And how can you resolve it?
Download the PDF version here: Behavior Problems Flowchart 2023.pdf
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Dog behavior problems can be confusing, frustrating, and overwhelming. Sometimes, it's hard to even figure out what the real problem is. Or which problem is most important.
This flow chart brings clarity and order to the world of dog behavior problems and their respective solutions.
You can download the jpeg version of this file by Right-clicking on the image below, then selecting "Save Image As..." or something similar.
If you'd like to learn more about the dog training techniques that appear in this document, keep reading, or enroll in our free course; Six Simple Steps to Solve Your Dog's Behavior Problems.
Or, join the Top Dog Academy to get access to ALL of our online courses, plus our private support community, for just $20/month.
As you can see, there's three main types of problems: Household Problems, Temperament Problems, and Obedience Problems.
Each type of problem comes with a set of solutions.
There is one solution that is universal. Stop feeding your dog from a food bowl. If your dog behaves in ways that you want to change, then it doesn't matter what type of problem they have, you should not feed them from a food bowl, because food is a very powerful and easy to use dog training tool.
HOUSEHOLD PROBLEMS
The first type of dog behavior problem are household problems. These are the problems that occur when your dog is unsupervised at home. Dogs spend most of their time at home, unsupervised at home so resolving these problems is usually worth prioritizing.
Resolving Household Problems is all about house training. You have to teach your dog how to behave in a human home. You need to teach your dog where to potty and how to spend their time. The key to all of this is teaching your dog to love chewing on their chew toys and spending time resting quietly in their crate or on their bed.
This is incredibly easy to do if you use your dog's daily allotment of food. Simply feed your dog while they are inside their crate with hollow chewtoys filled with food.
SEPARATION ANXIETY
If your dog is afraid about being left alone it's very important that you proceed very gradually so you don't traumatize them, which can increase their fear. Chew toys and crates are still essential tools, except that you don't confine your dog inside their crate until you know they are happy being inside their crate.
Once they are happy to be confined in their crate while you are present, you gradually train them to be happy being confined in their crate while you are absent, by very gradually decreasing the level of your presence your dog needs to feel comfortable and safe.
TEMPERAMENT PROBLEMS
When dogs are afraid, reactive, or aggressive, it demands immediate attention because it's a sign that the dog is suffering. Chronic fear and anxiety are very unpleasant and often have a terrible impact on quality of life, for dogs and their owners.
The first question with temperament problems is whether the dog is dangerous. If the dog is dangerous, as shown by one or more biting incidents where the dog caused serious injury to a person or another dog, then safety is the #1 priority because there is a very good chance someone will get injured by this dog again. In these cases you really need the guidance of a dog training professional who can evaluate the dog and their environment in-person.
Fortunately, most fearful, reactive, and even "aggressive" dogs have never caused a significant injury. They might bark, lunge, snap and even bite, but when all is said and done, no one was physically harmed. If that is the case then this dog is quite safe to work with, and the solution is simple. Progress should be immediate and evident, but fully resolving the problem can take months.
The key tool is Classical Conditioning, to teach the dog to feel good about things that currently make them feel bad. Food is often the simplest way to classically condition your dog, but attention, praise, toys, games and fun are all very powerful tools as well.
It's also very valuable to teach your dog some basic obedience skills so you can manage their behavior and attention. Teaching your dog to reliably Come, Sit-Stay, Watch Me, and play Tug gives you some really useful tools for redirecting your dog when they are feeling uncomfortable about something in their environment.
OBEDIENCE PROBLEMS
If your dog has a behavior problem and it isn't due to fear, and it doesn't happen when your dog is at home, unsupervised, then the solution is simple, but also complicated!
The simple answer is: Train your dog to do specific desirable behaviors on cue, promptly and reliably. When your dog engages in undesirable behaviors, ask your dog to do one of the desirable behavior instead.
The complicated part is: How do you go about teaching a dog to do a behavior on cue? What behaviors do you teach? How do you get them to do it promptly and reliably?
One of those questions is pretty simple: you really only need to teach a handful of skills to take care of most dog behavior problems. In fact, a solid Sit-Stay will take care of almost all of them, all by itself, if the reliability is good enough.
In addition to Sit-Stay, it's helpful to have a reliable Settle-Down, Go to Your Bed/Mat, Come, Off, Take It, Get Your Chew Toy, Walk (on a Loose Leash), and Shush.
Teaching your dog to perform these to perform these behaviors on cue is also pretty simple. The technique is called Lure Reward training and there are 4 steps: 1. Cue, 2. Lure, 3. Behavior, 4. Reward.
For example, 1. Give a Cue (like a hand signal or a spoken word) and then 2. Use a Lure to get your dog to 3. Do the Behavior you want and then 4. Give your dog a Reward.
The tricky part is teaching your dog to do these behaviors on cue promptly and reliably, even when there are other interesting or exciting things happening in their environment.
To do this, you really have to harness the power of rewards that are even more powerful and meaningful to your dog than food. Food is a great place to start when teaching obedience skills, but it's only the first step.
LEARN MORE
If you'd like to learn more about the dog training techniques that appear in this document, keep reading, or enroll in our free course; Six Simple Steps to Solve Your Dog's Behavior Problems.
Or, join the Top Dog Academy to get access to ALL of our online courses, plus our private support community, for just $20/month.
ANOTHER VERSION
Fitting everything onto one printable page was pretty tricky so we made this alternate version that isn't constrained in the same way. It's mostly the same concepts but with a little more space and information.
You are welcome to share this version as well. It's not intended for printing though so there's no PDF version.
LEARN MORE
If you'd like to learn more about the dog training techniques that appear in this document, keep reading, or enroll in our free course; Six Simple Steps to Solve Your Dog's Behavior Problems.
Or, join the Top Dog Academy to get access to ALL of our online courses, plus our private support community, for just $20/month.
Looking for more DADDs (Dunbar Academy Downloadable Documents)? You can find them here.
