Do you think that you can change your dog’s behavior? While most people are already familiar with professional dog training, there are other ways that you could change your dog’s behavior too.
The truth is that the personality of the human companion has a significant impact on the behavior of a dog. Quite simply, dogs subconsciously borrow the certain personality traits from their owners.
During the Pandemic
While most dog owners used to leave their homes early in the morning for work, things have changed drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Dogs who were accustomed to their owners coming back home at night are now having to adjust to the new normal of togetherness.
Dogs are very loving animals. They love having their owners around, playing games, and creating a lively atmosphere. However, when people started shifting to work-from-home jobs, the behaviors of dogs changed too. Instead of waiting for their owners in excitement all day, the dogs became accustomed to always having the owner around.
Some dogs found it difficult to adjust to the normal of seeing their owners work from home. Since people tend to become moody due to work stress, the aggressive behavior was often reciprocated by the dogs, too.
As the World Goes Back to Normal
With offices opening up again with strict SOPs, many dog owners have to return to their 9-5 jobs now. After spending over a year with their owners at home during the day, dogs now must adjust to them being away again. This causes a significant amount of separation anxiety, since the dog does not know when the owner would return home.
This shift in behavior from the owner impacts the behavior of the dogs. Dogs prefer having a routine that they follow, and any disruptions can cause them to become jittery and annoyed. When such drastic changes in routine occur, dogs’ behavior is likely to change too.
Dog Behavior and Environment
Many studies show that a pet’s behavior is related to the pet’s environment. This means that animals such as dogs often replicate the owner’s energy. Dogs also learn social cues from their owners that help them respond to their own environment. For instance, if you are teaching your dog to eat from a bowl, you should practice eating from a bowl in front of them. By modeling behavior, you can easily impact your pet’s behavior.
An interesting study revealed that there is often a correlation between the owner’s personality and the dog’s behavior. During training, dogs of extroverted owners responded better than their introverted counterparts. Since introverted people are shy and less receptive to social interactions, their dogs pick up the same behavioral cues and start displaying introverted qualities as well.
Final Words
If you want to understand why your dog has been acting shy and reserved recently, you might need to self-reflect on your own personality. The truth is that dogs love their owners enough to start behaving exactly like them over a certain period of time.