Are These 3 Common Unwanted Dog Behaviors the Problem, or Are They a Symptom of Something Else?

Common dog guardian grievances include their dog barking excessively, pulling on the leash, and jumping on people. Would you be surprised to learn that these and some other frustrating dog behaviors can be resolved without even focusing directly on the problem behavior? Let's take a deeper dive with three case studies.

CC the Border Collie

CC's guardians did an excellent job of playing fetch with her and taking her on regular walks. They were doing everything good pet parents should be doing. Yet, they still struggled with CC's excessive and demanding barking at night.

The main thing we did to remedy this, was to lean into CC's breed-specific traits. Border Collies were originally bred to herd livestock. Today, many of these working dogs find themselves not in fields with sheep to command, but in homes with couches and toys. While fetch can seem like a good way to employ such a dog, it often falls short and can even lead to obsession. To better understand, we look at the predatory sequence. It goes like this:

orient -> eye -> stalk -> chase -> grab bite -> kill bite -> dissect -> consume

The game of fetch really only satisfies the chase and grab bite portions of the predatory sequence. This can actually be incredibly frustrating for dogs who were bred to enact the orient through grab bite stages.

Fun fact: Border Collies primarily use their bodies and eyes to control movement of livestock; nips and grab bites are used as a last resort as the goal is to herd livestock without inflicting physical harm.

Understanding that traditional fetch was only satisfying two stages of the predatory sequence, we introduced CC to games that fulfilled the first five stages. Just two weeks after changing play tactics, CC's guardians noted a significant decrease in her demand-barking at night. And perhaps the best part for CC's guardians is that they only have to play these games for around 15 minutes twice a day for them to be effective and fulfilling for CC - they were previously playing fetch for hours a day!

Grandma the Shepherd mix

Grandma, despite her name, is a young Shepherd mix. And despite her breed mix being primarily Shepherds of various flavors, she only weighs about 20 lbs. But don't be fooled, all that Shepherd spirit is packed into those 20 lbs. And it's quite apparent when she goes for walks - she can pull with the best of them.

Like so many working-breed dogs, Grandma needs a variety of outlets for her energy. She also needs help with slowing down. Knowing this, we made a few small changes to her daily walk routine. First, before even thinking about grabbing the harness and leash, Grandma's guardians started playing with her in the backyard with one of her favorite games - chasing the flirt pole. After a few minutes of high energy play to get some of her physical exercise requirements met, they switch to mental engagement with a few minutes of practicing cues or a snuffle mat. With Grandma's energy levels toned down a level and her mind focused, they suit her up in her harness and leash. But they don't just rush out the door. They slowly and methodically open the front door and let her look out the screen door for a few moments to help keep her focused without becoming overly excited. Once they get out the front door they spend a few minutes letting her sniff in front of their home before moving down the sidewalk.

This approach did not stop Grandma's leash pulling over night. After a week of refining this new pre-walk routine, Grandma's leash pulling lessened in duration and intensity, she became more responsive to cues and leash-handler signals, and she has been more relaxed throughout the rest of the day. Grandma's guardians haven't had to yell at her, utilize physically and emotionally damaging tools, or enforce a heel position with a short leash. And though the pulling has been frustrating at times, they're generally having fun watching Grandma learn and building their relationship and communication skills with her.

Winslow the Pit mix

Winslow was one of the amazing dogs I got to work with at the Fulton County animal shelter during my in-person intensive for the Victoria Stilwell Academy. Like many of the dogs at shelters across the country, Winslow was eager for human affection, which he expressed by jumping up on anyone who showed him the slightest attention.

Many of us learned somewhere in our lives, or perhaps it's a natural reflex for some, to push a jumping dog off us, bring a knee up into the jumping dog's chest, or step on a leash attached to a dog's collar to keep them from jumping up on people. These methods tend to fall short because they either unintentionally reward the dog with attention or play, or they inflict pain and frustration.

Instead of telling Winslow off, we first appreciated his situation from his point of view. He was in a loud shelter with hundreds of other dogs, only got to leave his run for a fraction of each day, and we were pulling him into a bright room with 10 new people he had never met before. And Winslow very quickly let us know that he loved meeting new people. So, we gave him what he wanted and needed in that moment. We gave him time to connect with us and get to know us as people he could trust. Let me tell you what this looked like: We let him jump and crawl into our laps and we held and petted him. After about 10 minutes Winslow started calming down and showing more interest in food. We started rewarding him with tasty treats when he kept all four paws on the floor, even if only for a second. Within another 5 minutes or so Winslow clearly understood the rules of the game - treats and attention came faster when he didn't jump up for either one of those things.

We taught Winslow not to jump without telling him to get off, without pushing him away, without a knee to the chest, and without leash corrections or restraints. We taught Winslow not to jump by understanding him, meeting his needs, and communicating in a clear and kind way.

Summary

At no point in any of these cases did we tell the dog to knock it off or suppress the annoying or troubling behavior. We fulfilled the needs of the dog, built up their confidence, and instilled problem solving skills. We used clear, consistent communication and kindness. In these cases and in so many other situations, the problem was actually a symptom.