Dog Behaviour

It can be difficult to tell exactly what a dog means, can’t it? But can you blame them? Well, not really. Dogs, like many animals, have only a few ways of telling you exactly what it is they want. To convey whether they want more water, food, a walk, to go to the toilet, to play and to see other dogs, they have a very limited number of barks and body language at their disposal. It’s no wonder that these signals are sometimes misread, then.

Biting is one common dog-trait which can also mean a number of things. The thing is to pay attention to your dog’s behaviour: does he / she look happy when biting? Or is there an aggressive nature there which seems uncalled for? Well, have you considered that the dog hasn’t been outside for a while and may need the toilet? Many dogs will bite simply out of desperation for something they are unable to get across.

The other thing is, of course, tiredness. When dogs get tired they tend to act differently. The important thing to know is this: if the dog is happily lying down then do not disturb the animal. Also, creeping up to play a ‘joke’ on the dog won’t b appreciated, just as if somebody did this to you while you were fast asleep.

But what about play-fighting? How can you tell if the dog is playing or being serious. This is a tricky issue. Nine times out of ten it can be quite difficult, but the main thing is to pay attention to when your dog does it. Look closely and the signs will become visible.

Holiday update: The designs to take a camping caravan along the south coast are in the pipeline! Although we do need to look into getting a Touring caravan insurance quote, I am delegating this to Milton...