How to Put a Stop to Your Dog's Bad Habits: From Humping to Scooting

A dog's bad behavior can be disruptive in any environment; some are downright embarrassing, especially if your dog is doing these behaviors in public or in front of guests in your home. In this article I will discuss different ways to break the habits that are viewed downright disgusting.

Humping

Most male dogs can be calmed down fairly quickly with castration, if this is an animal that you do not plan to breed, then getting this done as soon as the age is appropriate would be the best thing. Breaking this behavior at a young age will be easier than waiting till the animal is a few years old and already associating the behavior with a pleasurable sensation or positive outcome.

Besides surgery it will take some work on your part, every time that you notice the behavior you need to do something to break the train of thought. Having a whistle to blow, clapping your hands or shaking a can of pennies will do the trick, you do not have to buy any special gadgets. As soon as you notice the behavior make the noise, then leash and remove the animal very quickly. Keep the animal in the quiet place until calmness is restored, once they are calmed down you can introduce them back to the activity that was in progress when the disruption started. Staying consistent will be key in making this successful, so never let Fido do it once with out circumstance. In a few weeks you should see a big difference in your dog.

Licking and/scooting

With our pets it is easy to ignore the underlying reasons why they do what they do, we often associate them with their human counter parts, boys will be boys, but this can not be further from the truth, a dog is a dog and for it's own good they need to be treated as one. That does not mean treating them bad. Most animals will shows signs and symptoms of something going on with them. Having a check up down and routine care will shed light on these problems before they get out of hand.

Rear ends and genitalia can be another disruptive behavior, an animal does not do this because it feels good. They may actually have some type of parasite or worm that is causing this behavior. Taking your animal to the veterinarian and having them check and treated will stop or deter this behavior. Treatments are fairly inexpensive and work with in a week or two. can be one of the most embarrassing and painful to the person on the receiving end of this behavior. Your guest walks through the door and there is Fido greeting them with a sniff and a mean grip on the leg. This behavior does not discriminate, it is usually found in males but some female canine will take up this behavior also. Big dog, little dog, does not matter, the urge will come out. With the male canine this behavior usually stems from the testosterone level being really high. It is natural instinct for an animal to act upon this urge and they really don't care who or what they are humping. Taking the object away will not help, they will replace it with something else that they can get a grip on.