Everyone knows that dogs are incredibly loyal animals, but they can also be quite unpredictable. Dogs are wonderful members of the family, but they aren’t always easy to live with. Dog behavior can often be confusing and at times difficult to understand. However, one thing is certain: any behavior that is not wanted should not be ignored. Understanding dog behavior is essential to having a successful relationship with your pup. Unfortunately, many people make the mistake of ignoring or punishing their pet’s bad behavior without giving it much thought. This approach can actually cause more harm than good and might even encourage more negative behaviors. In this article, we will discuss why it is important not to ignore dog behavior and how to address it in the most effective manner possible.
Dog Symptoms to Watch Out For:
1.Don’t Ignore These Health Signs
As a dog owner, there are many symptoms in your dog that shouldn’t be ignored. While there are symptoms more obvious than others, the seemingly milder symptoms can lead to greater health issues if not treated early on. Below, we’ve listed 12 symptoms you should never ignore in your dog.
2.Unproductive Vomiting
Unproductive vomiting is another symptom of bloat. In the case your dog is vomiting, call your local veterinary office and explain your dog’s symptoms to the vet assistant. If it’s an emergency, your dog will need immediate attention, which may include surgery.
3.Loss of Appetite
This is the first indicator of illness. Your dog may not want to eat or is unable to eat, which can become a serious health issue if it continues for more than 24 hours.
4.Labored Breathing
If your dog is having trouble breathing, he’s not getting enough oxygen to his lungs. Plus, in the case of heart failure, the heart will not be able to pump blood to the muscles and other tissues. This could be labored breathing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. There may be an accumulation of fluid around the heart and/or lungs causing the symptoms.
5.Redness of the Eye
Your dog may have redness in one or both his eyes due to a foreign object in the eye, glaucoma (pressure with the eye itself) or certain diseases. Eye redness can affect the cornea, third eyelid and the eye ball itself. If left untreated, it could lead to blindness.
6.Distended Abdomen
Known as bloat, distended abdomen is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. An enlargement of the liver, spleen or kidneys may also give the appearance of a swollen abdomen. The accumulation of fluid places pressure on the lungs, causing labored breathing. This is an emergency situation.
7.Bleeding and Bruising
Abnormal clotting can occur on your dog’s skin, mucous membranes (the gums), internal organs, tissues and body cavity. Clotting can cause your dog to bleed and bruise.
8.Coughing
Continuous coughing could be a sign of pneumonia, heartworms, lung tumors, kennel cough, an obstruction in the windpipe or health failure. Persistent coughing needs to be evaluated by a veterinarian.
9.Fainting or Collapsing
A sudden loss of consciousness can cause your dog to lose strength and fall. Dogs usually recover fairly quickly and can appear normal afterwards. However, whatever caused your dog to collapse needs to be addressed by your veterinarian as soon as possible.
10.Weight Loss
A loss in weight can be considered clinically important if it goes over 10 percent of the normal body weight. Reasons for weight loss vary greatly, including gum disease, tooth problems, reduced caloric intake, tumors in the stomach or intestines, worms or cancer.
11.Trouble Urinating
If your dog is straining to urinate, shows discomfort while
urinating or makes frequent attempts to urinate, there are several underlying causes. Your dog may have trouble urinating if he’s constantly licking the urogenital region, crying out when attempting to pass urine, or turning around and looking at the urogenital area while trying to urinate. This is an emergency situation.
12.Jaundice
Jaundice is a condition, in which there is an appearance of yellow in the whites of the eyes, gums and skin. This is caused by an elevated amount of bilirubin in the blood. There are many reasons as to why this may happen, but your veterinarian can determine it.
13.Excessive Drinking or Urination
Excessive drinking or urination is a classic sign of diabetes mellitus, thyroid gland problems or pyometra, which is an infection of the uterus in a female.
If you notice any of these symptoms in your dog, please contact your veterinarian right away. Make sure to let the veterinary assistant know how long your dog has been displaying the symptom(s) and if they have worsened. This can help the veterinarian decide how to effectively treat your dog’s symptoms for a healthy canine.
Common Dog Behavior Problems You Shouldn’t Ignore
Dog owners often mishandle or misunderstand the behavior problems of dogs. That can happen if you are a new dog owner and want to help your dog with a behavior issue or thinking of getting a new dog.
If you wish to solve such problems and prevent them, the foremost step would be to understand the behavior problems in dogs. In addition, a firm foundation of providing obedience training to dogs will help prevent or even control many issues.
1. Barking
It is common for dogs to vocalize in one way or another, either barking, howling, or whining. However, too much barking is a behavior problem.
First, you have to find out why your pet is barking excessively. The common reasons dogs bark is attention-seeking, boredom, anxiety, playfulness, and excitement, responding to other dogs, warning, or alert.
2. Digging: Most dogs like to do some amount of digging. As for them, it is mainly a matter of instinct. Dog breeds such as terriers with their hunting histories are drawn towards digging grounds. Dogs dig for these common reasons. They may be bored or with excess energy, or they may be in fear or anxiety or are seeking comfort to escape an area or gain access to it, as a hunting instinct, or to hide possessions, such as bones or toys.
It can be frustrating if you have a dog that digs up your yard. You need to find out the reason and then try to get rid of that problem.Perhaps you need to pay more attention to your dog, give more exercises and do some extra training. If it still does not stop, you can assign a particular area for digging and training your dog to accept that.
3. Inappropriate Elimination
Urination and defecation in an inappropriate way are among the most annoying dog behaviors. They can ruin areas of your house and make your dog unwanted or at the homes of other people or in public places. The reasons can be lack of proper housebreaking, submissive or excessive urination, anxiety, or territorial marking. Many dogs need behavior changes to get rid of the habit once it becomes embedded. Here your vet would be the best rescue.
4. Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety is another common dog behavior problem. These manifestations include inappropriate defecation and urination, vocalization, chewing, and other forms of destructive behavior .It happens when a pet gets separated from its owner. True, separation anxiety needs dedicated training, desensitization exercises, and behavior modification. Medication is necessitated in extreme cases.
5. Chasing
A dog’s wish to start chasing moving things is just a show of predatory instinct. Many dogs chase people, other animals, and cars. The result of all this can be devastating and dangerous.
It may not be possible to stop your dog from chasing; steps can be taken to prevent disaster. You can keep your dog on a leash or confined and train to come when called.
Begging is undoubtedly a bad habit, but several dog owners encourage this behavior. It can give rise to obesity and digestive problems. Dogs beg as they love food, but one cannot equate table scraps or food with love.Teach your dog that it is not ok to beg for food. When you sit down for your meals, confine your dog to a different room or a place from where the dog cannot stare. If she behaves well, you can give a special treat only once the entire family has finished eating.
6. Biting
Dogs nip or bite for many reasons, and most of them are instinctive. Puppies bite and nip to explore the surroundings. Mother dogs usually teach their puppies not to nip hard and discipline them when required. As a result, puppies build bite inhibition.
Owners have to show their little puppies that biting and mouthing are not tolerable by continuing to teach them to bite inhibition. The motivation to snap or bite may be due to fear, protection, defensiveness, predatory instinct, or pain or sickness.
7. Aggression
Dog aggression is displayed by snarling, growling, showing teeth, biting, and lunging. It is essential to know that a dog can show certain signs of aggression, irrespective of its breed or history.
However, dogs with abusive or violent backgrounds and those bred from aggressive tendencies have greater chances of exhibiting aggressive behavior towards other dogs or people. In addition, a dog’s surroundings have a significant impact on its behavior.
8. Jumping Up
Jumping up is a common problem and natural behavior in dogs. Puppies jump up to reach and meet their mothers. Later as they grow, they jump up while greeting people. They also jump up when they get excited or seek something in a person’s hands. A jumping dog can be annoying and even very dangerous. There are several ways you can stop a dog from jumping, such as lifting a knee, pushing the dog away, or grabbing the paws. It is mainly attention-seeking behavior. So, the best means is to turn around and ignore the dog.
Dog Behaviors That Shouldn’t Be Ignored:
Many dog owners will testify that their dogs understand them better than anyone else. They seem to know when we’re sad, when we need them to stay close by, when our energies are high – and when they’re at their lowest. But how many dog owners can say they truly understand their dog’s behavior, too? If you’ve ever wondered about your dog’s strange behavior, prepare to wonder no more. We’re here to reveal the deepest secrets of the doggy psyche – and help you understand your canine best friend better than you’ve ever understood it before.
Why Dogs Chase Their Tales
Dogs do all sorts of things that we consider funny or amusing, but there’s nothing quite as fun as watching your dog chase its tail. But why do they do this in the first place? The answer to this is actually not exactly straightforward. Often, puppies don’t realize that their tail is actually a part of their body, and treat it more like a toy – but as they grow up, they come realize that it is, in fact, an appendage. So why do they keep it up? While tail chasing and chewing can actually be signs of ill health – and if they repeat themselves too much, it’s worth taking your dog to the vet for a checkup – one common reason for tail chasing is simply the fact that dogs seem to get positive reactions when they do it, and so continue in an attempt to make their humans happy!
Why Dogs Stick Their Heads Out of Car Windows
Ever wondered why dogs like to stick their heads out of car windows so much? What’s so great about wind blowing in your face, anyway? Well, researchers and scientists still don’t have a definitive answer to this question, but one prevalent explanation actually has very little to do with the way wind feels on the dogs’ faces. You see, if most people’s primary sense is sight, most dogs perceive the world through smell.
While the human olfactory membranes are roughly the size of a postage stamp, an average dog’s are as large as a handkerchief – and when they stick their head out of a moving car’s window, all that air rushing into their nose allows them to smell the world around them better than they ever could otherwise.
Why Dogs Tilt Their Heads
It’s no secret that dogs’ sense of hearing is phenomenally sharp. Dogs can pick up on a really wide range of sounds, and have around 16 muscles in their ears alone, which allow them to tilt, turn and move them to hear a specific sound they’re listening for more sharply.
Still, even with their developed ears, sometimes dogs just need to move their head to the side to hear something better – just like we do.
why Dogs Sit On Top of Your
Ever notice how your dog sometimes likes to plop themselves down right on top of your toes? While it is endearing, it can also be a little annoying at times; they might sit down just when you’re about to walk and inadvertently make you stumble, or just get your nice, new white shoes full of fur. So why do dogs do this?
The real reason for this behavior is your dog’s desire to feel close – but also, to protect you. With their body touching yours, they can sense whether you’re calm or tensing up, and that lets them both keep track of whatever’s going on with you, as well as with their surroundings.
Why Dogs Yawn
Dog yawns are probably one of the most adorable things in the universe – but did you know that while sometimes a yawn is just a yawn, yawning can also mean something else entirely in dog-speak? Dogs can sometimes yawn in an attempt to say “I’ve had enough.” If you’re in the middle of a training session and your dog begins to yawn, it’s their way of saying “I need a break,” and if they’re in a stressful situation, like waiting in line for the vet, it’s not uncommon to see them yawning repeatedly as well.
Why Dogs Nap Next to You
If you have a good relationship with your dog, you might have noticed that he or she like to come to you for petting and cuddles after they eat. This isn’t just your dog looking for attention; for dogs, who have evolved from wolves, eating and sleeping next to each other are some of the most important forms of showing intimacy with other members of their pack – so if your dog likes to settle down and take a nap next to you right after they’ve eaten, it means they see you as someone they’re exceptionally close to.
Why Dogs Stick Their Tongue Out
When us humans get too hot, we start to sweat. Dogs, however, don’t have that luxury; the only places on their body in which they have sweat glands are on their paws. Instead, to cool off, dogs pant. Panting helps dogs replace hot air with cool, thereby cooling off their entire body. Because dogs’ tongues are actually longer than their snouts, when dogs open their mouth to do this, they tongue tends to loll to one side – which also helps with the cooling process.
Why Dogs Don’t Hug
Dogs are some of the most loving and giving pets imaginable – but one thing they can’t do is hug you. They just don’t have arms to hug you with! But your dog may have been giving you the canine equivalent of a hug for years without you knowing.
When you feel your dog shifting their body weight onto yours, they’re not just leaning on you to take weight off their own legs; it is, in fact, one of the ways they convey their affection – and the closest they can get to hugging.
Conclusion :
If you think your dog is unwell, call your vet right away. For any health or behavior-related questions, you must always consult your vet as they know the history of your pet’s health, have examined them before, and can certainly give the best advice for your pet.
In conclusion, dog behavior is an important factor to consider when introducing a new pet into the home. Taking the time to understand their behaviors and how to best interact with them can help create a strong bond between dog and owner. It’s important not to ignore signs of distress or inappropriate behavior as this can potentially lead to long-term issues for the dog and the family. Training your dog using positive reinforcement methods is key to helping them become a well-mannered pet that is comfortable in any situation.