Behavioral disorders of dogs include:
– aggression
– anxiety
– Conflict behavior
– fear
– phobia
– frustration …
There are still many complex techniques for correcting behavioral disorders, but it is important for you and your dog to consult a specialist to avoid the replacement of normal behavior with behavioral disorders.
Your veterinarian will recommend and explain in detail how you will proceed.
Habituation is a method of exposing a dog to unpleasant situations until he realizes that he is not in any danger.
This means that you would separate in the morning or afternoon and keep your dog outside in a comfortable and peaceful environment with people he loves and trusts. You will bring him food and water and ignore his behavior.
You will stay outside until the dog is calm and accepts the environment in the right way.
If the dog starts to panic, you will take him home. You must apply this technique daily until you get the results you want.
Expressing fear in a particular situation may be normal.
Over time, the dog learns and has a better understanding of the dangers that may come from his surroundings. A lot of things from the outside can scare and confuse a dog.
It is interesting to define disorders in the dog’s behavior as well as all other behaviors that call into question the family-pack balance.
This definition has the advantage of being very broad and thus encompassing the possibility of encompassing normal behaviors as well as unwanted and purely pathological behaviors.
Behavioral disorders in dogs
It is interesting to define disorders in the dog’s behavior as well as all other behaviors that call into question the family-pack balance.
This definition has the advantage of being very broad and thus encompassing the possibility of encompassing normal behaviors as well as unwanted and purely pathological behaviors.
What is pathological behavior?
When an animal adopts this or that behavior, it seeks to change the situation to its advantage. In this sense, the behavior in question can be said to be adaptive.
As long as something does not impair its ability to process the information collected in the immediate environment, the dog is able to find the appropriate pattern to deal with the situation effectively.
As long as some behavior seems adaptable, even if it is uncomfortable, it will count as normal behavior.
Practical examples
Example 1
The dog has lived for many years in the same family that has always given him the privileges of belonging to a dominant individual. One fine day, its owners, since they have invitations, decide to stop the dog from grabbing a sofa in the salon.
Aggression in dogs and how to prevent it
They give him the command to get off the sofa, raise his voice, raise his hand, which is a sign of threat. The dog growls, and the owner, who cares to maintain the image of manliness and courage, grabs the dog, which eventually bites him.
The owner moves away from the dog, stops threatening. This behavior is uncomfortable, it can even cause serious injury, but it is normal because it represents the dog’s tailored response to questioning his hierarchical position.
Even if one was not able to act as dominant before then, even in the moments after the conflict.
Otherwise, the observed behavior can no longer or no longer have the value of adaptive behavior, since it does not change the situation that caused it in a positive way.
Example 2
In situations of hierarchical conflict, one possible behavioral response is hierarchical aggression.
It comes with a cascade of growing threats that end at the bite, calming, allowing the dog to change the intensity of its response depending on the reactions of the opponent.
When the dog repeatedly bites his master and thus manages to subdue him, he learns that the bite allows the situation to be resolved.
Gradually, the stages of intimidation and calming disappear and the dog begins to bite systematically.
This new behavior is not adaptable, it no longer permits the preservation of group cohesion, and is a pathological behavior.
Unpleasant dog behavior
The list of undesirable behaviors in a dog varies depending on the upbringing and habits of the owner. However, a number of problems are regularly present in their complaints …
A dog’s tendency to hunt domestic animals
A dog is a hound capable of targeting very different prey species, from mouse to mid-size hoofed animals, even larger ones if the pack is large enough.
The aggressiveness displayed by prey capture is most commonly caused by three species of domestic animals:
– cat
– poultry
– and sheep
A cat is a potential prey that irritates almost all dogs, whether they live with the cat or not. That prey, which breaks out on the territory of the pack family and eventually becomes subject to threats from the dog owner, is highly stimulating.
Usually, it comes down to chasing, as cats manage to avoid being chased by dogs, but there are dogs who have a strong tendency to catch prey and who kill more cats over a shorter period of time.
The repeated successes, the encouragement that many owners provide with their gentle indulgence, lead the dog to constantly search for cats in its environment.
Hunting poultry or sheep without a doubt is one of the most annoying damage dogs can do. A flock of sheep, as well as poultry, are potential prey in an enclosure of limited dimensions.
Regardless of the type and type of prey, all predators display the behavior of disorganized hunting as soon as they are found in a fenced area with saturated prey.
They then capture everything at their home, kill, but not to eat, and stop only after most animals have been slaughtered.
Moreover, prey that runs and moves agitated by letting outcries is especially stimulating. Hence, the perceived harms and the tendency of the killer hens or sheep to repeat their feats are better understood.
Many methods have been used to deal with such behaviors, but few are actually effective and usable.
The traditional methods of attaching dead poultry to a dog’s collar and remaining there all the time during rotting are completely useless, except that they are disgusting.
Likewise, trying to put a dog in a sack that puts a cock in it … it’s easy for perfectly normal behavior, which is an integral part of the dog’s deep reactions, failures in re-education are common.
People prefer to avoid contact between a dog and poultry or sheep.
Why does my dog bite its tail?
A dog prone to running away
The very notion of escape is inappropriate. To understand the reasons for these escapes, shorter or longer, one must return to the development of puppy behavior.
During adolescence, a puppy is often pushed away by his mother, supported by a dominant male, most often his father.
This leads the young dog to live in the most remote part of the pack territory and to try his luck in other groups where he could reach a more favorable hierarchical position.
Indeed, when analyzing the situation of dogs called refugees in their original family, it is stated that they are either dogs that their owners did not integrate into family life (dogs intended for gardening and who remain in the doghouse during the day), or dogs very well integrated, which has pushed the child’s arrival (or any other change in the family group) into a lower rank.
The dog then tends to leave the family estate, first for a short period and later for an extended period. If he meets other dogs or people who accept him well and offer him a more favorable hierarchical status, the dog will finally no longer return.
Sexuality can play a decisive role in causing the escape of subjects whose hierarchical position, indeterminate in the family of origin, failed to inhibit periodic sexual behaviors.
In addition, the environment outside the possession of the pack family often abounds in enticements that are very attractive to the fugitive, further enhancing the desire to escape …
How To Handle When A Dog Escapes
How to calm your dog during fireworks?
For starters, fencing can be very helpful. Then, the dog may again be given a more important place in family life, but cautious, since it would not be appropriate for him to become dominant.
Special efforts may be made to establish communication with him in order to tie the rites which constitute a bond between members of the same social group to an animal.
Another solution is to take another dog to create a more coherent group.
Bringing a new dog should be done with the help of a veterinarian specializing in behavioral problems so that no two fugitives appear in the family.
Despite everything, when a dog begins to integrate into another family during his or her escape, it is extremely difficult to bring him back home.
If a new family agrees to adopt a dog, it is better not to take it back for the benefit of life.
Again, it is better to act preventively. Establishing with the dog as early as possible, at the beginning of adolescence, a set of relationships during joint activities is the best way to avoid escapes.
If it happens in family life that the dog must be left aside for a while, consult a veterinarian to adjust the situation so that the dog does not appear to be neglected.
Coprophagia
This term refers to the consumption of feces, a behavior that is very difficult for owners to tolerate.
Consuming feces of herbivores (horse and cow) is normal in dogs, and Coprophagia is a daily occurrence in puppies under 6 months of age (then it tends to disappear).
In these two cases, one can always try to punish such behavior, but these upbringing ventures generally fail: the dog is still tempted to consume feces.
In turn, when an adult dog consumes its own feces, it is necessary to consult a veterinarian immediately because it is usually a symptom of organic pathology (chronic pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency), or is a behavioral consequence (deprivation syndrome, depression due to separation).
The ritual of joyful welcome
Ritual is an elemental behavior (eating, drinking) that gradually receives the function of communication.
In fact, any elemental behavior can be turned into a rite if the behavior changes in the dog’s environment are favorable enough.
How to leave a dog alone at home
Although the joyful welcome ritual is moderate enough for most dogs, it sometimes gets such dimensions (big dogs) that it loses its mark of sympathy and turns into real aggression for the immediate environment as well as for visitors who rarely like it. turbulent outbursts of friendship.
However, things need to be understood in order to better accept the measures that need to be taken.
Indeed, the most common reaction of owners trying to preserve their clothes is to threaten the dog with a voice so that the dog stops jumping, or possibly hitting him.
The effect achieved is different than expected, as the dog doubles its strength.
Recall that it is a ritual, therefore, a system of communication that is not verbal and whose effectiveness depends primarily on the rhythm and typical intensity (a way to highlight the significant elements of the ritual).
A dog who happily welcomes his master probably gives evidence of his delight in seeing him, but he also emits that message in anticipation of the same response from the other side.
And what does the dog suddenly see, despite its enthusiasm that had been warmly welcomed by then?
The owner shows signs of irritability, even aggression; the dog does not understand, he amplifies his message by emphasizing the most significant elements.
It is a bit like when we repeatedly say something our interlocutor persistently does not want to understand.
Responding to the dog’s persistence, the owner finally surrenders, then alternately caressing or hitting him, but according to his mood, which does not prevent the dog from performing this rite regularly enough for everyone.
Therefore, the owner cannot expect such a response to solving the problem.
The only truly effective method is liberation from the rite, which consists in omitting the response of the person to whom the rite relates by being indifferent.
At first, the dog will intensify its outbursts to elicit a response, and then, after a few days (an average of five days), the dog remains seated, waiting, with the unobtrusive tapping of his tail indicating his joy.
And just then, it should be possible to establish a new ritual by approaching the dog to pardon it and talk to it, thus speeding up, little by little, the adoption of a much more moderate rite of welcome.
False symptoms of illness in a dog
If a joyful welcome for the owner can be a real torture, false symptoms are, at the same time, a true medical headache and a source of anxiety for the dog’s masters.
It all starts with an authentic illness accompanied by coughing, lapping, itching (these are the three most common cases).
Anxious owners become very sensitive to the slightest manifestation of weakness in a dog and start stroking it, annoying as soon as it shows the slightest aforementioned symptom.
The vet they were referred to after the proper treatment, which is literally being applied and at first, seems to be all right again.
Very quickly, the dog starts to show the same symptoms again: temple, cough or scratching.
Again the consulted veterinarian fails to find an explanation for such injury. Concluding that the veterinarian is not skilled enough, the owners change the Veterinarian until the problem is considered behavioral.
Indeed, one becomes aware that false symptoms only occur in the presence of the owner and cease as soon as the dog arrives at the vet.
Tracking the history of these disorders, we notice that the initial illness of the dog has brought a significant improvement in living conditions: he can now sleep beside his masters, eat the most beautiful kind of food, which is offered to him in his portion to spare him the fatigue, and always pamper him when he snores. , coughs or scratches.
The family is then explained the situation and treated, as in the case of a joyful welcome, by not paying attention to the dog when he exhibits his false symptoms, evaluating only the times when he is normally active.
These rituals soon disappear, but it is important that when a new pathological organic disease occurs, we are careful not to worry too much about the dog and to take a neutral, even restrained attitude during treatment.
Conclusion
This lovely saying is at the same time a reprimand. Whether it is a puppy or adult dog, male or female, big or small, from the countryside or from the city, your animal will always require your regular care and your caring attachment.
Learn first and foremost that good hygiene for your dog is synonymous with good health and longevity, and for you is synonymous with many happy workouts and balance.
There are different techniques for solving problematic behavior. Of course, it is first necessary to take the dog to a veterinarian for a behavioral specialist who will ask detailed questions and specify the problem.
It is first and foremost to determine if the dog is actually behaving differently or if it is just a phase of adjustment, ie whether there is a behavioral problem and how you will solve it.
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