Encouraging Natural Behavior
Dogs and cats have evolved for millenia along side us, but some of their natural behaviors haven’t changed considerable. Some have been bred to even be amplified! Looking at you huskies!! These natural behaviors can often be seen as problem behaviors, but we encourage pet parents to reframe and work with our pets natural behaviors to give them the most fulfilling life. These behaviors can include (but are not limited to) chewing, hunting, scratching, scavenging, pulling, and more.
Chewing
Probably the most common question we get asked is how to stop puppies and adults from chewing or tearing things up. The reality is this is a perfectly normal and healthy behavior for them to engage in. The important part is directing that to things they can and should tear up, not our shoes. There are many brain games we can play with our pets including puzzle toys that can engage this behavior as well as natural, edible chews. This gives them the opportunity to rip and tear into something they can safely eat, hopefully avoiding ingestion of things they shouldn’t. After all, ingestion of toys and the like can cause intestinal blockage. No pet parent wants that. This can be from furniture, shoes, and even toys that we intend to be their “chew toys.” The reality is toys are for playing, not chewing.
Anything from bully sticks, antlers, hooves, smoked or raw bones, and even whole carcasses can be great recreational or dietary chews for our pets. These are all entirely digestible, but supervision should always be given when allowing your dog or cat to engage in recreational chewing. No matter the chew, there is a potential for choking, especially with inexperienced chewers. It isn’t even a bad idea to introduce chewing by holding the chew item for a while until we are comfortable with how our pets chew style is.
Hunting
Hunting behavior is perfectly normal in our pets, especially cats. This is behavior that we can encourage safely and responsibly. We have an entire article on the ethics of outdoor cats if you want to learn more, we won’t be covering that here. We love using feathered wand toys or furry toss toys to solicit chase and pounce behavior from our feline friends. If you have a cat tree or two, use them as an added rigor level to make play even more engaging. Soon enough you’ll have your cat flying up and down the hallway and projecting their little bodies up and down that cat tree. Feed them shortly after a good play session to couple that behavior with a natural reward. Giving them something like Savage Cat’s Split Quail can really drive that home. We should always engage their play with reward, which “catching” the prey itself is a reward enough. This is why we strongly discourage the use of lasers for play because this doesn’t give our cats the gratification of catch. This can cause neurosis behavior to develop in both cats and dogs (1).
Scratching
Another mostly cat behavior, scratching is a way for them to spread their scent through the scent glands they have between the paws as well as aiding in grooming of their nails. Luckily this is an easy one. Providing them with ample scratching surfaces that they can responsibly scratch on. For instance for our store cats, Wally & Diego, we had upwards of 10 different surfaces they could scratch on. At home for my cat, I have two cat trees and 5 different cardboard scratchers. This allows her to always have a surface to scratch to her heart’s desire. She has never had an issue scratching furniture. Giving them a variety of surfaces and size of scratchers always keeps the experience fresh and fun.
Scavenging
Dogs are well evolved scavengers through millions of years living in close proximity to humans. Encouraging this behavior, again, safely and responsibly is a great way to engage with our pets. We all have that mischievous little pup digging in the trash, jumping on the counters, and even rummaging through the cupboards. On top of doggie-proofing your home, giving them toys to encourage this behavior is great. Something as simple as hiding treats around the house for them to find is a great way, but you can go endlessly down the rabbit hole of treat toys to bolster this behavior. Participating in something like scenting classes through groups like My Nosey K9 is another great way to work with our dogs natural behaviors. Snuffle mats, like the ones we have in store from Redwood Pals Rescue are one of our favorite. They are mats made of strips of fabric that you can nestle treats into, encouraging your dog to root around the layers to find the snacks hidden inside. Toys like these can greatly benefit cats as well. I will normally set up a lick mat or puzzle toy for my cat and dog at the same time.
Pulling
Of course training our dogs to walk nice and neatly on a loose leash is a crucial building block to many more advance training behaviors, but giving them opportunities to exemplify their natural behaviors can be good too. Breeds like huskies and malamutes have been bred since time immemorial to be mushers and working dogs. Giving them a well fit harness designed for pulling like the Ruffwear Omnijore System can help them safely pull us to their heart’s content while evenly distributing that load. Going on skateboard rides or even snowboarding and skiing with them in tow is a fun and engaging sport to get them into. Although bred for this behavior, it is unlikely most of our pets have done this in their lifetime. As with any extraneous exercise, we should ease and train them into full pulling strength (3).
Our pets have been bred for many jobs. Working with them to try to replicate these jobs, even for house pets, is crucial for a healthy and fulfilling life with our pets. Many problem behaviors arise from a severe lack of these activities. Providing our pets with a well rounded enrichment regimen can really improve their energy levels, stress and anxiety, and make training easier, and so much more. Get creative! As with any training, there are endless avenues to achieve the same goal. We hope you found this helpful and thank you for reading!
References
Dvm360 - Laser pointers can cause behavior disorders in cats
k9ofmine - Skijoring & Bikejoring Training: Teach Your Dog to Pull
