Decoding Dog Behaviors: Why Does My Dog Act This Way? An Interview with Nick Franco | Pupford
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Sometimes we watch our dogs do certain things and are left wondering... why in the world are they doing that?!
The best part is, as we strive to better understand why our dogs do certain things we can better understand how to stop those unwanted behaviors.
Although you don't need a degree in dog psychology, taking steps to think about the why will help you improve your dog's behavior.
In this episode with Nick Franco, we talk about why our dogs act the way that they do. Plus, we discuss some real-life examples of how understanding the 'why' can help us improve that specific behavior!
In Nick’s words, he is an animal addict on a journey to learn everything he can about pet behavior, nutrition, and products so that he can spread the word and improve the lives of as many pets as he possibly can.
LET'S USE LEASH WALKING AS AN EXAMPLE... HOW CAN UNDERSTANDING "WHY" DOGS PULL ON A LEASH HELP US OVERCOME THAT CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR? (Starts around 4:40)
Not understanding the way leads to excuses and lack of responsibility
When we look at why dogs do certain things, it opens up our way of thinking to… ‘How can I make my dog want to do what I want them to do”
When we see the why, it helps us understand the best way to give them the ‘how’
WITHOUT NEEDING TO GET A PHD IN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, WHAT CAN PUP PARENTS DO TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR DOGS LEARN AND WHY THEY ACT THE WAY THAT THEY DO? (Starts around 12:55)
Simply put, if something gets reinforced, that behavior will increase in frequency (and sometimes we do NOT want that)
If we want to decrease the frequency of a behavior, how will you ensure situations lead to less opportunities of it occurring and how do you interrupt the behavior to reduce the frequency
Often, we want to prevent the behavior from ever occurring while also practicing real-life scenarios BEFORE they happen
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PUP PARENTS WHO STRUGGLE TO KEEP THE "WHY" IN MIND AS THEY TRAIN THEIR DOG? (Starts around 17:40)
Practice, practice, practice!
You have to practice and plan so you can practice the scenario BEFORE you are in a real-life challenge
Practicing leads you to better real-life results… education to application
Always be thinking… how can I set my dog up for success so that it is SO easy for my dog to do the right thing?
RECAP
Understanding why our dogs do certain things can help us better train our dogs and build stronger communication with them! Proper training,practice, positive reinforcement, and improving our communication with our dogs, will all assist in our efforts to better learn from and communicate with our dogs.
How do you think your communication is with your dog(s)? Let us know in the comments below!
Could be hormones too. My pup went thru crazy regression 6-7 months old, was spayed @ 7 months. Was about to go intoheat day of her spay. I realized after that it was hormones that made her so unreliable/crazy. Pups also go thru growth spurts & you have to just stay consistent w/ training & your routine.
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Team Pupford01/26/2025
We have different articles that cover all of those topics. Here is one on leash walking: https://pupford.com/train-dog-walk-better-leash/
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Suzy01/26/2025
Cindy you have a smart dog!! I have wondered the same thing at times with our 10 mth old labrador. I think what you (and me) probably need to do is interrupt the behaviour before your dog jumps up, and if she doesn’t jump up then you give her a treat. So for example if you can see she is about to jump up you could call her to you and give her lots of praise and a treat and distract with a toy. If she jumps up and then gets down there is no treat. I’m sure you have already thought of this!! Good luck, they are a lot of work, aren’t they.
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Nancy01/26/2025
My puppy will be a year on May 19th. She is a hugh chewer. She is chewing on my wood kitchen chair to the point that they will need replacing. She has all kinds of chew toys and chews on them also. She also still pees and poos in the house. I work so I am gone all day. I know that is a problem. She does go potty when I take her out.
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Team Pupford01/26/2025
First, you want to rule out any medical issues if your dog is peeing in the house. Since you’re gone at work a lot of the day your dog could be bored at home. You may want to have someone check on your dog while you are out, take them on a walk, etc. Sometimes boredom is the culprit of a dog’s destructive behavior.
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54 comments
Leave a CommentCould be hormones too. My pup went thru crazy regression 6-7 months old, was spayed @ 7 months. Was about to go intoheat day of her spay. I realized after that it was hormones that made her so unreliable/crazy. Pups also go thru growth spurts & you have to just stay consistent w/ training & your routine.
We have different articles that cover all of those topics. Here is one on leash walking: https://pupford.com/train-dog-walk-better-leash/
Cindy you have a smart dog!! I have wondered the same thing at times with our 10 mth old labrador. I think what you (and me) probably need to do is interrupt the behaviour before your dog jumps up, and if she doesn’t jump up then you give her a treat. So for example if you can see she is about to jump up you could call her to you and give her lots of praise and a treat and distract with a toy. If she jumps up and then gets down there is no treat. I’m sure you have already thought of this!! Good luck, they are a lot of work, aren’t they.
My puppy will be a year on May 19th. She is a hugh chewer. She is chewing on my wood kitchen chair to the point that they will need replacing. She has all kinds of chew toys and chews on them also. She also still pees and poos in the house. I work so I am gone all day. I know that is a problem. She does go potty when I take her out.
First, you want to rule out any medical issues if your dog is peeing in the house. Since you’re gone at work a lot of the day your dog could be bored at home. You may want to have someone check on your dog while you are out, take them on a walk, etc. Sometimes boredom is the culprit of a dog’s destructive behavior.