How to take advantage of your dog's "bad" habits

Rachel Williams Author

Coming home to find your dog has chewed up your furniture and belongings can be really frustrating, but the solution to many "bad" behaviours is easier than you might think.

For an immediate solution, manage your dog's environment. Remove items you don't want your dog to destroy such as putting shoes away, clearing worktops to stop counter surfing and closing curtains to prevent barking. If this is not always possible or you cannot supervise your dog, provide them with a safe space so that they can't practice any unwanted behaviours. Crate training can be useful for short periods of time and puppy pens or baby gates can also be effective.

One of the simplest ways to stop your dog exhibiting the "bad" behaviour is to give them an appropriate outlet to express that behaviour. Why? Because most problem behaviours are natural and served a function that we wanted dogs to perform.

The most common unwanted behaviours I am asked to stop are chewing, nipping, digging and chasing prey animals; all of which can be linked to the predatory sequence.

Predatory Sequence

The predatory sequence is a series of motor patterns which is typically linked to a dog's genetics. However, due to domestication we tend to see only certain elements depending on the breed/s the dog originates from. The predatory sequence is made up of eight parts:

Sight hounds and herding breeds start at orient and end at chase - resulting in dogs who "ignore" you when running after squirrels and birds. Bull breeds have a tendency to be more boisterous in their play, focusing on grab bite and grab kill as they were domesticated to compete in blood-sports. Terriers on the other hand, who were bred for pest control were encouraged to find, chase, dig out and kill rodents.

But not all dogs were required to exhibit any hunting behaviours. For example, guardian breeds such as the Tibetan Mastiff were used for protecting herds and acting as castle guards. Whereas toy breeds also known as 'lap dogs' protected and warmed the laps of nobles and alerted them to strangers by barking. Mixed breeds or mutts with no more than 30% of their ancestry connected to one breed have not been selected for predation and generally have adapted to scavenge and observe human behaviour.

Suitable outlets

Once you've determined what your dog was bred to do, put management solutions in place and identified the behaviours your dog needs an outlet for - it's time to get creative! Make use of your recycling, provide long lasting chews, teach your dog how to play tug. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Some of the behaviours that I actively encourage Meg to do:

1. Sniff the ground and follow scent trails
2. Dig in her sandpit and on the beach
3. Find treats in snuffle mats and boxes
4. Dive into straw bales
5. Play chase and tug - and let Meg win!
6. Follow scent trails into hedgerows and flush out birds (whilst on a longline)
7. Dissect her plushie toys
8. Explore tunnels
9. Paddle and swim in water
10. Rip and shred cardboard boxes filled with food

Interesting in learning more about your dog's breed? Check out Kim Brophey's fascinating book Meet Your Dog.

Categories: : dog training, enrichment, puppy training