Dogs can be loyal, loving companions, but that doesn’t mean they’re always being good boys or girls. No pet parent wants to come home to a chewed-up couch or garbage thrown around the house, but it turns out, naughty behavior like that happens with a lot of dogs. According to a new study, over 99% of canines in the U.S. have at least some unwanted behaviors.
Researchers from Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences analyzed data from the Dog Aging Project, which surveyed more than 43-thousand dog owners of various breeds, ages and locations across the country.
- Owners rated their dog’s behaviors on a scale from zero to four, with four being a serious issue.
- The study finds that 99.12% of dogs show at least one moderately serious to serious problem, or at least two problems they rank as moderate to serious.
- The biggest issue with dogs overall is separation and attachment behaviors, which 85.9% of owners report their dog having.
- These can include restlessness, pacing, following them around the house, sitting close to them, trying to escape, barking and chewing things when left alone.
- More than half (55%) of dogs have moderate to serious behaviors in the aggression category, 49.9% have behaviors related to fear and anxiety, and 4.1% have house soiling issues.
- Other dog behavior issues owners report include persistent barking, escaping, frequently eating grass or poop and chewing stuff they shouldn’t.
- Only 110 dogs in the survey had no reported behavior problems.
- According to the study, aggressive behaviors are the most common problem brought up to veterinary behavior specialists.
- Overall, researchers find most dogs’ behavior issues are mild or don’t happen enough for the owner to consider it a problem they need to get help for, or they find a way to deal with it.
Source: Newsweek
Scott's Thoughts:
- But is having your dog follow you around the house all the time really a behavior problem?
- Some of these things are just the nature of dogs. I am not sure it is fair to call them behavior problems.
- Dogs are great companions. But they are not human beings. You should limit your expectations.