Understand Unique Dog Behaviors

  You love your dog but have noticed some unique behaviors that are definitely dog behaviors and not human at all. These unique dog activities may even seem revolting to you. Some typical unique dog antics include garbage raiding, eating grass, and if you have a cat your dog may participate in litter box raiding. All of these behaviors can appear disgusting to humans but they have special meaning to our dog friends.

Humans need to pay close attention to these unique dog behaviors because doing so can tell you a lot about what is happening with your dog.

When a dog raids the garbage can it can mean, "I'm bored, or Wow that smells really great I wonder how it tastes?” A dog is naturally attracted to food smells especially when the food comes from week old pizza or moldy chicken left in your refrigerator too long.

Sometimes raiding a garbage can may also be Fido telling you that he is unhappy that you have not played with him or walked him all week! This particular behavior can be really messy and a stinky one to return home to especially if the dog has had all day to explore the contents of a full garbage can.

To avoid this unpleasantness keep the can in a secure dog-proof place. To make your garbage less attractive to your dog, wrap any food item in a sealed bag or plastic grocery bag before tossing it into your garbage. If your dog is getting into your outdoor garbage can instead of the indoor one make sure you place your outside trash can in an enclosed area or use a secure lid. Stabilizing the trashcan lid will eliminate it as a target for your naturally investigative dog.

Another particularly disgusting habit that dogs have outdoors is that of eating grass and then throwing it up. If you are unlucky enough to not catch your dog eating the grass and you let the dog inside your home you may find a nice yellow grass containing pile of vomit on your carpet. It will be even more disgusting if your dog then proceeds to clean it up by eating it. Why do dogs eat grass when most books tell you that dogs are carnivores? A dog will eat grass when they have an upset stomach or other digestive problem. The grass makes them get rid of excess stomach juices that churn up when they have a bellyache from eating something that didn't agree with them.

Dog owners should be especially careful to not allow dogs to eat grass if they have treated the grass with chemicals as this can really make the dog ill. Should you notice your dog eating grass frequently you may take notice of any dog food changes you may have made as the dog may be giving you an indication that the dog food change is unsettling to their stomach. If the grass eating continues a vet visit may be in order.

If you have a dog that shares a home with cats you will more than likely be familiar with the unique dog behavior referred to as “cat litter box raiding”. Humans may never fully understand why a dog would even want to raid a litter box much less eat the spoils of the raid but the main thing to learn from such behavior is how to prevent it from happening next time.

The best prevention for litter box raiding is to make the litter box inaccessible to the dog such as placing it in a room that cats can get to by jumping over a baby gate, or by keeping the litter box up high on a counter such as on a workbench in the basement out of reach of the dog.

This article just illustrates a few of the seemingly baffling canine activities have a logic that's as clear as crystal to a dog.