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Dog advice

Three common causes of canine behavioural issues

When your dog is displaying negative behaviours, it can be hard not to get frustrated, or blame yourself. However, it’s important to understand why your pup is behaving the way it is in order to understand how you can help.

If you feel your dog struggles with some behavioural issues in the home, or outside of it, read on to find out three potential causes for their actions.

Past experiences

Dogs have a remarkable ability to hold on to negative events they’ve experienced throughout their lives – especially within their puppy years. This is a common issue with rescue dogs who may have been mistreated prior to your care. They learn to associate certain items, situations, or even people with a negative experience, and can react aggressively or in a frightened manner should similar instances arise.

This can be a difficult hurdle to resolve on your own – you should consider consulting with professional dog trainers and vets for extra support on how to tackle this issue. Residential dog training can be a fantastic solution to this issue, as your pup can face these problems with professional care in a safe, controlled environment.

Not enough exercise

Just like humans, protection dogs can experience a negative effect on their mood when they’re not getting enough exercise. It’s important to truly understand the level of exercise your protection dog needs and to make sure you’re meeting that requirement every day.

If your dog is becoming frustrated and overly hyperactive in the home, try walking them more regularly – or consider hiring a dog walker if you don’t feel you have the ability yourself.

Lack of training

Lastly, one of the most common causes of misbehaviour is a lack of training. Dogs aren’t born with a natural knowledge of behaviour that suits their human owners – you need to give them the opportunity to learn how to behave first.

It’s important to understand what kind of training your pup needs – some small behaviours can be tackled at home, or more problematic issues can be effectively changed through residential dog training.

Choose the right training route for your dog in order to maintain a strong bond and to ensure they don’t become a danger to you or others. Dogs aren’t inherently badly behaved – it’s up to us to teach them. Get in touch with a member of our team to discuss the right kind of training for your dog, and to learn more about our fantastic residential dog training services.