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Pet Health :: Pet Behavior
Cat and Dog Behavior:
Training, Obedience and Overcoming Behavior Problems
Part of the fun, challenges, and responsibilities of owning a cat or dog are training them and helping them resolve behavior problems and issues. Since pet owners and their lifestyles are as varied as you can imagine, it’s important to find what methods and strategies work best within your household.
Ideally, a well-behaved and well-trained dog will:
- Respond to your voice or hand/body motions whether on or off the leash.
- React in a disciplined manner when in a public place and around unfamiliar people.
- Have a method of notifying you when s/he needs to go outside.
- Avoid destructive behavior inside the house.
- Avoid elimination inside the house.
- Walk obediently while on a leash.
- Avoid standing or sitting next to the family at meal times and begging for table scraps.
- Lie on the floor or in its bed or crate rather than lying on the couch or a family member’s favorite chair.
Teaching Your Dog Obedience
Whether you’re the proud owner of a young puppy or an older dog, you can easily learn how to avoid dog behavior problems. Once you’ve discovered a few techniques that actually work, you’ll become more interactive with your pet’s training and discipline.
- Following are several recommendations to help you get started.
- Buy a crate large enough for a full-grown version of your dog.
- Train your puppy by using the crate. Never use the crate as a “time-out corner” or as punishment for a wrongful accident.
- Never leave your dog unattended (in a crate or in the house) for extremely long time periods. Dogs naturally tend to get destructive when left idle for too long.
- Enroll your puppy or new dog in dog training classes. Obedience is reinforced with repetition. In addition, the socialization will be fun for both of you.
- Decide early about the rules within your household. What you allow during the initial six months in your home will be more difficult to undo when your dog is a year old.
- Find a bonding activity that brings you and your dog together at least once a day. That can be a brisk walk outside, playing fetch the ball or Frisbee, or grooming your dog or brushing his teeth.
- Your time investment now will pay off for all the years your dog lives with you.
Training Your Cat
Cat training and good behavior has a tendency to occur a lot faster when you’re around to administer the discipline within the first several weeks of bringing the cat into your home.
Although most kittens will not like being confined inside a crate, leaving the crate with its door open in a common room that you frequent can be comforting to a cat’s new environment. Inside the crate, you can place a soft blanket and perhaps a little toy. You’ll be surprised when you see the cat soundly asleep inside the open crate.
While young cats are good at preening themselves, two of your main jobs as their caretaker is to train them to use the litter box and to show them where and what they may not scratch their claws on.
Here are three topics to discuss with your veterinarian, before or after bringing a new cat into your household:
- How to train your cat to use only the litter box.
- How to recognize when urination accidents are linked to feeling unwell.
- How to discipline your cat so it doesn’t shred items in your home with its claws.
It’s good to understand your veterinarian’s viewpoints about training, discipline, and obedience. He or she will have tips to share with you that will prove helpful now and in the future when your cat needs shots, surgery, or boarding.
What Cats Do When They React to Stress and Anxiety
When a cat urinates in places other than the litter box, it’s frequently due to three factors, all relating to stress and anxiety:
- Your cat is marking its territory as a measure to let you know about its psychological stress within the household.
- Your cat is behaving badly and urinates in unusual places to get more of your attention.
- Sometimes your cat isn’t feeling well and will use the behavior tactic to alert you of medical problems. This is when you need to know the medical warning signs. Be sure to discuss these with your veterinarian. Schedule an appointment with your vet as soon as possible.
How to Make Your Life Easier When You Have a New Cat in Your House
They say that as humans we don’t apply the knowledge we have until there’s a real cause to use it. Reading books and watching videos that describe cat behavior, cat training, and cat obedience will have more impact when you own a cat and need to resolve a specific problem.
It’s important to learn the basics about cats before you bring one home. It’s also important to choose a veterinarian that you trust. After buying your cat, do your research for a vet in your hometown who you can easily talk to and relate to.
For an in-depth appointment with one of our trusted veterinarians, please call one of our office locations to schedule an in-person appointment. We look forward to meeting you and your cat.
