Problem behaviour?

I recently posted up these images on my own personal Facebook page. The bed was chewed by one of my own senior dogs. Comments that followed were all humorous and in keeping with what I intended. The behaviour was not a problem to me. It is very typical of the way she plays - pouncing, digging, ripping, shredding and deading!

My little senior is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross. We have no idea what she is crossed with (and frankly don't care - we love her for who she is). 

She has some typical terrier traits.

Terriers, whether they be Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier or any other kind of terrier often enjoy:

• digging - she digs her bed, our bed and covers on the sofa
• barking - yep, she enjoys barking for sure
• pouncing, ripping and shredding style play - she has always loved pouncing on toys and ripping them to shreds

It occurred to me that we often talk about problem behaviours in dogs and these form the bulk of my work as a behaviourist. This shredding and deading of a dog bed could be identified as a problem behaviour and often is!

But who is the behaviour a problem for?  It certainly wasn't a problem for her - it is part of her natural behaviour repertoire. She thoroughly enjoyed pulling out the stuffing and slept soundly afterwards!

It might well be a problem behaviour for an owner though - dog beds aren't cheap! 

So what can we do? 

Dogs have various natural behaviours and preventing them from displaying these goes directly against welfare. Does that mean I should let her rip up all the dog beds? Not at all. Instead we must look for alternative ways to direct these natural behaviours.

• A dog that digs up flower beds - could have a sandpit or a specific area where he is allowed to dig
• A dog that enjoys ripping up toys - could have a cardboard box to be shredded or a selection of safe stuffed toys purchased from a charity shop
• A dog that scavenges and raids the bin - could have his dinner scattered, hidden around the garden or given in interactive food toys

It is our responsibility as their owners to understand their needs and their natural behaviours and provide opportunities that are acceptable to us, while meeting those needs.

This is one of the reasons I always talk about enrichment opportunities and using scent games.

In respect of my little one ripping up the bed - well that was my own fault. I knew there was a tiny hole in it and hadn't sewn up the hole. Consequently she spotted a tiny bit of white fluff sticking out and so she did what comes naturally to her - shredded and deaded it!