Managing Unwanted Animal Behavior

You know I'm an Eskie Mom and pet lover and I know a lot of you are, too. So today I'm very excited to take a break from the usual stuff and give my friend Saskia the floor to help you with your pet problems and tell you about her business. I hope you enjoy the article she wrote for you (and the bonus she's giving you, too)! Thanks Saskia!

This is a guest post by Saskia Busch of Yap Yap Meow.

Managing Unwanted Animal Behavior

Have you ever wondered why Lucy* is chasing her tail for hours at a time? Or why Mango* is sharpening his claws on your favorite rug and not the ugly practical one that you bought for him?

Most of us think of them as spoilt or naughty.

There are so many factors that influence our animals and their behavior that most of the time there are very good reasons for what they are doing. For instance, the scratching that cats do is imperative to exercise the tendons that join their claws to their paw digits.

Most of today’s domestic cats don’t get enough of the right exercise and must make up for it in other ways. This is what Mango* was doing. After a colleague of mine communicated with him she discovered that the ugly rug wasn’t cutting it (excuse the pun ;-). It wasn’t working for what he needed for his claws. His human was relieved to know the reason and just bought herself her own lovely rug. Human and Mango* – happy!

The two scenarios below are from recent communications I have done to illustrate my point. In both cases the humans either were confounded by the behavior or thought the animal was being disobedient.

 Image by photostock on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bernie* is a sweet and loving pooch at home. When her human Dad, Mike*, takes her out for a walk on the leash she is well behaved. However as soon as she goes out with her human Mom, Alida*, she becomes aggressive and barks incessantly. After I communicated with her we discovered that Alida* does not take on the role of a leader and that makes Bernie* feel like she has to fulfill that role when they are together in vulnerable situations. She displays aggressive behavior and barks at everyone and everything to let them know that there is a protector in the relationship.

Alida* is now working on being more assertive and, when necessary, disciplining Bernie* to show her that she is the leader in the relationship.

Trenton* is house trained and uses his litter box most of the time. Yes, you heard right. I said most of the time. Occasionally things go awry and Trenton* uses another spot in the house as his toilet.

Every four to six weeks there is a puddle on the carpet.

His humans, Nadine* and Jeff*, tried everything. From moving the litter box to different locations in the house, to adding another litter box so that he has one upstairs. They even tried scolding him.

During our communication Trenton* sent me an image of another cat at the window on a moonlit night. We decided that the reason for the erratic elimination could be from fear of seeing a strange cat at the window. Nadine* confirmed that there were cats in the neighborhood that displayed territorial behavior.

I have also heard of incidences in which one cat in the household withholds litter ‘rights’ from another as a form of domination. In other words cat A will become aggressive towards cat B when approaching the litter box and not allow her to use it.

This type of behavior can result in a number of unpleasant issues.

They could be unwanted elimination around the house or physical symptoms like urinary tract infection from holding the urine in too long, to name just two.

Is your cat or dog displaying behavior that you can’t explain or help them stop? First assess the environment and the family dynamic before scolding or using corrective commands.

There may be a deeper issue at play.

Once you have done your assessment and are still at a loose end, call someone in to help. There are many different avenues of therapy and healing that can be employed to solve behavior issues in gentle and non-invasive ways.

If your animal friend is displaying strange or unwanted behavior, leave a comment below and let us know.

*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the people and animals featured in the case studies.

Saskia Busch from Yap Yap Meow is an animal communicator dedicated to providing practical, hands on advice to solve issues easily. She has connected and communicated with animals on an energetic level for most of her life. This communication enables her to obtain information about their physical and emotional well-being interpreting their take on a situation.

Saskia will be running a half-price special for my readers ending 13 April 2013. So go to www.yapyapmeow.com now and subscribe. Reply to your subscription confirmation with the title of this post to book your half-price session.

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