Common Puppy Behavior Problems

Here is a list of the most common puppy behavior problems you are likely to encounter in the early stages of your relationship.

Each is perfectly correctable with obedience training, so please don't feel like there's no way out. You even have a choice – you can deal with these yourself by using a set of proven corrective puppy training advice and techniques, or you could bring in a professional trainer to help you.

It all depends on your time, ability and budget.

  • Puppy Separation Anxiety

    • This may arise from the fact that your puppy is used to having his siblings and mommy around when it was still with the litter. Now he's been brought to you, he may be missing his family. The best way to deal with this problem is to teach your puppy that you do come back each time you leave.

  • Puppy Chewing Problems

    • Puppies chew things – it's in their nature, especially when their teeth start coming out. Don't try and stop them from chewing altogether – rather divert their behavior to their own dedicated chew toys. That way you're happy and he's happy.

  • Puppy Biting Problems


    • Most puppies bite for one of two reasons – either they are afraid, or they are playing.

    • Fear biting – this is for obvious reasons – have patience and be kind and loving – your puppy will come around. If the problem persists, consult your vet for a more specialized solution.
    • Play biting – he is likely not to know that he's hurting you. To combat this behavior problem – simply don't reward your puppy with your attention (positive or negative) when he bites to play with you. Soon he'll learn not to do it.

  • Puppy Nipping Problems

    • Nipping is like biting, but on a smaller scale. To deal with puppy nipping – again – ignore the behavior immediately after it happens – this teaches your puppy that play stops as soon as he nips you… soon he'll learn to play nicely.

  • Jumping Behavior Problems

    • This is a very common puppy behavior problem, but is also fairly straight-forward to correct. Just like with the biting – if your puppy jumps on you, immediately turn away from him and stop all play or attention giving. Walk away without saying anything.

    Your puppy will soon learn that when he jumps up the interaction between the two of you stops.

  • Puppy Barking Problems

    • If your puppy is barking constantly it would be for one of the following reasons:

    • He's hungry, thirsty, or in discomfort.
    • He's scared for himself.
    • He thinks you're in danger.
    • He just wants your attention.

    If you've established that it's not the first three reasons, then the way to deal with the last is to shock him with a sharp noise. As soon as he's quite praise him.

  • Compulsive Digging Problems

    • Puppies are naturally inclined to dig – especially in your prized rose bushes… OK – I know it's not a joke, but if you have this problem, your two options are to either stop that behavior, or to allow your puppy to have a corner of your garden where he can just dig to his little heart's content.

    If you want him to stop, one way to do that is to sprinkle some cayenne pepper on the spots he usually goes for.

  • Travel Problems

    • This one is common for smaller puppies, and although most of them grow out of it when they become dogs, it's a good idea to know the signs of travel sickness in your pooch – it will make yours and his life a lot easier. Here are the signs of travel sickness:

    • Heavy breathing and panting
    • Groaning
    • Hiccuping and/or burping
    • Excessive drooling and maybe even wet and foamy mouth
    • Rolling of his eyes.

  • General Puppy Training Problems

    • Haha – this is a bit of a non-problem really. Simply because as a puppy your dog doesn't really take to obedience training anyway.

    So I guess if you're having problems training your puppy it would be either because he's too distracted by his environment – in that case try to train him somewhere where it's just the two of you.

    It could be that he's just too young to train – in which case you just need to wait. But most often, it is because your expectations this early on are too high. At this stage you should only be potty training him, and then laying the foundations for future obedience training.

It goes without saying that for any of the above solutions to work, you need to be consistent and persistent. For more detailed information on the techniques you can use to correct each of the behaviors above, sign-up to our newsletter.

Keep Your Dog Healthy - Essential Diet Methods to Help You Maintain Your Dog's Wellbeing

Keep Your Dog Healthy — Essential Diet Methods
to Help You Maintain Your Dog's Wellbeing »