Classification of Dog Behaviors: How Does Your Dog Behave?

Dogs have needs too, just as humans do.

Training dogs to behave well is one of the most challenging aspects that most dog owners face, according to Dr.John Bradshaw – an anthrozoologist and a renowned scholar for his work on the interaction between animals and humans.

In his entire career spent trying to debunk the bad advice that most dog owners seem to get, he insists that understanding the pattern of behavior in dogs is the first step.

It’s important to know exactly how solve common behavioral problems such as aggressive, anxious, dominant, submissive, boisterous and nervous dog behavior -- instead of reprimanding physically, which is easy but disastrous.

For that reason, dog behaviors have an easy classification for our ease.

Here are some tips on how to solve these common problems associated with Dog Behaviors:

Mathew Margolis -- a popular trainer, author, an accomplished dog expert, and the host of the TV series WOOF! It’s a Dog’s Life (also known as Uncle Matty) – opines that any classification of dog behaviors will inevitably point to “Aggressive dog behavior” as one of the most common dog behavior problems known to dog owners.

The intensity of aggressiveness depends on the breed itself, along with age and sex.

Aggression in dogs is a serious problem: It causes injury and even death, spikes up trouble, and the fear of a pet-turned-into-an-unpredictable-monster.

The dog’s brain is hardwired into the wild – an arena where it’s a question of survival.

For years, dogs have been reared as pets but the hard-wired brain comes with the package.

The bonus is on you to teach the dog that it doesn’t have to “fight, compete, or struggle” for survival.

Don’t punish dogs because aggression for dogs is a natural instinct. The more you punish, the more aggressive a dog gets.

If you are left to deal with this behavioral problem on your own, remember that punishing, shouting, or alienating your dog could lead to even more problems.

That’s just not the way these problems are to be dealt with. A good pet behavior counselorcan help you tackle these issues.

In yet another form of an aggressive behavioral pattern, some dogs are dominant (just as some people are).

This kind of behavior in dogs show up due to the dog’s perception of equality – the rank in the animal kingdom; a rightful place in the “Dog’s Social World”.

The more it feels that it should “prove”, the more dominant it would get.

Since dogs can’t communicate their dominance, they would bare teeth, gnarl, growl, or even bit – all of this is to show that the dog has to have it his way.

In the general classification of all dog behaviors, this – along with the generally aggressive dog behavior – is the most dangerous since dominant dogs are not discriminating – they wouldn’t care if it were a stranger, its owner, a toy, bones, or another dog.

Catherine Waters, of Bro & Tracy Animal Welfare reveals that “Dominant behavior in dogsis not a bad trait by itself; it’s only bad when it starts to create trouble for others” – and she couldn’t have been more true about it. [http://joycefay.com/articles/dominantdogs.shtml]

Does your puppy move away, hide, or recede into a corner every time it sees a stranger or another dog?

While it’s normal for puppies to feel lost and down under if you move to a new place or neighborhood, what if this behavioral; pattern stays?

This can be anything from “Fearful aggression, fearfulness, and submissive or nervous dog behavior ” -- another one of those commonly found behavior patterns within the general classification of dog behaviors..

“Enter my domain, and I’ll bite” – that underlines how a dog that develops territorial aggression as a behavior pattern.

This is another entry into the dangerous classification of dog behavior.

Dogs would snap, growl, bite, pounce, and perhaps just stare at you if you get any closer to his domain which could be anything – from his own kennel all the way to anything the dog’s owner possesses.

Literally then, your dog would then claim ownership of the street you take your dog out for walking on, the yard, the porch, the living room, and possibly even your kids’ toys.

While dealing with the territorial dog behavior, your safety – including that of others –is your primary concern.

The next goal is to finally control your dogs’ behavior and teach it to “take it easy and let go”.

A certified dog-trainer would use excellent ways to teach your dog this.