宠物主人经常以房子被弄脏为由交出他们的宠物, 侵略, destructiveness, 吠叫, and excessive meowing. 哀叹自己没能处理好这些不受欢迎的宠物行为. 在一个通常会处理任何“不起作用”的东西的社会里, dogs and cats who display undesirable behaviors are often relinquished by their owners to animal shelters. 因为很少有潜在的宠物主人会收养有已知行为问题的宠物, these animals are often euthanized. Given that an estimated four to six million companion animals are euthanized by animal shelters annually, 不良行为也许是最致命的疾病.

• Barking dogs: 狗 bark for a number of different reasons. Try to evaluate your dog’s environment and perhaps you can come up with several reasons your dog barks. 当你的家人在学校或工作时，你的狗狗是否整天独自留在家里? 虽然许多狗可以适应白天的孤独生活, others may be lonely, bored or frustrated. 它们可能会不停地吠叫或咀嚼东方地毯. 你会把你的狗拴在链子上吗? These dogs need more human companionship. This can be accomplished in a number of ways from hiring a dog sitter to adopting another dog. 两只狗可以互相作伴，一起玩耍，互相锻炼. 如果你家附近有一个安全的狗圈, 考虑为你的狗安装一个狗门，让它们自行使用. Giving your dogs a variety of environments and allowing them to choose w在这里 they want to be will go a long way towards alleviating boredom and 吠叫.
• Jumping on people: 几乎所有的狗都可以被教在命令下安静地坐着，而不是跳起来, and this behavior is especially easy to teach when the quiet and well behaved dog is amply rewarded with the attention she so desires.
• Female dogs in heat: T在这里 is only one obvious answer to the problem of male dogs chasing after your female dog in heat! GET HER SPAYED!! Unless you breed purebred dogs, 没有理由让你的母狗或公狗不做绝育手术. 阉割和绝育不仅可以消除你院子里不想要的狗, 但也有不受欢迎的小狗导致你的狗的轻率.
• Aggressive dogs: An estimated 4.7 million people, most of them children, are bitten annually by dogs in the United States. Millions of these dog bite injuries could be prevented through public education and responsible dog ownership. 狗 who are properly trained and socialized, who receive adequate care and attention, 被安全关起来的人不太可能咬人. 经过消毒的狗咬人的可能性降低了三倍.
• 狗 that dig: The dog who digs up his owner’s yard cannot comprehend the amount of time and expense that went into the landscaping and rosebushes. It may also be true that his owner doesn’t appreciate a dog’s need to exercise and interact socially with other dogs or with humane companions. Denied social opportunities, 狗可能会认为破坏风景是一种有趣的让自己有事可做的方式. A dog who gets plenty of exercise and companionship and is given his own special part of the yard to dig in will no longer wreak havoc on the landscape.
• 猫 scratching furniture: 猫 scratch. It’s a fact of cat life. 抓挠可以让猫伸展和锻炼, to mark her home with her own scent, and to shed overgrown nails. Cat owners who understand and accept normal cat behavior provide an acceptable place for their cats to perform this instinctive activity, and the cat and owner live in peace.
• 猫 who refuse to use the litter box: 有些猫, 由于不愉快的(有时是未知的)经历, 拒绝使用装满猫砂的普通猫砂盒. Trial – and – error may lead to the discovery of a solution both cat and owner can live with, 比如用一个空盒子或一张干净的报纸代替猫砂盆.

With commitment, 宽容, 耐心, expert assistance, and perseverance, 几乎所有理想的伴侣动物行为都是可以解决的. The key is to keep negative aspects of the relationship from overshadowing positive aspects. 虽然看起来动物从行为的解决中受益, we must admit that humans benefit more. The difficulty of resolving an undesirable behavior is a small price to pay for a lifetime of companionship, love and acceptance.