Where do bad dogs come from, and how do we deal with bad dog behavior?

Dogs go bad because of miscommunication between owner and dog, not because of meaness or spite. Bad dog behavior can always be addressed with time, patience, retraining, and proper management.

Here are some common reasons that people use for bad dog behavior:

No dog is truly born mean. Some dogs may be born with neurological disorders that make them act out in unexpected ways, but there are few dogs who truly fall into this category.

Poor breeding may produce a dog that is difficult to handle.

A dog with unbalanced parents (e.g. timid, fearful), will be predisposed towards being unbalanced as well. That is why it is important NOT to buy dogs from pet stores, online stores, or puppy mills. These establishments do not treat their dogs well, and are not careful with the temperament and health of the dogs that they breed.

Nevertheless, even a dog who is predisposed towards fear or timidness, can be properly managed, and trained to counter their genetic weaknesses. If a timid puppy is properly trained, and socialized to a wide variety of objects, people, and dogs, he will grow up to be a confident, and happy adult.

Some people believe that dogs turn bad after they have tasted blood, whether animal blood or human blood.

This is absolutely false.

Dogs are not vampires. They do not suddenly think of all humans as bags of blood, after they kill a gopher in your backyard.

In fact, the original breeders of my Siberian Husky, the Chukchi, would let their dogs free during the summer months to hunt for food on their own. When these dogs return home after hunting, they are playful and loyal companions to both adults and children in the tribe.

Many people believe that a dog's bad behavior is a result of hate or spite.

This is also false.

Bad dogs are bad because they do not understand what we consider bad and what we consider good.

Dogs are not humans, and they do not communicate in the same way that we do. This results in frequent miscommunication, which may cause dog aggression or other bad dog behaviors.

Always be consistent with your dog, and teach him a set of commands and hand gestures, so that you can successfully communicate with him.

The most popular reason today, for a bad dog, is probably dominance.

Popular dog training shows such as The Dog Whisperer, place a heavy emphasis on physical dominance and confrontation.

While dominance, is sometimes the reason for certain bad dog behaviors, the problem is more likely from fear, stress, frustration, boredom, bad communication, or simply lack of routine and structure.

A 30 year study conducted at Yale and U.C. Berkeley shows that:

"Alpha" does not mean physically dominant. It means "in control of resources." Many, many alpha dogs are too small or too physically frail to physically dominate. But they have earned the right to control the valued resources. An individual dog determines which resources he considers important. Thus an alpha dog may give up a prime sleeping place because he simply couldn't care less.

~~ [Excerpt from ClickerSolutions]

Most bad dog behaviors can be retrained and managed. All it takes is time and patience.

The only case where retraining is not possible, is when the bad dog behavior is a result of health issues, such as a neurological disorder.

Bring your dog to the vet once every year for shots, and a physical examination. This will help you identify and address health issues, before they become bad dog issues.

Identify the source of the bad dog behavior.

To do this, you must stay objective and focused on this task, even though you may not always like the answers that you find. It helps to bring in a professional trainer or a dog expert at this stage.

A dog trainer has no emotional stake in the situation and has more experience with reading dogs.

This allows him to quickly and accurately identify the problem source. Bad dog behaviors commonly get intensified when owners misdiagnose a problem, and subsequently try to address it in the wrong way.

Here are some important questions to ask while trouble-shooting bad dog behaviors:

Bad dog behavior - What?

What triggers the bad dog behavior?

Is it large dogs, small dogs, dogs with long hair, dogs with floppy ears, or all of the above?

Is it just dogs, or is it also cats, squirrels, children, old people, people wearing weird hats, people carrying umbrellas, bicycles, skate boards, or something else?

Bad dog behavior - Why?

Why is the dog showing bad dog behavior?

Is it due to fear of dogs, dislike of people, excitement, or dominance? Listen to your dog by carefully observing his body posture, and what causes changes in that body posture.

A fearful dog will try to make himself look small, and shrink away into a corner, or behind objects and other barriers. His tail and head will be down, and he will be showing signs of stress. In contrast, a dominant dog will have ears erect, tail up, chest out, and a forward looking posture.

It can be difficult to read a dog because the change in body language may be slight (twitch of the mouth, sway of the tail), and brief.

Some dogs may switch body language quickly, and others may ramp up to dog aggression before we can react.

Retrain the bad dog behavior.

a) Do not reward bad dog behavior.

Bad dog behaviors develop because we inadvertently reward our dogs for bad behaviors.

For example. when a dog shows aggression, we usually back away. This rewards the aggression by giving the dog what he wants, i.e. being left alone.

Similarly, we try to comfort our dog by cuddling or petting him when he is showing fear. This rewards the fear with affection, thereby making the dog more likely to repeat those fearful behaviors.

When your dog is showing undesirable behaviors, you either ignore him, or put him on a time-out.

b) Stay calm and in control during bad dog behavior.

When dealing with a bad dog situation, it is difficult, but necessary to stay calm and in control.

Dogs can easily sense our inner energy through scent and sound. When we get angry, frustrated, or otherwise unbalanced, our dog will detect that, and become even more frantic. The only way to calm your bad dog down, is to stay calm and in control of the situation.

c) Redirect the bad dog behavior.

When a dog does something bad, you want to communicate to him that this behavior is undesired by you. Use a consistent non-mark such as No, or Ack-ack. However, do not make the mistake of just stopping there.

You should always follow up the non-mark with a positive behavior.

For example, after saying No, you can ask your dog for a Sit or Spin; you can encourage him to play with a toy; or you can tell him to go to his bed. Which redirection you use will depend on the temperament of the dog, what the dog knows, and the situation at hand.

Make sure to mark (Yes), and reward your dog well with treats and praise when he stops his bad dog behavior, and redirects onto the new activity. If you are consistent with your redirection and rewards, your dog will learn to perform the positive behavior on his own because it gets him good results.

For redirection to work, you must stop your dog before he escalates his bad dog behavior.

If you let your dog escalate his behavior, he will get too frantic or excited to listen to you. Once in this state, it is best to remove him from the stimulus. Sometimes, a stimulus may be so strong that a dog escalates very quickly, and it may not be possible to redirect him onto something else.

In these situations you must first practice controlled desensitization exercises with your dog.

d) Desensitize your dog towards the bad stimulus.

Desensitize your dog to a stimulus, by first exposing him to very low levels of the stimulus, at a distance.

For example. if your dog is aggressive to other dogs, you can start desensitizing him with a very calm dog, that is not moving (e.g. in a Sit position), and that is not focused on your dog (no eye-contact). If your dog is reactive to the sound of thunder, you can start desensitizing him with a low volume, recording of thunder.

Only practice desensitization exercises in a quiet area where you are in control of the environment.

Start with a low level stimulus that your dog is able to tolerate, i.e. your dog is able to stay calm. Position your dog some distance away from the stimulus, get his attention by calling his name, then reward him for giving you his attention, and for staying calm.

You can also ask him for other simple commands such as Sit, Touch, or Watch. Once you are comfortable with this, move a few steps towards the stimulus, stop, and repeat the exercise.

If your dog starts to react, then you have moved forward too quickly. Move back and restart the exercise.

Keep sessions short and rewarding so that your dog will begin to associate positive rewards with the problematic stimulus.

e) Set your dog up for success.

Remember to always set your dog up for success and keep him from repeating bad behaviors.

Properly manage your dog so that he is not constantly exposed to stressful stimulus that cause him to act badly. The more he practices bad dog behavior, the harder it will be to stop that behavior.

Craft your retraining process to suit the temperament of your dog. Focus on one or two bad behaviors at a time, so that neither you nor your dog become overwhelmed.

Prevent future bad dog behavior.

One of the best ways to prevent future bad dog behavior is to provide your dog with many interesting, sanctioned activities, and toys.

Many dogs resort to bad dog behaviors because they are bored. If we do not provide acceptable activities for our dogs, they are left to devise their own activities, which rarely appeal to our human sensibilities.

A dog who is well-exercised, both mentally and physically, is happy to just lie around and turn over for belly-rubs. A dog who is cooped up all day, with no company, and no activity, will be very frustrated and destructive. He may chew up your house, bark, charge the fence, escape, or perform a variety act from the bad dog greatest hits album.

This will end up costing you a lot of time, money, and emotional stress.

If you are busy during the day, consider dog daycare or dog walking. This gives your dog something interesting to do, and helps him brush up on his social skills with a variety of people and dogs. The rewards you receive will more than outweigh the costs; because instead of coming home to a chewed up house, you will be greeted by a tired and happy dog that just wants to rest beside you.