Content
- Fix the dog's destructive behavior
- because dogs destroy things
- Personality
- Boredom
- Anxiety
- Frustration
- Bad Education
- Prevent and resolve the destructive behavior of puppies
You destroyer dogs they are a big problem for many people and often for themselves.Those dogs that are dedicated to biting furniture, shoes, plants and everything they find, usually end up abandoned or in a shelter waiting for a family that wants to adopt them. Dogs who destroy the garden by digging holes are also likely to be so lucky.
Unfortunately, the destructive behaviors they are very common in puppies and very few owners have the patience and consideration necessary to understand them, as well as the proper techniques to correct them. Biting things and digging are natural behaviors in puppies, as natural as breathing, feeding or taking care of themselves. Consequently, some breeds have a greater need to express these behaviors than others. Terriers, for example, generally like to dig and in many cases it is impossible to prevent them from doing so. Biting behavior is more common in all dogs, but purebred and other breeds bred for hard work tend to have this behavior more pronounced.
To learn to understand the behavior of your furry companion and to know how to help you, in this article by PeritoAnimal we will explain you what to do with a destroyer dog.
Fix the dog's destructive behavior
Although biting things and digging in the garden are inappropriate behaviors for humans, they are very natural behaviors for puppies and therefore it is not advisable to finish them off. The best you can do to prevent and resolve destruction issues is redirect destructive behaviors to resistant objects or suitable places. In other words, in addition to canine training, you have to carry out an environmental enrichment program for your puppy.
Old-school trainers often solve the problems of destructive dogs with punishment. They simply punish the puppies each time they start one of the destructive behaviors. The problem with this is that it often causes more problems than solutions. Most dogs develop other inappropriate behaviors in response to these "treatments" and may even increase the intensity and frequency of destructive behaviors. Therefore, in this article you will find solutions by redirecting destructive behaviors and, not through punishment. In other words, instead of teaching your puppy not to bite and not to dig, you should teach him to bite only his toys and to dig in a specific place built specifically for that.
The strategy of redirecting inappropriate behavior is equivalent to environmental enrichment that is done in modern zoos. Not only does it solve the problem at hand, it also serves to maintain the animals' psychological and emotional health (and often improve physical health through exercise).
because dogs destroy things
Dogs and humans evolve together, achieving a very good coexistence between both species. However, the pets we currently have (dogs or other animals) do not enjoy real freedom. They have many benefits but are animals in captivity. Pets are not free to walk wherever they want whenever they want. In addition, they must remain alone at home for many hours, without having anything to do or having any way to control their environment. Therefore, behaviors appear that for them are natural and have nothing wrong with them, but that we consider behavior problems because they have negative effects on our assets.
It is not surprising, therefore, that dogs destroy things when they are alone and without an activity to perform in an environment that, although familiar to them, is artificial. We don't know all the reasons why dogs destroy things, but the five most common causes are the following:
Personality
Some dogs are simply more destructive than others. While genetics cannot be blamed completely, inheritance undoubtedly has an impact on the frequency and intensity of destructive behaviors in dogs.
For example, terriers are often dogs that like to dig in the garden, looking for animals in burrows. On the contrary, Pekingese or Bulldog are less prone to digging and are more fond of biting into pieces.
Boredom
Dogs tend to destroy things when their owners are not at home. As they have nothing else to do and need to be entertained, many puppies are looking for some activity to keep them entertained. As they can't play with the console or watch TV, they bite the furniture, dig in the garden or bark (the latter is not about destruction but can be very uncomfortable for neighbors).
Of course, any animal that is alone for many hours every day will get bored and look for a way to overcome this boredom. Although it happens especially in dogs of breeds developed for hunting or for work (protection dogs), the truth is that it is a state of mood that occurs frequently in all dog breeds.
Anxiety
Dogs are sociable animals that need contact with other beings. Biting and digging are activities that help them reduce the anxiety they feel when they are alone.
This anxiety is normal and should not be confused with separation anxiety that occurs in some puppies. Separation anxiety is a serious problem that, although it has some symptoms identical to those of destroyer dog normal, causes extreme behavior because dogs panic when they are alone.
Frustration
When a dog is alone in the house, it has no control over its environment. He can't get anything he wants, he can't go and investigate the strange noises he hears outside, he can't open the doors to play, and so on. This inability to control the environment creates a lot of frustration in any animal, which can be reduced or eliminated with certain activities that may or may not be fun, but keep the animal active.
Have you ever seen a circus lion or tiger in those little cages to transport them? Or maybe a big cat in an "ancient" zoo locked in cages so small that the animal has nothing to do? These animals often develop stereotypical behaviors, such as pacing over and over again. These behaviors help the animal relax and reduce frustration.
Thus, biting things and digging are two behaviors that can become stereotypical for dogs that are alone for many hours day after day. Biting and digging have a relaxing effect on puppies that helps them pass the time. It's something like popping the plastic pellets that come in packaging to protect fragile products. Have you ever popped these balls? It's addictive, although they don't make any sense. Time passes by and we don't realize it.
Bad Education
It is likely that someone will say: "If the dog destroys things, it is because he is rude!". But I'm not just referring to the fact of destroying things, but because it does. Many dogs are trained to destroy things, that's true.
When they are puppies, we tend to be happy and congratulate puppies on almost anything they do, although many of those things are inappropriate. For example, the three-month-old puppy brings to his bed a shoe that is bigger than he is (or any other object that looks funny in his mouth) and family members laugh at his behavior and pet him, instead of correcting him. this behavior.
After identical situations happen repeatedly, it is not surprising that the puppy learns to destroy things because his behavior is socially reinforced with the approval of the family group. Although approval doesn't come in canine language, puppies are very observant and their evolution with humans leads them to understand many of the attitudes and body language of our species, so their behavior can be socially reinforced by ours.
Three years later, the family that encouraged the dog to be a destroyer will be wondering why their dog is so mean and rude, and will begin to seek help from a trainer.
Prevent and resolve the destructive behavior of puppies
The best were to prevent and resolve the destructive behavior of dogs it consists of teaching them to bite only their toys and to dig only in appropriate places. Thus, depending on the cause that makes your puppy destroy things or dig holes in the garden, you should follow one strategy or another. If, for example, you do it out of boredom or anxiety, one of the most efficient solutions is to use a kong adapted to your size and offer it before leaving the house. Don't miss our article where we explain how to use kong.
So, as we saw before, all our reactions to our puppy's different behaviors play a role. So, as funny as it may seem that your three-month-old Chihuahua is capable of carrying an object that weighs more than he does, he should correct this behavior by removing the object in question, saying a "No", offering him one of his own. toys and caressing him so that he interprets that he can use this object and bite him. Remember that positive reinforcement is always the best way to raise an animal.
On the contrary, if your dog just destroys things when he walks because he's a 30-kilogram pit bull and you live in a small apartment full of decorative objects, maybe the best solution is to move to a bigger house or remove the decorative objects that can block your dog's passage.
On the other hand, if the reason for your puppy's destructive behavior is that he spends many hours a day alone at home and therefore kong cannot entertain him during this entire period of time, you should try to adapt your schedule to dedicate a little more time to your furry companion. Keep in mind that puppies are animals that need time and dedication, not enough to feed them, bathe them once a month, take them to the veterinarian when they need to take vaccines and take them for a walk for 10 minutes to take care of their needs. You should take time to play with him, take longer walks so that you can release all the accumulated energy and relax with him.
For more information on how fix destructive behavior of your dog, don't miss our article with advice to prevent the dog from biting the furniture.
