Much as we love our pets, problem behaviours can make life very challenging. Studies suggest that 7% of cat owners and 14% of dog owners who relinquish their pet do so because of things like house soiling, barking and damaging furniture. Act fast to nip issues in the bud and protect your pet relationship and their life.
At the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation, we don’t just want to stop pets being admitted to pounds and shelters. We want owners and pets to thrive. Poor behaviour can be stressful for many pet owners.
If your pet is exhibiting problem behaviours, seek help early. Reach out to an organisation such as the RSPCA, which can offer support, or to a vet who has training in behavioural medicine. Resolving behaviour problems quickly decreases the number of pets surrendered to pounds and increases the life enjoyment of many more.
Pets are not born bad. Dogs and cats are influenced by their surroundings, as well as their interactions with others. In fact, without realizing the reasons behind your pet’s unwanted behaviour, you may be accidentally reinforcing bad pet behaviours.
Relinquishment to shelter is a last resort for solving your pet’s behaviour problem. With patience and time, resolving behaviour problems together, you and your pet can work through most unwanted behaviours that may arise.
Problem behaviours in cats
The most common problem behaviours cited by cat owners are not abnormal behaviours but may be reduced or eliminated by effective behaviour modification. These include, inappropriate elimination, scratching, aggression, anxiety, eating problems, vocalization, and excessive activity.
House soiling
Cats stop using their litter boxes for a variety of reasons, including issues with the box or litter, dissatisfaction with the placement or number of boxes, changes in the environment inside or outside the house, and undiagnosed medical conditions.
Here are some common reasons why a cat might avoid the litter box:
• There aren’t enough litter boxes
• They do not like the type of litter
• They do not like the type of litter box
• They do not like where the box is located
• The litter box isn’t clean
• They have a health issue, such as a bladder or kidney problem
To address this issue, cat owners are advised to get their cats physical health checked, change brands of kitty litter, alter or change the type of litter box, move the location of the litter box, add a litter box and increase the cleanliness of the litter box.
Remember, cats will re-soil and spray areas they have marked with their scent. If your cat has eliminated somewhere you do not want it to, you MUST use an odour neutraliser not just a deodorant.
Hyperactivity
Although it may seem as though your cat has gone mad; running around, jumping off furniture, chasing anything that moves and generally being a bit hyperactive, is all quite normal for cats. These types of outbursts are usually just a way for your cat to expel some pent-up energy by acting out its natural predatory instincts.
If your cat does this more frequently, it may be lonely or bored. Providing toys and ‘play time’ will generally calm it cat down. It is much better to provide active entertainment than to just throw a toy on the floor - try playing with a piece of string your cat can stalk and attack.
Timidness
If your cat is fearful of strangers, start by creating a quiet, secure area where they can go before guests arrive. Choose a secluded, quiet spot where they can feel relaxed and safe. Ensure they have a comfortable bed, fresh water, food, entertainment, and a litter box.
A few minutes before your guests arrive, give your cat the option to retreat to the designated area. Once they're inside, reward them with a special treat and provide an interactive or food-dispensing toy to keep them distracted, helping to create a positive connection with the presence of strangers in your home.
Scratching furniture
Cats scratch not to destroy your furniture or annoy you but to satisfy innate needs. Scratching is a marking behaviour; it allows the deposition of scent from special glands on the cat’s paws and helps to keep the nails healthy.
Identify your cats scratching preference - soft or hard surfaces, scratching horizontally or vertically – then provide them with alternatives that match these preferences.
Design a scratching area for your cat, moving the new scratching post near to its old scratching location, then slowly move the new post to your preferred area. Treats and praise should be given when the cat uses its new post.
While you can try to make unacceptable items unavailable or less attractive to your cat, by spraying products that are designed to deter the behaviours, punishing a cat WILL NOT decrease scratching long-term. Cats are unable to link their punishment to their behaviour and may just become afraid of you.
Aggression in cats
Some displays of seemingly aggressive behaviour are actually normal ways for cats to communicate. Cats use behaviours such as biting, scratching and pouncing to tell other cats that they do not wish to interact, to protect their territory or valuable possessions (including food), and in play. Cats may hurt people or other animals simply because they do not know how to play appropriately. However, if your cat growls and hisses to you in an undesirable manner they may need to be taught better ways to interact, or you may need to help them become more comfortable in certain situations.
Physical punishment, even a light tap on the nose, increases your cat’s fear and anxiety. Some cats may even see it as a challenge and become more aggressive. Certain medications can help, but only in conjunction with behaviour modification and environmental changes.
Recognizing the signs of aggression, then startling your cat without making physical contact are effective in curbing most aggression problems and then food treats can be used to effectively reward non-aggressive behaviour.
Problem behaviours in dogs
Dogs have different social rituals and instincts to humans - unwanted dog behaviours can result from miscommunication and misunderstanding between pet owners and their dogs. Unwanted behaviours can improve dramatically with appropriate management, but don’t expect results overnight.
House soiling
Training techniques for house-soiling dogs are virtually identical to those needed to house train a new puppy. However, even if house-soiling dogs are retrained to eliminate outdoors, indoor sites may continue to be used, since the odour, substrate, and learned habit may continue to attract your dog back to the location.
The key to effective house training is vigilant supervision and prevent access to indoor elimination sites. If you find your pet in the process of eliminating in an inappropriate location, you can use a mild correction and redirect him/her to an appropriate area. Use a word cue prior to each elimination so your dog will learn to eliminate on command. When you find your pet in action in an appropriate place, reinforce the acceptable behaviour with lavish praise or food rewards.
Aggression in dogs
Dog aggression is an overloaded word. It can mean anything from staring, jumping, showing teeth, lunging, growling, barking, or biting. Your first step is to rule out medical causes, for example conditions that cause pain, after that you’ll need to seek professional advice. An aggression problem will not go away by itself and requires in-home help from an animal behaviour specialist.
Spaying or neutering your dog is often beneficial - intact dogs are more likely to display dominance, territorial, and protective aggressive behaviour. Take precautions to keep people and other animals safe; supervise, confine, and/or restrict your dog’s activities until you can obtain professional guidance. Avoid exposing your dog to situations where he is more likely to show aggression and, if your dog is possessive of toys or treats or territorial in certain locations, prevent access and you’ll prevent the problem.
Treatment for aggression often involves behavioural modification techniques. These techniques use positive reinforcement as the basis – reward ‘good’ behaviour and avoid reinforcing ‘unwanted’ behaviour. Treatment for aggression generally does not involve the owner ‘punishing’, using aversion therapy or being aggressive towards the dog as this is likely to make the dog’s aggressive behaviour worse.
Barking
Barking is one of many forms of vocal communication for dogs, but if your dog barks constantly it can damage its relationship with you or your neighbours.
Tactics to address barking include blocking visual cues if it’s a territorial issue, removing the motivation, ignoring the behaviour, desensitising your dog to the stimulus, teaching them the ‘quiet’ command, giving more opportunities for energetic exercise and training them to do something that inhibits barking, such as lying down in bed.
Get expert help sooner rather than later, before your relationship with your neighbours is damaged and complaints go to Council.
Separation anxiety
If your dog seems to worry when you’re heading out, or destroys things when you leave the house, take steps to build their confidence and make them less anxious.
Don’t make a big deal out of arrivals and departures — leave them with a delicious treat and then ignore them for the first few minutes after you get home, then calmly pet them. Establish a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you’ll be back.
You can also leave them with recently worn clothes that smell like you and consider an over-the-counter calming product that reduces fearfulness.
However, if the problem continues despite your interventions, it’s important to seek professional help. The key to resolving challenging behaviours is to act fast – address them before they become embedded, so that you and your pet can happily coexist.
How you can help
Donate today to support the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation’s work to identify evidence-based interventions that save animals and keep them safe and well in happy homes.
