5 Unwanted Dog Behaviors that DISAPPEAR when you do this

You don't have a bad dog, you have bad structure. And I know that might hit a little bit, but most dogs that are dealing with behavioral issues are not actually broken. They're happening because the dogs have way too much freedom, no clarity, and absolutely zero consistency from their owners. Now I'm a professional dog trainer who specializes in behavior modification, working with dogs all the time that struggle with anxiety, fear, reactivity, aggression, and resource guarding. And let me tell you one thing really clearly, the dogs aren't the problem. It's what the dogs are allowed to rehearse every single day that creates the behavioral problems that they're dealing with. And once we fix that, everything starts to change. So let's break down what structure actually means and how the lack of it is actually creating the problem behaviors that you're dealing with. Number one, like I said generally, your dog has too much freedom. Your dog is allowed to do basically anything it wants in the house. They bark in the windows, they demand bark for attention, they're always seeking affection and attention from anybody in the house. They're doing destructive behaviors whenever, and they're just allowed to. They follow you everywhere in the house. There's no structured downtime. They have no idea what they're actually supposed to be doing. I know that might make you feel good giving them all that freedom, but that's not really freedom. It's just confusion. Your dog has absolutely no idea what they're supposed to be doing, and they're just roaming around the house following whatever intrigues them in that moment. As a heads up, as you probably already noticed, most of the things that intrigue them, such as things going out the window, getting into things, you're not going to like those behaviors. So how do we fix that? We implement more structure. Your dog's freedom in the house should be structured and earned. You can accomplish this in many different ways. You can use a crate, you can use a gate, you can use tethering, you can use structured placework. Reminder, this is not punishment. This is just giving your dog concrete ideas of what they are supposed to be doing in that moment. That's clarity. It's not punishment. Because if your dog has unlimited freedom with no direction, no input from you, they're going to end up making their own decisions with that freedom, and those decisions are going to become your problems. Number two, you have inconsistent rules with your dog. One day your dog's allowed on the furniture, and the next day they're not. Sometimes their jumping is really, really cute, and then you're telling them to get off. A big misconception is that your dog is just stubborn. He or she does what they want, even if they know the rules, and that's not the case. Your dog is not actually stubborn. Your dog is just confused. How do you fix that? Pick a standard and stick to it. What are your rules? You need to be absolutely crystal clear about that in your house to your dog every single day. If they could talk, they should be able to identify exactly what are the rules in the house. The three rules, the five rules, it doesn't matter. They should be able to tell you exactly what they are, because structure only works if it's consistent. Is the dog allowed on the furniture? Yes or no. It should always be one or the other. I don't really care as long as you're consistent with it. Your dog should never be left guessing what the rules are, what they're allowed to do, what they're not allowed to do. The clearer your expectations can be, the sooner your dog stops guessing, your dog will stop getting in trouble, because when your dog is guessing, they are just experimenting with different behaviors. That's exactly where bad habits are started. Number three, you talk way too much, but you say very little to your dog. What do I mean by that? You repeat yourself over and over again, and your dog doesn't listen. If you are saying, sit, sit, buddy, come on, sit, or come, come, come, come, and your dog's not actually doing these behaviors, you're just doing more harm than you are good. You are asking your dog to do behaviors, and you're not following through on them, so what is the dog learning in that situation? It's pretty simple. The dog is learning. I don't have to listen to any of this. These are merely suggestions if I would like to listen to them. How do you solve this relationship problem where you are talking to your dog all the time, but your dog doesn't listen? You have to talk less and start saying more. That means give commands that you can enforce. Have a leash on your dog. More often in the house can be really, really helpful, so if you tell your dog to sit, and they don't, use the leash. Make them sit before they go out the door or before they get their food. Those are just examples, but you can see where you actually are telling your dog to do something. They don't do it for whatever reason. Maybe they're excited, or maybe they just said, no thanks, and then you make them do it. Then all of a sudden, your words start to matter to them. Say it once, mean it, and follow through. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Your dog understanding that you say things one time, and then you enforce what you say, builds clarity, and clarity beats repetition every single time. Number four, your dog has no off switch. This means that your dog is constantly on. There are what I call stimulation seekers. They're always looking to do something, because doing anything is better than doing nothing. Then people will come to me and say, Bill, my dog cannot settle down. They always are barking, demanding, doing something. They always need to be doing something. I always have to have a lick mat, a kong, a bone, a toy. Something has to always be stimulating my dog, or I need to be touching them, and my dog can't settle. What I always tell my clients is that it's not that they can't settle. It's that you never taught them how. You've never made them do it. You've always given them an alternative option, and that's exactly why they are the way that they are. You need to teach your dog how to intentionally relax. This could be structured placework. This could be tethering. This could be crating. This could be gating. This could be using a leash more in the house, and really just not always trying to provide your dog with something to do. I'm not saying here that you should not exercise your dog. Obviously, proper fulfillment, mental and physical, trumps everything. If you're not doing that, getting your dog to settle and have an off switch is going to be impossible. Once you've done that, once you've met your dog's physical and mental needs, it's time to teach them how to calm down and have structured rest time. It's just as important, because at the end of the day, a dog that cannot settle in your presence will absolutely not settle in your absence. Number five, the one that's probably the hardest for everyone to wrap their head around, is too much emotional decision making. You feel bad putting the dog in the crate. You feel bad using a leash in the house. You feel bad telling them no. You feel bad having structure, rules, and boundaries. Instead, you just avoid it. You never tell your dog no. You never have them forced to relax and just decompress. You never, ever do anything that makes your dog or makes you feel like makes your dog sad. Then your dog ends up with no structure. They don't know how to listen. They become filled and riddled with problematic behaviors. They're usually anxious. They're bratty. They're whiny. They're reactive, potentially even aggressive. But here's the reality. This is not who the dog is supposed to be. The dog doesn't need you to feel bad for them. We need to stop, as a society, feeling bad for our dogs. Forgiving them rules, boundaries, and limits. Forgiving them clear communication, clear expectation, what they're allowed to do, and most certainly what they're not allowed to do. Your dog just needs you to be clear. What behaviors get them reward, the things they like, and what behaviors get them consequences and things they don't like? Because if you can clearly define that for your dog, where your dog knows exactly how to get reward and exactly how to get in correction and get in trouble, what do you think they're going to pick? You need to start making decisions for your dog based on what they need, not based on what makes you feel better about it in the moment. Your dog needs structure. Your dog needs clarity. Structure and clarity is you create stability. And stability is what dogs are looking for. That's what helps them actually improve. Your dog's problematic behaviors are due to your lack of guidance, your lack of structure, your lack of rules. That means you can change that. You are absolutely in control of creating your dog's behavioral change. You can help them do better. But again, this all starts with you. This is something I tell my clients all the time. Your dog will be good with me. I know exactly what I'm doing. I know how to create boundaries. I know how to clearly communicate. But true behavioral change starts with you, the owner. Because a dog's behavior cannot change until the human's behavior changes first. You can't just blame your dog. You can't just expect your dog to outgrow it. They're going to outgrow their anxiety or their reactivity or their aggression. They're just one-off issues. You need to change how you live with your dog every single day. If you start implementing clear structure, I promise you, you will see a difference in your dog's behavior overall. You might not like it. You might not like that you have to change the way that you live your life, but that is what your dog needs you to do in order to be successful. If this video hit home at all, drop a comment. Let me know exactly what you're struggling with. Tell me exactly what it is and I will see what I can do to help you. And if you want more videos where someone tells you exactly what's wrong, exactly how to fix it, and doesn't fluff around, no BS, then hit subscribe. This is your channel. I'm the Big Dog Guy and I'll see you in the next one.