Correction of unwanted behavior

Dog owners occasionally experience unwanted pet behavior. Sometimes these are relatively harmless manifestations, such as barking in an apartment or disobedience on a walk, but aggression towards the owners or other family members is also encountered. The situation that has arisen cannot be ignored: urgent correction of the dog's undesirable behavior is necessary. To identify a possible cause and remedy, contact the St. Petersburg canine service "LIS". Our experienced zoopsychologists and dog handlers will help you find a solution to the problem.

What provokes bad behavior

A puppy appeared in the house and immediately became a universal favorite: they play with him, try to treat him with something tasty, indulge in every possible way, often forgetting about strictness in upbringing. The dog grows accustomed to being the center of attention. Sometimes he just turns into a naughty spoiled creature, but some animals develop aggressive behavior as they grow up.

With what it is connected: in natural conditions, these animals form flocks with a leader. When living in a family, a pack for a dog is the owner and household members. Depending on the behavior of people, the animal will either be obedient, or will show aggression, taking the best place to sleep, stealing tasty pieces from the table and delivering many other troubles.

Bad behavior is due to the lack of training and education of the dog, or insufficient attention has been paid to the development of obedience skills. The dog considers himself the leader of the pack and requires an appropriate attitude towards himself.

How to defeat aggression

Faced with such a problem, the owner begins to look for solutions, and if he does not find it, then he gives the pet to a shelter or to another family. But the last resort can be avoided. To be successful in correcting your dog's behavior, you need to consider the following information:

• Animals are different: some seek to take leadership positions in the pack, while others are willingly content with secondary roles. But even the most peaceful dog, accustomed to being the center of family attention, can aggressively demand attention.
• The hierarchy in the pack changes, and yesterday's leader can be replaced by a new leader to a simple member of the canine community.

Correcting aggressive domestic behavior begins with training. But here it is important not to go too far. With one dog, you need to behave as strictly as possible, but for another such treatment will become stressful, and instead of an obedient friend, the owner will receive a frightened creature.

The appearance of another animal

The dog was the only one in the family for a long time, and then a cat, puppy or other animal was brought into the house. A new pet requires attention, and an adult dog does not want to put up with such a situation. The canine instinct demands to restore the shaky positions. There are 2 possible types of behavioral reactions:

• Zooagression. The dog shows the new family member who is in charge here: he does not let him near the bowl, kicks him out of the sleeping mat, drives him around the apartment.
• Aggression against family members. Unwanted dog behavior appears when the animal snaps and does not obey the owner, can growl and rush at other family members.

Correction of zooaggression in a dog should be carried out immediately after the onset of behavioral disturbances. If you do not pay attention to the situation, then such a reaction will become familiar to the dog, and the correction will take more time.

The result of fostering zoo loyalty

An experienced animal psychologist will reduce the likelihood of zoo aggression by choosing a way for the owner to reconcile the dog with the existence of another pet. Zoo-aggression corrections will include training methods aimed at reducing aggressiveness. The result can be different:

• ignoring;
• adoption of a new pet "in the pack".

It is better if the correction of the dog's behavior in St. Petersburg is carried out by a specialist at the LIS canine center. Our employees already have extensive experience in dealing with such cases of aggression. There is no need to hope that a cat or other domestic animal will become a friend of the dog after training. This may not happen soon or never at all. But the pet will be able to move freely around the apartment under the contemptuous and ignorant gaze of a trained dog.

Arrival of a new family member

The canine leadership instinct requires testing the beginner "for strength". It's good if a person turns out to be of character. But more often the following situations arise:

• The dog takes a leading attitude towards the new family member. Then bites are possible when trying to remove an empty bowl, disobedience during a walk and other variants of aggression.
• A person seeks to win favor with the help of delicacies. The animal does not perceive the authority of a new family member, but actively begs for something tasty from the table.

Correction is necessary in both cases. A zoopsychologist for dogs in St. Petersburg selects training methods for an animal and gives recommendations on how to restore a leadership position to a new person.

Unfortunately, people don't always follow the recommendations. Often, the correction of bad behavior is possible only after the departure of the family member to whom the dog reacts in the wrong way. Almost all pets understand with whom you can misbehave and with whom you cannot. Left with the owner, the dog tries to behave as before for some time, but strictness and training quickly get rid of bad habits.

Attitude towards the birth of a child in the family

The literature describes many cases when a dog becomes a nanny for a newborn: holding on to its fur, the baby takes the first steps, and then it is a protector and partner in children's games. Nice, but, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Zoopsychology helps to understand how the dog sees the events taking place:

• With the advent of a baby, the atmosphere in the house changes dramatically, new prohibitions appear. This causes discomfort and anxiety in the animal.
• The share of attention decreases. This is very noticeable if the baby's mother was engaged in "dog" affairs. The dog considers himself unhappy and abandoned, and perceives the child as a competitor.

The situation is aggravated when children begin to walk and learn about the world. Pulling on the tail or ears, slapping and grabbing at the coat irritates the dog. If the animal has received a good upbringing, then it will try to leave, and subsequently will hide from the child under a sofa or other hard-to-reach places. But sometimes he can use his teeth.

Is it possible to make friends with a pet

Specialists of our canine service will select methods for correcting the behavior of dogs, taking into account the breed, age and temperament. In most cases, the training, attention and severity of the owner provide a good result - the dog carefully plays with the little man, is loyal to pulling the tail. Then the animal really becomes a friend and protector of the child.

But correcting the behavior of a dog in St. Petersburg is not always possible, even with the help of a zoopsychologist-cynologist. Sometimes experts sadly report that it is not possible to bring up a loyal attitude towards a child in a dog, and it is better to find another owner for a pet. This will be humane in relation to the animal and will ensure the safety of the child: the dog may not calculate the strength, injure out of jealousy or protect itself from pulling the coat and ears.

Other unwanted behavior

Raising a dog in St. Petersburg with the help of an experienced dog handler made it possible to get an obedient pet, but suddenly everything changed. The dog began to shit at home, gnaw furniture, howl or bark in the apartment. Eliminating unwanted behavior begins with identifying the causes:

• An abrupt change of scenery. This is a lot of stress, especially if the dog spent the summer in the country. The animal is acutely experiencing a decrease in motor activity, the loss of the ability to bark heartily and relieve themselves at any time. Unwanted behavior is a protest against such harassment.
• Sudden loneliness. Previously, the owner worked at home, and then got a job, and the dog is locked in an empty apartment all day. Loneliness is manifested by howling annoying neighbors, damage to furniture or scratching the front door.
• Barking and hyperactivity. A young animal is not able to understand why until recently it was possible to run and bark, but now not.

In this case, it is impossible to train strictly, this will negatively affect the psyche of the animal. You need to correct it by combining severity and affection, helping the dog to adapt.

Is correction always needed

Sometimes behavior change is associated not with external factors, but with the state of the body:

• Diseases of the genitourinary system. If an adult pet regularly makes puddles at home, it could be bladder weakness.
• Chews on shoes or furniture. If this is considered normal for puppies, then an adult dog is punished. But the dog regularly needs to load its teeth, and the lack of bones in the diet makes it gnaw on other objects. Regular purchase of beef bone will help to cope with the problem.
• Picks up from the ground. This can turn out to be both a bad habit and a consequence of poor nutrition. If your pet begins to pick up garbage on the street, you should supplement the diet with vitamins and minerals.
• Growls. This is not necessarily a sign of aggression. The dog has something in pain, and with a growl he demands to be left alone.

In these cases, it is not a correction of the dog's behavior that is needed, but a change in diet or a visit to the veterinarian.

General recommendations

Dogs are social animals and are well aware of the weakness of the people around them. This leads to aggression, disobedience and other unwanted behavior. To reduce the likelihood of behavioral deviations, simple tips will help:

• Training from an early age. The puppy is taught to the place, they make it clear that only certain objects can be gnawed, and then gradually they conduct a course of general training.
• Lack of indulgences. From early childhood, a dog must learn that one cannot beg from the table, pick anything up from the ground.
• Regular rewards. Treats for good behavior, command execution.
• Demonstration of love - games, joint walks, affection. The dog must feel that it is needed and loved.

From early childhood, the dog must understand that the owner is the leader of the pack, he must unconditionally obey. To achieve this, it is better to use the services of the LIS canine service specialists. If the owner turns to the dog training center, then the specialists quickly identify the problem and carry out the correction.

Benefits of contacting a specialized center

If the animal behaves aggressively when visiting the veterinary clinic, when trying to cut its nails or comb it, consult our specialists. Perhaps the reason is in the characteristics of the breed - some were deliberately bred with certain character traits. An experienced cynologist-zoopsychologist in St. Petersburg will select a method taking into account the breed, nature and characteristics of behavioral deviations.

To get a consultation, you need to bring your pet to our center and explain to a specialist the nature of the problem that has arisen. Further, the dog handler will work, selecting suitable methods for raising the dog. It is convenient for the owner and is stress-free for the pet. Classes are held individually, field lessons are possible. Zoopsychologists and cynologists will find an approach even to a dog "with character".

Training in St. Petersburg at the LIS canine center helps to develop the necessary obedience skills in the animal. Experts will provide dog guidance from initial training to special training for guarding or other work.