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Pet Behavior and Pet Behavioral Problems

Let’s face it.  Pet behavioral problems are problems for us – not for them.  Our companion animals do not even recognize them as being problems.  They don’t do things that we don’t like to “get back at us” or to “make us angry”.  They are just doing what seems perfectly fine to them.  They just do not realize that they need to follow certain rules of conduct in order to fit into their human environment.

When an animal enters our home it is similar to us entering a new country with a language and set of customs and behaviors that we do not know.  If we were to go to such a new country and followed our previous customs, we would probably do things that seemed fine to us, but which were totally against the customs and rules of that country.  If we were lucky, someone would come to us and kindly explain the rules of that country so that we could learn to live in harmony in the new environment.

Likewise, when a companion animal enters our “country” (our home), we need to gently and kindly explain to them how things run in this “country” (home).  We cannot expect them to know without our telling them.  We have to start with reasonable expectations.

If the cat scratches on the couch, it is not because she is trying to irritate us.  She is just doing what nature has programmed her to do.  It is up to us to modify her behavior so she no longer scratches on the couch.  If the new puppy urinates on the carpet, it is not because he is misbehaved or stupid.  He is just doing what he thinks he should be doing.  It is up to us to gently change his behavior so that what he does conforms with accepted household behavior.

I dare say that if the world worked in the opposite way and animals adopted us to live in their world, it would take a bit of training for us to learn how to act in their society.

General Advice On Behavioral Problems

Destructive Scratching in Cats

Housetraining Your Dog

Litter Boxes and Litter Box Problems

Introducing A New Pet To Your Household

Destructive Chewing by Puppies and Adult Dogs