Dog Behaviour Problems

What causes dog behaviour problems?

If a dog is displaying unwanted ‘bad’ behaviours or aggression. It can be down to multiple factors and rarely is it just one single object or trigger.

A high percentage of these cases are born out of an underlying fear response of something within the dog’s environment.

This anxiety or fear could be due to a lack of understanding and experience or previous bad experiences. Phobias such as loud noises are another common cause but are not limited either of these.

Working at your dog’s pace, we will help them to understands its world from a different perspective.

We will empower your dog to make alternative behaviour choices in their lives.

---

Changing Behaviour takes time and effort

It is important to remember when working with behaviour issues that there is no such thing as a magic wand.

If anyone says, he or she can guarantee to change behaviour. I would suggest caution for your dog’s sake and your own.

Some responses in some dogs do adjust very quickly while others do not.

We will take a holistic approach using a training and management process designed around you and your dog.

Consistency and patience are vital elements of any behaviour modification program.

we will be there to help you along the way.

How long will it take to change a dogs behaviour?

Dog behaviour adjustments and modifications are likely to be an ongoing process depending on the behaviours in question.

When behaviours have been successful in the dog’s eyes previously they are repeated.

They can be a habitual response to a situation, and it will take consistency on our part for the training to be successful.

It is essential to work at the dog’s pace and not expect an overnight transformation. Therefore, management and training are crucial to success.

---

Avoiding rewarding the unwanted behaviour

Always important to remember what a dog sees as a reward may be entirely different from us.

Often we go out to see clients who are accidentally reinforcing their dog’s behaviour problems by giving their dog attention.

We as owners tend to fall into the trap where when our dogs are being quiet or making good choices we are silent and ignore them.

Then when they do something like barking or jumping up at us, we give them attention.

The attention to us may seem a negative if it’s shouting at our dog or pushing them off.

However, if it was attention they were seeking, then this behaviour display has been a success and likely to be repeated.

Management for dog behaviour problems

During the process, you also to learn to manage their environment. To minimise the unwanted behaviours being repeated and becoming habitual.

These skills will promote your dogs learning without taking away their confidence. Dogs always repeat actions that have previously worked for them.

It is our job to teach them alternative behaviour options using positive rewards like food, toys or life rewards to promote the new behaviours.

---

Finding the motivations for dog behaviour issues

Common types of problem behaviours have often been rewarded in the past.

They have become a learned behaviour response for the dog. Dogs repeat actions that have worked for them previously.

Whether it is growling at a stranger and they moved away or barking at the postmen when they come up the path, and then they leave.

In the dog’s eyes, these are successful behaviour choices if their goal was to gain distance.

Setting our dogs up for success!

These sessions follow on from the dog behaviour problem Initial Session.

They are designed around your needs to help you with implementing the training plan.

Also helping to get over any issues that may arise and adjust the training plan where required.

We offer both 1-2-1 sessions and group classes to help implement your training. Supporting both you and your dog.

---

Setting our dogs up for success: why not to use old methods?

When we create a training plan to suit the dog they can understand and learn efficiently. Although it may take longer in the short term, there will be permanent changes.

Old fashioned, outdated adverse methods, although on the outside look like they give immediate or fast results (if you’re lucky!).

They force the dog to hide the behaviour, so are just suppressing the symptoms. There is a ladder of behaviours that dogs use when they are under pressure emotionally.

If we punish these behaviour displays, it can mean that a dog will become aggressive or even bite with far fewer warning signs in the future.