Does Your Dog Have Behavior Problems?

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     Does your dog do the complete opposite of what you want him to do? If your dog is displaying behavior problems and you are at a loss at to what to do, you should consider this. The type of behavior your dog is displaying is due to how he is feeling. When dogs are afraid, they often will become aggressive.

Barking

Does your dog bark non-stop? This is the only way he has of communicating with you and if it is going on non-stop there is a reason. Is he hungry? Maybe he is trying to get attention. Dogs love attention and if they are not getting enough time and attention from you this could be the cause.

If he is confined, he may want to be free to run for a while. The barking if directed at a person means he does not care for this person being around. Another reason for barking could be a health problem, so have the vet check him out to rule this out and then it could just be that he needs some attention from you.

Aggression

Another problem is aggressive behavior. Does he growl and bare his teeth? This is a problem that often develops as dogs get older. Who is he aggressive with? There are typically three types of aggression in dogs. One is toward the owner, toward strangers or toward other animals. If you are the object of his aggression, you need to find out why this is occurring as this is not common.

He may be confused about who is boss. Dogs are pack animals and as such each pack has a leader. You should be the leader of your dog's pack and this should be taught from the time he is small. However, some dogs do not learn this and therefore they try to take over the pack. Your best option if your dog is showing aggression toward you is to seek the help of a professional. There is obviously something wrong and they are trained to recognize the problems that dogs have and they know how to effectively stop this behavior.

If your dog is aggressive towards strangers, he must be taught what is acceptable and what is not. Training by a professional may be called for if you cannot do this because an aggressive dog will often bite and you could be held liable for this behavior.

If your dog is aggressive toward other animals, especially when you are paying them attention, he is expressing his desire to be the 'top dog' so to speak. This is jealousy and extra attention paid to him will help. Learn to control this aggression by letting him know he is important as well.

Teach your dog to obey you and let him know you are the one in charge. If you allow him to take over, he will do so. This is why the pecking order must be established from the very beginning. The dog will become unmanageable if you allow this to continue.

These are a few of the behaviors you may encounter when you have a dog. There are others as well and each one needs to be addressed. Teach your dog that you are the boss and the sooner he learns this, the better for all concerned.