Test Your Knowledge: 10 Life-Threatening Dog Behavior Myths

Have
some of voiced any of these misconceptions? Read this terrific article and test your knowledge — how many of these myths did you believe?

Behavior problems continue to be the leading cause of relinquishment and euthanasia of pets in the United States.^1-3 Yet most veterinarians graduate with minimal to no training in the normal or abnormal behaviors of domesticated animals.⁴

To further complicate matters, no other subject within veterinary medicine is as rife with myth and belief based on anecdotal
information as animal behavior. If a student enters veterinary school having seen a grandfather apply motor oil to a dog to
treat mange, he or she quickly discovers that this is inappropriate and learns how to treat mange based on the latest findings.
However, the same student can enter veterinary school having been told that rubbing a dog's nose in its feces is an appropriate
and effective means of housetraining, but is unlikely to be taught the potential danger of this technique. A recent study
shows that 31.8% of pet owners think that rubbing a dog's nose in its feces is an appropriate training technique⁵ even though as much scientific evidence is available to disprove this method as there is to refute treating mange with motor
oil.

In
addition, evidence suggests that when the owner-pet bond is weak,
people are less likely to give their pets the best veterinary care.⁶ And, without a doubt, behavior problems can severely damage this bond.

In this article, 10 common myths are discussed about animal, particularly canine, behavior—misconceptions that may increase the
likelihood that a pet will develop a behavior problem and, thus, can lead to the pet's abandonment or euthanasia.