focuses on clicker training to create new behaviors and change bad behaviors without yelling at, forcing, or punishing your dog. It's definitely a must-read for dog owners .

In this book, Karen Pryor also includes her eight methods for putting an end to all kinds of undesirable dog behaviors and her 10 laws of shaping behavior through “affection training.” It is an excellent resource for anyone looking for a solid training method to work on with their pup.

One of the best products for solving dog behavior problems is a good training lead.

Lupine Training Lead is great to use on your dog when teaching him about basic walking commands like stay  and come . It is a perfect tool to help you teach your dog how to walk on a leash . This lead also gives your dog enough room to explore without getting into too much trouble.

Lupine leads are made in Conway, New Hampshire, and are guaranteed, even if they get chewed. Most other companies do not make that offer on their leads. These dog leashes are made from woven nylon and can be machine-washed and air-dried.

Lupine leads are made with strong bar-tack stitching and convenient reverse-gate snaps. They are available in lots of colors to match any dog's personality and style, and they come in 15-feet and 30-feet lengths.

RELATED:  9 Best Dog Tech Devices Pet Owners Love

When dogs have too much cooped-up energy, they can behave badly, and, believe it or not, it hurts their feelings as much as it does yours when you have to scold them.

Sometimes, the answer can be as easy as your dog needs to burn off a little of that pent-up excitement. Agility Training for You and Your Dog: From Backyard Fun to High-Performance Training  by Ali Canova, Joe Canova, and Diane Goodspeed is a great book to teach you all about dog agility training and you'll learn creative ways to help your Fido let off some steam.

Joe and Ali Canova are two of the top dog agility competitors in America, and they've written this book to get you and your canine started in agility training. They make it easy with their step-by-step approach and footing diagrams, not to mention the course illustrations and beautiful ­­photographs. They guarantee success for any dog breed, from medium and small family dogs to extra-large breeds.

Agility Training for You and Your Dog even offers ideas and techniques on how to build your own agility course right in your own backyard. Trust me, your dog will love you for it! You can even train your pooch to perform professionally if he enjoys the sport that much.

RELATED: Top 5 Best Playpens for Dogs

If you're looking for a good read that is quick and very easy to understand, this is the book for you. It won't take long to get through, and you can apply what you learn right away.

The Well-Behaved Puppy   by Dominique De Vito is an old-school dog training approach that works. Even after you finish reading it, you can use it as a quick reference guide when you need a refresher.

So you've adopted a puppy, or you're thinking about it at least, now what do you do ? This book teaches you all the basics that you need to know to solve common behavior issues that will arise with your new furry family member, including house training, walking, jumping, manners, and so forth. This quick reference guide describes all the basics of caring for your new pup.

Dominique De Vito is a certified dog trainer and a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and the Dog Writers Association. The Well-Behaved Puppy  is a great training aid to assist you in raising a well-behaved puppy that you'll be proud of.

Buying the best puppy toys and hoping your new dog won't chew your belongings isn't the best way to train a puppy.

If you have the time, patience, and determination to work one on one with your dog, then this is the perfect package for you.

Don Sullivan's Perfect Dog Fast Results Training Package  offers guaranteed results for any size and breed of dog.

The easy-to-follow method took decades to develop, but it has been proven to work effectively. The patented Command Collar imitates the correction of your dog’s mother, just like when he was a puppy. With the help of this training package, you will eliminate aggression, jumping, leash pulling, and unnecessary barking, plus many more behavioral challenges that you may be experiencing with your pooch.

Once you've purchased a dog , it's your duty as a pet owner to train him as well. The Fast Results Package teaches the basic techniques and also adds special reinforcement exercises using the proprietary fetch ball. Your dog will learn key obedience commands like come, stay, and lie down while getting his much-needed exercise. It also includes 100% leather training gloves that will add strength to your grip and protect your hands.

RELATED: 9 Best Dog Tech Devices Pet Owners Love

Before throwing in the towel and giving up on training your dog, you NEED to read this book. After reading it, your pet will be a completely new canine.

With the help of Training the Best Dog Ever: A 5-Week Program Using the Power of Positive Reinforcement by Larry Kay, your pooch will be a more obedient and well-behaved dog, guaranteed. First, you'll learn what causes bad behavior in the first place, and then Moore explains the ways to work through them and teach your dog better ways to behave.

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Current Trends in Canine Problem-Solving and Cognition

Ádám miklósi.

1 Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest

2 MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

Enikő Kubinyi

Dogs have occupied a central place in modern comparative cognition, partly because of their specific past and present relationship with humans. Over the years, we have gained insights about the functioning of the dog’s mind, which has helped us to understand how dogs’ problem-solving abilities differ from those present in related species such as the wolf. Novel methodologies are also emerging that allow for the study of neural and genetic mechanisms that control mental functions. By providing an overview from an ethological perspective, we call for greater integration of the field and a better understanding of natural dog behavior as a way to generate scientific hypotheses.

The New Momentum of Dogs in Comparative Cognition

During the hundred years that followed groundbreaking research initiated by Pavlov, Thorndike, and many others, comparative cognition had not reached its full potential. In the mid-1990s, research focused mostly on humans (infants) and apes, with some attention to a few mammalian and bird species (for review, see Shettleworth, 2010 ). Research on dogs including observational work by ethologists ( Fox, 1971 ) and experimental studies exploring their problem-solving abilities ( Frank, 1980 ) helped to stimulate renewed comparative interest in the study of canines. The (re)discovery of dogs as a subject of interest was a true revolution for the field of comparative cognition, which is only now beginning to fulfil its early promise. Interestingly, this process began only recently ( Hare, Call, & Tomasello, 1998 ; Miklósi, Polgárdi, Topál, & Csányi, 1998 ; Topál, Miklósi, & Csányi, 1997 ), without any particular precedents ( Feuerbacher & Wynne, 2011 ). The development of rigorous experimental procedures and high research standards has allowed us to use methodologies that were not available before to ask important scientific questions in the study of dogs. For example:

• The specific domestication history of dogs enables researchers to investigate how microevolution affects social cognition. Although dogs have been selected to live in an anthropogenic environment, representative populations of similar species (wolves, dingoes, feral dogs, etc.) are still available for comparative research to understand this process ( Miklósi, 2014 ).
• Dogs have gained the potential to share a variety of relationships with humans. Thus, the social developmental environment of dogs has been quite varied. Some dogs have a very intimate bond with their owners and are regarded as members of the family; others, such as feral dogs, keep their distance from people even if they depend on humans for their food ( Miklósi, 2014 ).
• Being perhaps one of the most common large-bodied mammals, dogs are available for research almost everywhere at very little cost. Thus, unlike apes for example, dogs can be widely studied by many research groups. This offers the possibility to replicate experimental results, increase reliability, and collect large data sets using various research methods ( Hecht & Cooper, 2014 ; Stewart et al., 2015 ).
• Carnivores had not been represented in comparative cognition research before the late 1990s. Although domestication affected some brain and mental functions, the dog’s convoluted brain is a good model for one variant of a 100-million-year-old mammal ( Andics, Gácsi, Faragó, Kis, & Miklósi, 2014 ).
• The sequencing of the dog genome has offered specific tools for understanding the functioning of neural and mental mechanisms that are not possible to use with most species studied in comparative cognition ( Wayne & Ostrander, 2007 ).
• Being easily trainable and sociable, dogs can serve as subjects in various experimental procedures that would not be possible to use with other species. In addition, these non-invasive methods do not compromise dogs’ welfare as they might that of other species.
• Given the number and role of dogs in human societies, knowledge gained in the study of problem-solving abilities and cognition can have practical significance in applied and welfare research.

In this review, we use the framework of Nikolaas Tinbergen’s four questions ( Tinbergen, 1963 ) to understand what the function of canine cognition is, how it evolved, how it works, and how it develops.

How to Survive in an Anthropogenic Environment?

Cognitive studies focus on how perception, learning, memory, and decision-making support problem-solving behavior ( Miklósi & Szabó, 2012 ). Although it is difficult to account for dogs’ cognitive traits in terms of fitness as estimated by modern behavior ecology, there is a general consensus that social-cognitive skills in particular clearly contribute to dogs’ survival in an anthropogenic environment.

Topál et al. (2009) proposed that the functional similarity between some human and dog behavior traits could have been selected for during convergent evolution, which happened a few million years ago in humans and tens of thousands of years ago in dogs (to some extent, in the latter case, through active selection by humans). Importantly, despite this functional similarity, “coevolution” is not assumed, partly because of the major differences in the time scale, but also because there is no evidence that dogs had any direct (selective) influence on human evolution ( Miklósi & Szabó, 2012 ).

More recently, Miklósi and Topál (2013) introduced the concept of social competence , which refers to an individual’s ability to display social skills that conform to the expectations of others and the social rules of the group. Rather than providing a list of functional similarities between humans and dogs, they argued that such a general perspective on social abilities provides a useful tool for conceptualizing sociocognitive functioning, as well as for considering specific social skills not in isolation but as a part of a larger system.

However, dogs’ specific relationship with humans varies broadly. That is, dogs have had to have a very plastic developmental social competence ( Miklósi & Topál, 2013 ) to maximize their fitness in different anthropomorphic environments. Fitting into a family and working as a herding sheepdog may favor different sets of social skills. The existence of a variety of human social environments probably also selected for different genotypes in dogs that are now represented partly by the existence of more than 400 dog breeds. To what extent such genetic radiation affected their sociocognitive skills remains unknown.

The Evolution of Problem-Solving Ability and Cognition in Dogs

It is very likely that the relatively short duration of domestication did not lead to specific, novel adaptations in dogs but that, rather, during their evolution some preexisting ancestral behavioral features were modified and/or changed their function. The current and original function of a characteristic can differ, as characteristics may change function over time through the co-option of existing characteristics ( Bateson & Laland, 2013 ). For example, cooperative tendencies in wolves may have been extended to interspecific relationships ( Range & Virányi, 2015 ) and, together with the modulation of inhibitory bias ( Gácsi et al., 2005 ), led to the emergence of complementary cooperation in dog-human dyads ( Gácsi, Szakadát, & Miklósi, 2013 ; Naderi, Miklósi, Dóka, & Csányi, 2001 ).

After many years of disagreement, most researchers now share the opinion that both evolutionary (selective) changes and developmental experience (learning) contributed to dogs’ behavioral phenotype, including the ability to solve social problems in the anthropogenic environment ( Hare & Tomasello, 2005 ; Miklósi & Topál, 2013 ; Udell, Dorey, & Wynne, 2010 ). This means that rather than referring to “dogs’ evolved abilities” to adapt to the human environment, one should allude to “dogs’ evolved potential” to fit into human social groups. This latter phrasing allows for the modifying effect of development to share in the final realization of social competence.

A further evolutionary mechanism, heterochrony (changes in developmental trajectories between ancestor and descendant species), also may have played an important role ( Miklósi, 2014 ; Udell, Lord, Feuerbacher, & Wynne, 2014 ). Overall, socialized dogs show more pronounced interest in humans and develop human-compatible social competence earlier than wolves reared similarly. The longer and less specific sensitive period in dogs may have allowed them to learn about humans at a very plastic stage of development, which in turn may have had a long-lasting effect on their social competence. This view also has been expressed in the synergistic model of the expression of dogs’ sociocognitive abilities ( Gácsi, Győri, et al., 2009 ). Interestingly, socialized dogs may retain some flexibility in social competence later in life, and for this they need much less reinforcement from the anthropogenic environment in comparison to socialized wolves. Abandoned shelter dogs’ re-socialization and ability to form new attachment relationships may constitute an example of such flexibility ( Gácsi, Topál, Miklósi, Dóka, & Csányi, 2001 ).

Wilkins, Wrangham, and Fitch (2014) proposed that depigmentation, floppy/reduced ears, shorter muzzles, smaller teeth, a smaller brain, more frequent estrous cycles, curly tails, and, importantly, delayed adrenal-gland maturation and heterochronic delay in sympathetic reactivity might be explained by a mild neural-crest-cell deficit during embryonic development. This could prolong the sensitive period for positive contact with humans ( Belyaev, Plyusnina, & Trut, 1985 ), which has lifelong effects on docility and cognition.

Although comparative studies are valuable in testing hypotheses, they have their limits. Perfect similarity between the groups is difficult to achieve, and extra-genetic inheritance processes (e.g., epigenetic impacts on gene expression) may also play a role. Therefore, despite similar socialization, not only genetic differences but the history of previous generations affects research findings.

How Does It Work? Methods in Studying Behavioral Mechanisms

We have come a long way from the traditions of anecdotes, but some research in comparative cognition still relies on vague concepts and ambiguous terms (e.g., “theory of mind”) rather than on a scientifically based and ethologically sound experimental approach and method.

Recently, several researchers have proposed that the study of sociocognitive traits in dogs can provide a new animal model for certain human clinical conditions. For example, Overall (2000) pointed out parallels between human psychiatric states and problem behavior in dogs (e.g., compulsive behavior and separation anxiety). There has been an increased interest in utilizing dogs as an animal model of cognitive aging ( Gilmore & Greer, 2015 ; Szabó, Gee, & Miklósi, 2015 ). These models rely heavily on the assumption that dogs’ mental functioning can be investigated at different levels of causality, including cognition, neurobiology, and genetics.

Our understanding of mental representation in dogs has been greatly enhanced by the ability to follow the eye movements of dogs. Eye tracking allows for the monitoring of attention, including interest, preference, and also some aspects of planning. Dogs’ eye movements follow the gaze of their human partner if he or she displays communicative intent ( Téglás, Gergely, Kupán, Miklósi, & Topál, 2012 ), and dogs scan the human face differently depending on the emotion displayed ( Somppi, Törnqvist, Hänninen, Krause, & Vainio, 2014 ).

Perceptual processes such as recognition, matching, and categorization are important features of cognitive functioning. The application of touch-screen devices may lead to deeper insight into how dogs deal with social and communicative stimuli. The screen serves as a medium for presenting different kinds of stimuli for the dogs to choose from. As a first step, dogs are trained to associate correct responses with a food reward. After particular training experience, dogs are presented with a new choice for the first time, which reveals the underlying reasoning process. For example, Müller, Schmitt, Barber, and Huber (2015) showed that dogs can match upper and lower parts of a novel face if both are displaying the same emotional expression.

A novel method allows for the exploration of how dogs represent novel agents (unidentified moving objects [UMOs]) if these agents show a simple behavior pattern and have a tendency to engage socially. In these experiments, dogs are exposed to a UMO (a remote-controlled car), which moves autonomously and helps the dog get food that is beyond its reach. After a few such experiences, the dogs start to treat the UMO as a social partner ( Gergely et al., 2015 ), and they extend this experience to other contexts (i.e., they tend to copy the UMO’s choice of food even if this choice is suboptimal; Abdai, Gergely, Petró, Topál, & Miklósi, 2015 ).

Neurobiology

The application of non-invasive methods to study neural functioning in dogs could revolutionize the field of comparative neurobiology. For example, an overall pattern of brain activity can be obtained by placing electrodes on specific locations of the skull; non-invasive polysomnography used to measure dog sleep physiology can provide electroencephalogram (EEG) data that are directly comparable to those of humans ( Kis, Szakadát, et al., 2014 ); and the local activation pattern of the brain in response to stimulation can be revealed by fMRI. In this way, unrestrained, awake dogs can be used to map the response to auditory stimuli in a comparative setting ( Andics et al., 2014 ; Andics et al., 2016 ), to reward signals ( Berns, Brooks, & Spivak, 2013 ) and the signal source ( Cook, Spivak, & Berns, 2014 ), and to scents ( Berns, Brooks, & Spivak, 2015 ).

Domestication may have affected the pattern and activity of dogs’ neurotransmitters ( Arons & Shoemaker, 1992 ; Saetre et al., 2004 ). Most recent investigations have focused on the role of oxytocin in dog-human interactions because this neuropeptide has been believed to promote affective tendencies. Social interaction, like gazing and/or petting, seem to release oxytocin in both species ( Nagasawa et al., 2015 ), but this phenomenon is a consequence of a mammalian homology supported by developmental plasticity and not the result of coevolution ( Kekecs et al., 2016 ). Intranasally administered exogenous oxytocin has increased looking back at the human standing behind the dog during the threatening approach test ( Hernádi et al., 2015 ). This observation was interpreted as a specific effect of the neuropeptide whereby it increases affiliative tendencies toward familiar social partners. After learning that food can be found at one location (“positive” location) but not at another location (“negative” location) on the opposite side of the room, dogs approached a new location faster after exogenous oxytocin administration if it was placed halfway between the positive and negative locations ( Kis, Hernádi, Kanizsár, Gácsi, & Topál, 2015 ). The performance of the dogs in this so-called cognitive-bias test suggested an increased positive expectation in ambiguous locations.

Local changes in body temperature (caused by inflammation or stress) can be detected by infrared thermography (IRT). This non-invasive method, which involves using a special video camera, is based on measuring minute differences in the infrared light spectrum emitted by the body of the dog. Some results have suggested that IRT may be a useful tool for investigating emotional psychogenic stress in dogs ( Travain et al., 2016 ).

In humans, the major cognitive domains, memory in particular, show relatively high heritability ( Harris & Deary, 2011 ). Several candidate genes have been tested for association with behavior traits in dogs ( Hall & Wynne, 2012 ), but research has not tested for such associations in the cognitive domain, with the exception of a study by Hori, Kishi, Inoue-Murayama, and Fujita (2013) , who found that the dopamine receptor D4 gene ( DRD4 ) is associated with gazing toward humans in an unsolvable-problem task. However, the small sample size and the varied genetic background of the dogs limit the reliability of this result. The oxytocin receptor gene ( OXTR ) polymorphism was also found to be associated with gazing toward humans in an unsolvable-problem task ( Kis, Bence, et al., 2014 ).

Metabolite profiling could also help in identifying genes and molecular pathways involved in canine behavior and performance ( Puurunen, Tiira, Lehtonen, Hanhineva, & Lohi, 2016 ). Epigenetics (alterations in DNA without sequence changes; Jensen, 2015 ) and transcriptomics (analysis of the set of all RNA molecules; Nätt et al., 2012 ) would also be of interest.

How Does It Develop? Missing Links to Behavioral Development

One cannot get a full understanding of cognitive abilities without studying the effects of development. However, development is difficult to study for methodological and practical reasons. For example, performance on problem-solving tests depends not only on actual mental skills but also on collateral factors like perceptual abilities, temperament, and motivation, which also change in parallel during development. Thus, it is not surprising that the best source of information on behavioral development to date is a book by Scott and Fuller (1965) published more than 50 years ago. Not only do we lack information about how learning abilities and memory develop in young dogs, but there is also little knowledge about the development of social and communicative behaviors, including the emergence of attachment between dogs and their owners (but see Gácsi et al., 2001 ; Topál et al., 2005 ).

The response of dogs to human pointing gestures provides an exception. However, even in this case, methodological variations and differences in the social exposure of the dogs have led to disagreements among researchers ( Hare et al., 2010 ; Udell, Dorey, & Wynne, 2008 ; Wynne, Udell, & Lord, 2008 ). Dog puppies seem to be able to perform a two-alternative choice based on variations in human hand gestures from around 2 to 4 months of age ( Gácsi, Kara, Belényi, Topál, & Miklósi, 2009 ; Riedel, Schumann, Kaminski, Call, & Tomasello, 2008 ). Interestingly, wolf pups do not show comparable performance at the same age but are successful at about 1 year of age ( Gácsi, Győri, et al., 2009 ). Detailed behavioral observation reveals that young wolves do not tolerate being held by an experimenter and look less often and only for a short time at the experimenter. Thus, the difference between the two species may not be in mental ability but rather in temperament.

Studying the effect of development on puppies is also difficult because there is often great variability in the rearing environments of dogs. Some of them may have restricted contact with humans, others are overindulged, and many participate in various training activities. At the moment, we do not know how such experience influences problem-solving abilities. Many social ecological factors influence the individual development of dogs, and these factors have been influenced by both conspecific and heterospecific social partners over multiple generations ( Bateson & Laland, 2013 ). In the case of dogs, humans play a specific role in constructing their developmental environment.

The Fifth Question: Do dogs have a personality?

The interest in dogs has also increased attention to individual differences, an area that has been rather neglected (and typically viewed as “noise”) in the study of laboratory animal populations. However, individual behavioral differences, which are relatively stable in time and across contexts (cf. personality), have gained significance because from a functional point of view they can be regarded as behavioral strategies (personality traits; Gosling, 2001 ). In particular circumstances, individuals with different behavioral strategies may coexist in the same population or specific environments may favor individuals showing particular strategies. Many recent experimental studies and reviews have been directed at determining the primary personality traits of dogs ( Fratkin, Sinn, Patall, & Gosling, 2013 ), but little attention has been paid to whether and how personality traits affect problem-solving performance.

Individual variation in problem-solving behavior and cognition (intelligence) also has not been studied in dogs in any detail. This is quite unfortunate, because dogs could provide a good animal model for separating genetic and environmental effects on many mental abilities. Arden and Adams (2016) attempted to measure components of dog intelligence by subjecting 68 Border Collies to a series of problem-solving tasks. Although this study found some evidence for a human-analog “ g factor,” as the authors suggested, there are still many unanswered questions concerning the methodology, the population tested, and the test battery used, just as has been the case with humans.

Conclusions

Intensive research with dogs has brought them to the forefront of comparative cognition research. However, this brief summary of research has also shown that there is a need for more integration. In addition, there are many areas in which research is still lacking and improved methodologies are needed. Dogs offer an unprecedented case for combining ultimate and proximate approaches, but it is important that dogs not be regarded as laboratory animals. Researchers who study dogs should acquire a background of ethological knowledge about dog behavior when they propose to study dogs and other canines.

The new and rapidly developing non-invasive technologies developed for humans are now being used to measure similar traits in dogs. This gives researchers who study cognitive mechanisms in dogs a great advantage over colleagues investigating other species.

Acknowledgments

This research is sponsored by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA 01 031, János Bolyai Research Scholarship) and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizons 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement No. 680040).

Recommended Reading

Bensky, M. K., Gosling, S. D., & Sinn, D. L. (2013). The world from a dog’s point of view: A review and synthesis of dog cognition research. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 45, 209–406. An important review on experiments aiming to reveal cognitive abilities in dogs.

Feuerbacher, E., & Wynne, C. (2011). (See References). An interesting overview of how dog research emerged in North America.

Miklósi, Á. (2014). (See References). An updated reference book on all research areas that contribute to better understanding dogs as a particular species.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared that they had no conflicts of interest with respect to their authorship or the publication of this article.

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