Dog misbehavior can be frustrating for any pet owner. Your furry friend suddenly stops listening, chews up your favorite pair of shoes, or has accidents in the house. You may find yourself wondering where your well-trained pup went and why your dog is now misbehaving. While dogs don’t misbehave out of spite, there are some common reasons behind a change in your dog’s behavior. Understanding the potential causes can help you get to the root of the problem and correct any undesirable behaviors.
Common Reasons for Dog Misbehavior
Your Dog is Bored
One of the most common reasons for canine misbehavior is simply boredom. Dogs need mental stimulation and physical activity every day. Without enough exercise and engagement, your dog may act out to get your attention. Chewing, barking, digging, and other destructive behaviors can result from pent-up energy and boredom. Make sure your dog gets adequate walks, play time, toys, and training each day. Providing a variety of toys and rotating them out helps keep your dog engaged too. Consider doggy daycare a few days a week or hiring a dog walker if your schedule doesn’t allow for enough activity. An exercised and stimulated dog is less likely to misbehave out of boredom.
Your Dog Craves Your Attention
Dogs are pack animals that need affection and connection. Some misbehaviors like jumping, nipping, and barking excessively can mean your dog wants more of your time and attention. Setting aside dedicated time for daily training sessions, walks, play, and cuddle time helps your dog feel bonded to you. Make sure to reinforce good behaviors with praise and treats as well so your dog understands acting out won’t get your attention.
Your Dog is Under Socialized
A lack of socialization during puppyhood can lead to fear, anxiety, and other issues in adult dogs. Without exposure to a wide variety of people, places, animals, and experiences, your dog may act out around unfamiliar sights and sounds. Make sure to thoroughly socialize your dog from a young age by introducing them to different stimuli in a controlled and positive way. Continue socializing them throughout their life by taking them on outings to meet new dogs and people. Proper socialization promotes good manners and reduces reactive behaviors.
You’re Unknowingly Reinforcing Bad Behaviors
Some misbehaviors persist because pet owners inadvertently reinforce them. Yelling at your dog when they have an accident or chewing up the wrong item may seem like punishment but can actually reward the behavior by giving your dog the attention they crave. Hitting, scolding, and other punishments when your dog misbehaves can also reinforce unwanted actions in some cases. Your dog may associate the punishment with you rather than their behavior. Instead, interrupt and redirect your dog to a positive behavior when they misbehave. Reward them for doing the right thing so they learn good habits.
Your Dog is Stressed or Anxious
Stress, anxiety, and fear can all cause dogs to act out. Major changes in your dog’s routine, home environment, family situation, or health may induce stress that leads to behavioral issues. Anxious dogs may chew, pace, tremble, whine, or hide. Help your stressed dog by keeping routines consistent, creating a safe space for them, and using calming supplements or pheromone diffusers as needed. Check in with your vet too as health issues can cause changes in behavior.
Your Dog Needs More Training
Insufficient training or letting good habits slide can result in disobedient dogs. Make sure to start training early and reinforce commands and rules consistently. Refreshers on training basics like sit, stay, come, leave it, no jumping, and loose leash walking may be needed. Set your dog up for success by not asking for behaviors they haven’t mastered yet in distracting environments. Manage situations that bring out their bad habits. Increase training sessions and supervision until good behaviors become a habit.
Your Dog Has Separation Anxiety
Dogs with separation anxiety tend to act out when left alone. Common behaviors like destroying home items, eliminating indoors, barking or howling, and pacing result from stress when their owner leaves. Desensitization training, calming supplements, and behavior modification plans from a vet behaviorist can help ease separation anxiety. Providing interactive toys and hiding treats when you leave also helps offset boredom and distress. Take steps to prevent destructive behaviors and reassure your anxious dog so they learn to become comfortable alone.
There’s Been a Change in Your Home
Dogs like consistency and can be sensitive to changes in their environment. Moving homes, adding a new household member or pet, switching their food, or rearranging furniture can induce stress that manifests in misbehavior. Help your dog adjust by sticking to regular feeding, exercise, play, and training routines. Use baby gates, crates, pens, or leashes to restrict access if needed while your dog settles in. Introduce changes gradually while monitoring your dog’s reactions. Provide extra attention and training during transitions to help any behavior issues.
Your Dog is Testing Boundaries
As puppies transition into adolescence around 6 months old, it’s common for previously well-behaved dogs to start testing their limits. Pushy, naughty behaviors are often a sign your dog is trying to figure out their place and what they can get away with. Staying patient, redirecting to good behaviors, and reinforcing rules and training will help guide your dog through this rebellious teenage phase. Consistency and maturity will lead to an adult dog with good manners.
There’s an Underlying Medical Issue
While not the most common cause, physical or mental health problems can sometimes manifest as behavioral changes in dogs. Issues like arthritis, ear infections, dental disease, urinary tract infections, anxiety, or cognitive decline may cause dogs to act out of character. Schedule a vet visit to rule out any medical reasons for new undesirable behaviors. Treatment of health issues along with medication in some cases can help get your dog’s behavior back on track.
Correcting Dog Misbehavior
Interrupt and Redirect
Catching your dog in the act of unacceptable behaviors like chewing furniture and immediately interrupting the behavior is key. Redirect your dog to a more appropriate alternative like a chew toy to teach them what items are ok. Praise them when they start chewing the right object.
Reward Desired Behaviors
Reinforce good habits with treats, praise, play and affection. When your dog listens, leaves the cat alone, or settles down calmly, reward them. This positive reinforcement builds good behaviors. Punishing after the fact or yelling usually isn’t effective.
Remove Rewards
If your dog gets attention, access to food, or your presence when misbehaving, they’ll repeat those actions. Limit rewards by separating dogs when they are overly rowdy, crating dogs that chew when unsupervised, and turning away when they jump up. Withhold attention for demanding behaviors.
Train an Alternate Behavior
Rather than just stopping undesirable habits, teach and reward an incompatible alternative behavior. If your dog jumps when you get home, ask for a sit and reward calmness.
Use Management Tools
Until your dog’s training improves, use leashes, tethers, baby gates, and crates to restrict access and prevent rehearsal of problem behaviors. Close doors to off-limit rooms and keep food and tempting items out of reach.
Seek Professional Help
For serious behavioral issues or aggression, seek help from a veterinary behaviorist or certified dog trainer. They can provide customized behavior modification plans that address the underlying cause of your dog’s problem behaviors.
Preventing Misbehavior
While you can’t control all factors behind your dog’s behavior, some key prevention tips include:
Proper Exercise
Making sure your dog gets at least 30-60 minutes of activity per day prevents restlessness. Walks, play time, and joint exercise prevents boredom.
Mental Stimulation
Rotate toys, play hide and seek, provide food puzzles, and work on training each day to give your dog an outlet for their mental energy.
Adequate Attention
Spend quality time focused just on your dog for multiple play, training, and cuddle sessions throughout the day to fulfill their social needs.
Confinement When Unsupervised
Use baby gates, crates, pens, and dog-proofed rooms to restrict access to items and prevent destructive chewing, accidents, and other undesirable behaviors when you can’t actively supervise.
Consistency
Set clear rules and stick to them. Make sure all family members reinforce the same commands, routines, boundaries and house rules.
Proper Socialization
Introduce your dog to a wide variety of people, animals, places, noises, and experiences in a positive, controlled way early on to prevent fear and anxiety later in life.
Sufficient Training
Start training early and reinforce obedience skills, leash manners, and other good behaviors consistently throughout your dog’s life. Refresher courses help keep them polite and well-behaved.
Stress Reduction
Try to minimize major routine changes, travel, boarding, or other disruptions. Introduce any unavoidable changes gradually while providing extra attention.
When to Seek Help
While fixing mild misbehavior may just take time, patience and consistency, seek professional help immediately if your dog:
- Bites or shows aggression like growling, lunging, or snapping at people or other pets
- Excessively guards food, toys, or other items
- Has severe separation anxiety resulting in harm to themselves or destruction of property
- Excessively barks, whines, howls, or shows other anxiety symptoms
- Has sudden behavior changes along with changes in appetite, activity, or toileting habits
These issues require an evaluation by your vet or consultation with a certified trainer or behaviorist to determine if anxiety, fear, pain, cognitive issues, or other problems are causing your dog’s undesirable behaviors. Medical treatment, customized behavior modification plans, and in some cases, medication may be needed to help your dog.
Don’t let your dog’s misbehavior slide. While bad habits may emerge, early intervention helps get your pup back on track to being a happy, polite companion. Sticking to training, providing enough activity and affection, and identifying the underlying cause of your dog’s behavior will help correct any emerging issues before they become ingrained long-term problems.
Conclusion
If your well-behaved dog suddenly starts displaying undesirable behaviors, take time to identify the potential reasons behind the change instead of just scolding them. While misbehavior can be frustrating, it almost always stems from a common treatable cause like boredom, lack of training, fear, or an anxiety-provoking change. By meeting your dog’s needs for activity, socialization, consistency and preventing rehearsal of bad habits, most behavioral issues can be corrected with time and patience. Seek professional help from your vet or a trainer if your dog’s behavior becomes aggressive or dangerous. With the right guidance and troubleshooting, you can get your four-legged friend back to being their happy, obedient self in no time.