5 secrets of Dog behaviors

Colleen Pelar, a Certified Pet Dog Trainer and Certified Dog Behavior Consultant share five points about dogs behaviors that you don't know:

#1. Most “bad” behavior is actually normal dog behavior. 

Digging, barking, chewing, pulling on the leash - these are things that dogs also do, and it’s our job as responsible pet owners to mitigate these “problems”.  Colleen’s four cures are exercise, mind games, management, and training. If your dog digs, exercise him/or she more. If he likes to chew, make sure he has plenty of chew toys. If she pulls on the leash, try using a harness. This seems like common sense, but we forget that sometimes just saying “no” is not enough. We have to be an active part in our dog’s life, ensuring he/or she is healthy, active (both mentally and physically), and happy.

#2. Management prevents problems.

Meaning, if your dog cannot stand the FedEx guy, put him/or her in another room before you answer the door! Sometimes good dog behavior is managing the situation and realizing it’s OK to simply avoid the problems. Help your dog out by keeping him/or her out of situations that you know he/or she doesn’t like. Happy, calm pets make happy, calm owners and vice versa.

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#3. The goal of training is communication, not obedience.

Training is a vital part of dog ownership, but we don’t train our dog to make him/or her to do what we say. We train our dog so that we improve our relationship with him/or her. Training provides stimulation for our dogs and wears them out; it provides a chance for us to learn what our dog is having a hard time with and what areas we need to work on; and it increases our appreciation and empathy. Training helps us understand our dogs more, which helps us communicate better. And as we all know, communication is the key to any relationship.

#4. Dog training can affect behavior, but it will not affect temperament. 

Neither people nor dogs are born as empty vessels. Each of us has a unique personality and temperament that is very much our own. That’s what makes you. Make sure when you’re choosing your dog, you pick a dog with the right temperament for your family because that is something you can’t change. Your dog’s personality is what makes you love him/or her, that’s what makes him/or her your dog. So understand that she has a certain temperament and don’t expect her to change. She wouldn’t ask you to!

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#5. Dogs also have emotions.

People think that there are good dogs and bad dogs, but that is not the case. Dogs have varying degrees of emotions, and the behavior that shows us these emotions is broken into three categories- enjoyment, tolerance and enough already. Learning to read your dog’s body language can help you keep your dog happy and prevent him/or her from being in a situation where he/or she goes from tolerant… to enough already, and barks, snaps, or even bites. Licking lips, yawning, turning away, shaking off, a closed mouth, half moon eyes, itching, these can all be signs that your dog is tolerating a situation, but not enjoying it. Whether it’s the energetic puppy that’s jumping on her or your neighbor’s toddler “petting” him/or her, make sure you are aware of your dog’s body language. Dogs are incredibly tolerant and we love them for that, but if your dog is showing you signs that he's/or she’s not enjoying herself, help her out and remove her from the situation before he's/or she’s had enough.