Changes in Your Dog"s Behavior

Today I want to talk about changes in your dog’s behavior. By “changes in your dog’s behavior” I specifically want to talk about changes that we see at the dog daycare. Recently, we’ve had a couple of our regulars – dogs that we see a lot of – behaving differently than what we’re used to. One of the dogs is a relatively quiet boy who likes to play ball and doesn’t generally take a dislike to any dog. He snapped at a dog yesterday (unprovoked) and did the same thing today (a different dog). Another example is a high-energy dog that we see almost every day. She plays alot, and occasionally will play a little rough, at which point we step in and slow her down. But those instances, where she plays too rough, usually happen after many minutes of active play with a particular dog. She too has had a couple of bad days at the daycare, and charged at several different dogs, unprovoked.

Neither of these dogs are bad dogs, and neither of these dogs are aggressive dogs. This behavior is unusual for both of them. After some thought, and some discussion with the parents of both dogs, we have discovered the problem – both dogs have some changes in their home environment. Dogs are very sensitive to change – they are creatures of habit, and when the habits are disrupted, that can affect their energy level and mental state. The changes might not necessarily be bad changes (in your mind) but any change can be difficult for a dog to adjust to.

Because a dog that’s under stress (which is what change causes) is a little less predictable, any change in your home environment is important for us to know. Obviously, we don’t want to pry, and we don’t necessarily need details. But if we know that things at home aren’t what the dog is used to, then we’ll be better prepared to handle any unpredictable behavior we might see. So if you have family visiting, or a new pregnancy, or you’re packing boxes, please be aware that your dog knows something has changed. He smells your excitement or your anxiety or your stress, and he will react to that. And you might not see a change in his behavior at home. But often, even if you don’t notice a change at home (when he’s on walks or wandering around behind you at the house), we might very well see it when he’s in a group of dogs. We will always let you know if we see unusual behavior from your dog when you pick him up – we get to know our charges quite well (we spend so much time with them). If we do tell you that, please think about what changes might have occurred in his environment, and let us know. It helps explain these changes for us, so we know what to expect, and we can be better prepared to handle your dog when he’s with us. We are very understanding, and are happy to work with you, to make sure your dog is happy and well-adjusted, and enjoying himself.