16 Common Dog Behavior Issues and Tips to Fix Them

Dogs are the most popular pet in the United States, found in 59.8 million households across the country.¹ Many dog owners want the best for their pups, which means regular veterinary care, quality food and training, especially if behaviors pop up.

Like humans, dogs can face stressors, anxiety and even trauma, which may manifest as behavioral challenges. The tips below can help you get to the root of common behavior challenges, but if you start to feel stuck or overwhelmed, reaching out to a positive reinforcement-based trainer can be a great next step for extra support.

Important note: It’s always recommended to get your dog checked by a veterinarian to rule out any medical issues, especially if a behavior pops up seemingly out of nowhere.

1. Separation Anxiety

There are a couple of common reasons your dog may destroy the house or attempt to break out of their crate when you aren’t home: they’re bored, they aren’t fully house-trained or they may have separation anxiety. Dogs with separation anxiety may become distressed when separated from their pet parents and may even attempt to escape from your home in an effort to go find you, potentially injuring themselves in the process.

Signs of separation anxiety in a dog usually include several problematic behaviors that typically occur when you aren’t home, including:

• Destructive chewing
• Drooling
• Escape attempts
• Excessive barking
• Getting anxious when you prepare to leave
• Ingesting feces (coprophagia)
• Pacing the home compulsively
• Urinating or defecating in the home

How to help your dog’s separation anxiety

How you deal with your dog’s separation anxiety depends on its severity. Mild separation anxiety can often be resolved with counterconditioning, which means changing your dog’s reaction to a situation from one of fear to one that is pleasant.²

Counterconditioning can be most effective when you can replace their anxiety around your leaving with something they enjoy, like a puzzle toy, lick mat or chew toy stuffed with peanut butter before you leave home to keep them entertained while you’re away.²

Here are some other ideas that may help ease your pup’s separation anxiety:

• Enroll your pup in doggy day care so they won’t be alone and can get some exercise, too. It is best to start when they are younger to get them accustomed to this routine.
• Hide kibble around your home to keep your dog busy hunting for their food.
• Perform some of the behaviors you usually do before leaving your home at various times of the day, but don’t leave. This desensitizes your dog to the cues that you’re leaving.
• Speak with your veterinarian to see if treats with calming ingredients (such as chamomile, L-tryptophan or CBD oil) or medication might help ease your dog’s anxiety.

2. Aggression

One of the most serious problems you might encounter with your dog is aggression toward people and other pets. There are several different types of aggression in dogs:²

• Defensive. When a dog is afraid, they may demonstrate aggressive behaviors to scare the threat.
• Fear. A dog may become aggressive when it's cornered or feels trapped.
• Pain-elicited. Dogs in pain may demonstrate aggressive behaviors.
• Possessive. Also known as resource guarding, this is when a dog aggressively guards their food, toys or even people from others.
• Predatory. Some breeds have a higher prey drive than others, but any dog may instinctively chase or grab something smaller than them or moving quickly.
• Protective. This is when a dog shows aggression if they think a family member is in danger.
• Redirection. If a dog is being aggressive toward someone or something else and you intervene, your dog may redirect their aggression toward you.
• Territorial. This is when a dog bites or attacks people who come into their yard or house.

Signs of aggression in dogs can include:

• Baring their teeth
• Becoming very rigid or freezing, often paired with a hard stare
• Biting (applying enough pressure to cause a bruise or break the skin)
• Growling
• Low, guttural barks
• Lunging
• “Muzzle punching” (when the dog pokes a person aggressively with their nose)
• Nipping
• Snarling
• Snapping
• Staring

Managing your dog’s aggression

Don’t ignore signs of aggression in dogs toward people or other pets, as this behavior can escalate to dangerous levels. Here are some ways to deal with your dog’s aggression:

• Consult with your veterinarian to rule out a medical issue that might make your dog uncommonly reactive. Your veterinarian may also recommend medication to help calm your dog’s aggressive behavior.
• Identify your dog’s triggers for aggression and avoid them.
• If your dog is young, consider taking them to a socialization class. Many trainers and humane societies offer facilitated socialization classes for dogs who may have mild reactivity.
• Keep your dog away from other dogs, pets and children if they are aggressive around them.
• Seek the help of an animal behaviorist or dog trainer.
• Spay or neuter your dog, which may help curb aggressive behaviors.

3. Excessive Barking

Dogs bark for numerous reasons, including fear, boredom, anxiety, to alert you to perceived danger, to get attention and to be social. If your dog’s barking seems excessive, pay close attention to determine when and why your dog’s barking gets out of hand.

Strategies to help your dog stop barking excessively

How you deal with your dog’s excessive barking depends on the trigger for it:

• For dogs who seem to bark continuously or at other people and dogs, teach them the quiet command. Allow your dog two or three barks, say “quiet” and feed them a few treats to keep them quiet. If your dog remains quiet, praise and give a treat. Repeat as necessary.²
• If your dog barks at people and pets walking by your home, consider closing your drapes or blinds.³
• If your dog is barking for attention, ignore them and praise them only when they’re quiet.⁴
• Provide your dog with toys while you’re gone — such as lick mats or chew toys filled with treats — to keep them occupied and prevent barking due to boredom.²

4. Destructive Chewing

Has your dog been chewing everything from your couch to your slippers? Chewing is a natural dog behavior, especially for puppies, but boredom, hunger and anxiety are a few triggers that can cause it to get out of hand.

Stopping your dog from destructive chewing

While puppies tend to chew everything in sight when teething, this behavior should subside after 6 months of age. For dogs who continue to chew on items when they are older, consider the following tips:

• Give your dog a variety of chew toys and treat-filled puzzle toys as an acceptable outlet for chewing.
• If you catch your pooch chewing something they shouldn’t, use a simple command like “no,” take away the item, replace it with an acceptable chew toy and offer praise.
• Provide ample exercise and attention to prevent chewing due to boredom.
• Use a deterrent spray on items you don’t want to be chewed or move them out of your dog’s reach.

5. Destructive Digging

Like chewing, digging is a natural behavior for many breeds of dogs, especially those originally bred to hunt small prey like rodents. Other causes of digging include:

• Being kept outside in very warm temperatures (Your dog may try to dig a hole to escape the heat.)
• Boredom (Your dog has nothing better to do.)
• Separation anxiety. (Your dog is trying to escape your yard and get to you.)

Stopping your dog from destructive digging

You can do several things to combat your dog’s destructive digging based on the cause of the digging:⁵

• Give your dog a designated digging space in your yard filled with soft dirt or sand near dog-safe plants to indulge their instinct to dig. Bury toys and treats in this area so your dog is more apt to dig there.
• Keep your dog indoors in an air-conditioned space with plenty of water when the weather is very hot and you aren’t there to supervise them.
• Provide your dog with lots of toys to keep them occupied when they are alone if they “dig” indoors.
• Use motion-activated sprinklers or chicken wire in areas where you want them to stop digging.

6. Begging for Food

If your dog regularly begs for food at your dinner table and at parties, it's likely because they are hungry or they know that by begging, they’ll get a treat. However, not all table scraps are good for dogs and can be a danger to their health.

Stopping your dog from begging for food

An effective way to get your dog to stop begging is to ignore them when they do. When your dog realizes that begging won’t get them treats, they may (eventually) stop. If that doesn’t work, try these tips:

• Feed your dog before you eat or at the same time, but give them their own eating space.
• Keep your dog out of the room while you eat.
• Teach your dog basic commands like “sit,” “stay” and “leave it.”
• Teach your dog to go to their crate or a designated spot away from the dining table. Place some toys — especially chew toys filled with something yummy like peanut butter or spray cheese — in the spot to keep them busy.

7. Leash Pulling

Does your dog pull you along at record speeds while on walks? They could be tempted to follow an interesting scent or just have pent-up energy. And by pulling on their leash, your dog gets to whatever they’re following faster. But it’s important for your dog to be able to walk on a leash properly, as it’s often illegal — and unsafe — to let them run off-leash.⁶

Leash-training your dog

To stop your dog from dragging you along on walks, these tips may help:⁶

• Be consistent with your no-pulling rule in all situations.
• Let your dog stop and smell things during walks when they are not pulling on their leash.
• Reward your dog with treats and praise when they heel and/or walk by your side.
• Stay calm and stop walking when your dog starts to pull on the lead. Once your dog is calm and the leash is loose, resume walking.
• Turn around and walk in a different direction when your dog starts to pull on the leash, so they learn that pulling doesn’t get them to where they want to go.
• Walk faster. Some dogs’ natural pace is faster than our natural pace, so if you can pick it up a little bit, you’ll be more in stride together.

8. Jumping

Your dog greeting you and your guests by jumping all over them with excitement may seem sweet, but it can be unpleasant, especially with larger dogs. Their excitement could knock over you or someone else, like a small child or elderly adult.

Strategies to help your dog from jumping on people

To help get your overly excited pup to stop jumping on you and others, you can take the following steps:⁷

• Give your dog the “sit” command prior to allowing them to greet anyone. Once they are sitting and greeting someone politely, give them plenty of treats as a reward. If at any point they stand, ignore them and start again.
• Throw treats on the ground for your dog to eat when they greet you or a friend to keep their paws on the ground. Repeat this process, allowing your dog to first make the greeting with no signs of jumping and then treat them.
• Turn around and ignore your dog when they start jumping on you. This teaches your dog that jumping on you won’t get them attention and love.

9. House Soiling

No one likes coming home to puddles of pee and piles of poo around the home, but house soiling has many causes, including medical issues. With puppies and even some dogs, you may not be giving them enough potty breaks throughout the day, or they may be soiling the house as part of a bigger issue, like separation anxiety.

House training your dog

Here are some things to consider when it comes to training your dog to eliminate when and where appropriate:

• Begin with a visit to a veterinarian to rule out a medical condition, like a urinary tract infection, as the cause of your dog’s house soiling, especially if this behavior is recent.
• Have a dog walker come by to give your dog a walk or two while you are gone, ensuring they have plenty of potty breaks. This may also help with separation anxiety, as they have human interaction throughout the day.
• Praise and treat your dog when they successfully go potty outside or in a designated indoor potty spot.
• Provide your dog with access to the outdoors through a dog door, or set up an indoor potty spot if you have to be gone for most of the day.
• Take your dog out 15 to 20 minutes after meals, first thing in the morning, before bedtime and during the middle of the day. These are the most likely times they’ll need to go potty.
• While at home with your dog, keep them on a long lead so they can’t sneak off to go potty in a corner. If you notice any behaviors like sniffing, circling or squatting, quickly walk your dog to their designated potty spot.

10. Fears and Phobias

Just like people, dogs can develop fears and phobias of everything from strangers to loud noises like fireworks or thunder, especially if they weren’t properly socialized in their first three months of life or experienced previous trauma.⁸

Signs that your dog may have a fear or phobia include:

• Cowering
• Displaying aggressive behaviors like growling, snapping or biting
• Fidgeting
• Freezing in place
• Hiding
• Looking away
• Panting
• Running away
• Shivering
• Tucking their tail between their legs

Help ease your pet’s fears, phobias and anxiety

With some gentle reassurance and rewards, you can help your dog overcome many of their fears and phobias. In more severe cases, your vet may recommend medication during events that cause your dog more stress.

In the meantime, you can try some of these tips:⁸

• Avoid whatever is causing your dog’s fears. For example, if your dog is afraid of the vacuum, put your dog in another room or outside when you vacuum.
• Give your dog a quiet space to retreat to if they become overwhelmed by guests at parties or during loud celebrations. An extra bedroom can be a good spot for this.
• If your dog has a fear of new people, ask friends and family to immediately give your dog a tasty treat when they arrive at your home. Don’t make your dog take the treat from them; ask your guest to toss the treat in the dog’s direction.
• Play soothing music or use a white noise machine to drown out frightening sounds like fireworks or thunder.
• Try a calming wrap to keep your dog relaxed prior to stressful situations that could induce fear.
• Use a calming dog pheromone spray or diffuser in your home to provide a tranquil atmosphere and ease your dog’s fears during events like thunderstorms.
• Visit your veterinarian to see if medication can help calm your dog.

11. Hyperactivity

If your dog seems to be bouncing off the walls all the time, it could be due to one of several factors: their age, their breed, how much exercise they get (or don’t get) or a medical issue.

Calming your hyperactive dog

All dogs — especially high-energy and working breeds — need an outlet for pent-up energy. To help calm them, you can:

• Allow your dog to run free in your yard and play an active game of fetch at least once a day. Or take your pup to the dog park, where they can run around and get out all of that energy.
• Enroll your dog in doggy day care to give them a chance to run around and play all day so they will settle down at night.
• Enter your dog in agility contests or sporting events for dogs, such as flyball, herding, obedience or dock diving.

12. Self-Destructive Behavior

If you’re noticing your dog excessively chewing on their paws, scratching one spot in particular or scratching their ear or chin over and over again, it may be a sign of some sort of skin irritation, and a vet visit is in order.

How to help stop your dog from engaging in self-destructive behavior

A key to stopping this behavior is finding the cause of it:

• Allergies
• Environmental irritants (shampoos, for example)
• Bacterial or fungal infections
• Behavioral (stress or anxiety)
• Parasites (fleas or ticks)
• Seasonal changes

Once you determine the cause of the behavior, your vet can recommend medication, a different shampoo, keeping a cone on your pup until the irritation is resolved or other tips and techniques for keeping your dog comfortable.

13. Resource Guarding

As we mentioned above, resource guarding is a specific — and common — type of aggression in which a dog acts aggressively if a person or another animal comes near what they are “protecting,” be that food, treat, toy, bed, favorite person, etc.⁹

Tips to stop your dog from resource guarding

Sometimes it’s possible to manage your dog’s resource guarding. For example, if they only resource guard food from other dogs in the house during meal time, feed them separately from other dogs.

To help your dog’s resource guarding:⁹

• Begin training as soon as you can to prevent resource guarding from developing. If early training isn’t possible, you can still work with adult dogs who resource guard.
• Gradually get your dog comfortable with your presence around items like food or a toy. Start a few feet away and toss high-value treats (e.g., chicken or hot dogs) in their direction. Walk by and toss the food without stopping. They need to understand that you are not a threat to them and their prized possession.
• Pay attention to body language. Warning signs (like stiffening or a raised lip) mean you’re too close. If your dog looks relaxed or happy, as if they are anticipating the treats you have to offer, you can move a little closer next time.

It is not recommended to punish or threaten your dog over what they are guarding. This typically just makes the behavior worse.⁹

14. Humping/Mounting

Mounting and humping are normal behaviors for both males and females. Whether humping other dogs, people, toys or blankets, your pet may exhibit this behavior in many ways. It can be sexual, but can also occur when your dog is overstimulated, playing or displaying social status.

Stopping your dog from humping

First, rule out medical issues like a urinary tract infection or allergies, as these conditions may encourage your dog to rub their body against things, or lick their genital area more than usual. To reduce mounting due to other reasons:²

• If it’s infrequent and doesn’t bother anyone, ignore it or distract your dog when it happens.
• Move away or into a position where your dog isn’t able to hump.
• Neuter or spay your dog to reduce their motivation to hump other dogs while in heat or those that are in heat.
• Teach your dog “leave it” so that if they start to exhibit the behavior, you can call them off with a command.
• Tell your dog “no,” and take them to a quiet room for a short timeout.

If the behavior becomes compulsive or your dog gets aggressive when you try to deter the behavior, contact a qualified, positive reinforcement trainer for assistance.² 

15. Excitement or Submission Urination

Being greeted by an excited puppy or dog is one of the best things in the world. But when they leave a puddle of pee behind or spray on your shoe, it’s not as fun. Submission urination is another situation that you may come across, especially if you have a rescue pup with low self-confidence.

Managing excitement or submissive urination

Puppies have low bladder control, so if your puppy is only having issues holding their pee when they’re excited, they’ll likely grow out of it, assuming there isn’t an underlying medical issue.

Other ways to help prevent unwanted puddles:

• Keep greetings low-key. It’s tough not to get excited to see your puppy, but the more you can keep your body language relaxed and your voice quiet and low, the calmer your puppy may stay.
• Reward your puppy for calm behavior, or teach them to sit when they greet people.
• Try to ignore your puppy until they have calmed down a bit.

For submission urination:

• Build your dog’s self-confidence through agility and/or play dates with other dogs who match their play level.
• Don’t approach your dog from above or stare at them, both of which can be seen as threatening. Pet their chest or under their chin.
• Don’t yell or punish your dog for this; they’re actually demonstrating appeasement.
• Stay calm.

 16. Generalized Anxiety

Dogs can get stressed and experience anxiety for a variety of reasons, like fears of loud noises or separation anxiety. Dogs can also get age-related anxiety due to cognitive dysfunction or just the occasional stressful event. Signs of anxiety in dogs include:

• Aggression
• Depression
• Destructive behavior
• Drooling
• Excessive barking
• Pacing
• Panting
• Repetitive or compulsive behaviors
• Restlessness
• Urinating or defecating in the house

How to help your dog with their anxiety

Ways to help your dog with their anxiety include reaching out to your veterinarian, a certified behaviorist or a positive reinforcement trainer. They can help you get to the root of the issue and establish a treatment plan that may include medication, activities or exercises.

Helping Your Dog With Behavior Challenges

When your dog has a challenging behavior, it can be stressful for them — and it can be stressful for you, too. With some patience, consistency and maybe a little guidance from a professional, you can help your four-legged family member feel better and bring peace back to your household.

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Expert Reviewer

Dr. Kathy Wiederkehr (Wentworth) has been practicing veterinary medicine at pet care facilities in California since 2001. Most recently, she served as medical director of the VCA PetPoint Medical Center and Resort in Irvine. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and became board-certified as a diplomate in Canine and Feline Practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in 2010.

Author Bio

Abbie Mood is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience. She has worked with clients of all sizes to create compelling content and she has written for the American Kennel Club, Marriott Bonvoy, Women’s Health Online, Headspace and more.