New research by the pet insurance team at Comparethemarket reveals how much a pooch’s behaviour affects UK dog owners.
No matter how adorable your pooch is, sometimes they can’t help but get up to no good. In fact, over a quarter of Brits surveyed (27%) say their dog displays what they would define as misbehaviours nearly once a day.
With around 34% of UK households owning at least one dog, the pet insurance team at Comparethemarket has conducted a survey to reveal how the nation’s dogs behave and what this means for dog owners.
Below are the five most common undesired behaviours displayed by dogs:
- Begging for food at the dinner table (33%)
- Pulling on a lead (28%)
- Digging up the garden (27%)
- Barking at and/or chasing the postman (25%)
- Jumping up at people (24%)
These behaviours can have a knock-on effect on owners, in fact nearly two in 10 from the study said they aren’t able to go on holiday as they struggle to find someone to look after their pup and one in 10, turn down social plans as they feel they can’t leave them on their own.
Furthermore, the research revealed the cost implications of these behaviours, where 15% of peoplesay that on some occasions, due to their dog’s behaviour, a trip to the vet has been necessary, costing an average of £253.60 per trip.
Alongside this, almost one in 5 of owners surveyed said they’vehad to replace furniture with kitchen tables (32%), chairs (31%) and beds (31%) being some of the most popular items. This has cost on average £432.10 to replace each time.
Do Brits let their dogs get away with bad behaviour?
When it comes to dealing with this type of behaviour, it appears as though the puppy dog eyes really do work, with half of the respondents (52%) saying that they only correct behaviour when it’s seriously bad. Not only that, two in 10 dog owners said they never correct their dog and let them get away with their unruly behaviour.
Furthermore, millennials are the most likely to let their dog get away with any kind of behaviour, with a third (33%) saying they never correct their dog.
The behaviours that dogs are most likely to get away with are:
- Begging for food at the dinner table (22%)
- Accidentally peeing/pooing inside (21%)
- Digging up the garden (19%)
- Pulling on a lead (16%)
- Chewing furnishings and personal items (14%)
Tips for redirecting common unwanted behaviours
To help anyone struggling with how to manage this behaviour, Comparethemarket has worked with a dog behavioural expert, Sue Ketland at Woodgreen Pets Charity, to offer some tips for those unwanted behaviours.
- How to stop begging for food at the dinner table: Never feed your dog from the dinner table and keep them busy while you eat with a long-lasting chew toy instead. This rule should be consistently followed and monitored, particularly around friends, family members, and children.
- How to stop pulling on a lead: When walking your dog, be sure to reward your dog with high value food rewards when the lead is loose and consider investing in a no pull harness.
- How to stop digging up the garden: Boredom is often the root cause of digging behaviour in dogs, so it’s important to provide them with adequate physical and mental stimulation such as long walks or games that encourage them to use their brain like snuffle mats.
Remember – Dogs have little understanding of what is right and wrong when it comes to human values as they think, and act based on their natural instincts. Hence, why it is crucial to understand the motivations behind a dog’s behaviour to effectively address it.
Commenting on the findings, Anna McEntee from the pet insurance team at Comparethemarket, says: “As our research reveals, a lot of dog owners feel as though they deal with undesired behaviour on a regular basis, stemming from several places, such as separation anxiety or not being properly trained. These behaviours can sometimes result in costly trips to the vet which makes picking the right pet insurance policy, top priority for any unruly dog owners.
Luckily, through proper training and an ongoing understanding of your dog’s needs, owners can work to avoid these costly mishaps as much as possible. Investing in your dog’s learning is the key to having a happy and healthy companion and should be at the forefront of every pup parent’s mind.”
To find out more about the research please visit: https://www.comparethemarket.com/pet-insurance/content/cheekiest-pups/
