What causes problem behaviors?
In another post, we discussed nuisance behaviors and as I said then, it is not that nuisance behaviors are not a problem, it is more a distinction of how complex the behavior is to modify or improve. In this post, I am going to talk specifically about what are considered problem behaviors.
These include anything that elicits a stress response that a dog may have involving fears, phobias, anxiety, and over arousal. The manifestations of those stress responses include behaviors such as excessive whining/barking, resource guarding, OCD, and reactivity (growling, barking, lunging, biting).
What makes these more of a problem than just a nuisance, is that you are working with a dog’s emotional state as well as the behavior it elicits.
These behaviors can happen in positive circumstances too. Such as when the dog is overly excited to see someone or something, they may vocalize excessively and lunge toward their desired object. This is still reactivity, reacting excessively to something, just not always bad things. Again, you are dealing with a heightened emotional state that is causing the behavior which needs to be addressed as well as the behavior itself.
These dogs are often labeled as aggressive or crazy. You might hear comments like “oh the little guy thinks he’s tough” when really he is terrified. Some dogs have genetic tendencies towards these types of behaviors, and some are responses to the environment or past experience. Either way, the dog is in a heightened state of arousal. Just like us humans, if we remain in a heightened state of arousal for any length of time, we need recovery periods.
Think about the upcoming holidays. We are more on the go than usual, we are seeing more people than usual, and we have more obligations than usual. All of this takes a toll, and we all take a big break following the holidays.
Dogs are no different, except that we often miss their early signs of heightened arousal and don’t take notice until the behavior is painfully obvious. At this point, intervention is harder than if we had either prevented it, to begin with, or noticed and taken action earlier.
Take the dog who has mild anxiety when left alone, (not necessarily to the point of destruction). If you have a dog like that, pay attention to what behavior the dog exhibits when you start getting ready to leave, not just when you are actually going out the door.
My Mini is a great example. I spend a lot of time at home, so when I do occasionally go out, my routine changes and that is when she notices and starts becoming needier and following my every move. Recognizing this, I have taken steps to mix up my routine even if I am not going out that day so that she cannot predict when I do go out. That helps to keep her from practicing anxious behavior.
I also work on leaving the room without her noticing right away, and this helps her be more comfortable when I am not present. She is also allowed to go out front with me often, not just when we or just me are going somewhere.
The point is when I recognized that she had the potential for serious anxiety issues, I changed how I interacted with her on a daily basis, concentrating on keeping her anxiety low, building her confidence, and making coming and going routine, not always meaning she will be left alone.
There are many things we can do to help our dogs remain calmer and happier to prevent problems. The earlier we notice potential problems, the easier they are to resolve or prevent from going full-blown.
What behaviors does your dog exhibit when highly aroused, afraid or anxious?
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