Eating
Fussy eating
They refuse to eat
The moment you reach for something tastier, you teach them that holding out works.
Begging
They beg constantly
In a home, food takes no effort and no time. The leftover time and energy comes out as begging.
Food guarding
They growl over the bowl
Becoming aggressive toward an approaching person while eating. It is better understood as possessiveness than as a fight over rank.
Multi-pet feeding
They fight over food
Dogs are social and have an order — and clumsy intervention from the owner can shake it.
Learned food aversion
They suddenly refuse a food they used to eat
When feeling ill gets linked to the food eaten at the time, that food stays refused for a long time.
Stress-related refusal
They stop eating when things change
Dogs rarely stop eating altogether from temporary stress — which is exactly why it deserves more attention.
Eating the wrong things
Coprophagia
They eat faeces
Fairly common in dogs. What the cases share is that eating produces some kind of reward.
Pica
They swallow things that aren’t food
Eating things that are not food. Some target one specific material, others eat anything.
Grass eating
They eat grass
Considered normal in both dogs and cats. The actual reason, though, is still unknown.
Scavenging
They pick things up on walks
A dog that scavenges has usually learned that spotting it first and eating fast wins. The fix is changing where they look.
Mood & aggression
Daily life
Cognitive dysfunction
They howl at night and get lost
Progressive brain ageing. There is no cure, but management protects quality of life.
House soiling
They toilet outside the litter tray
It looks like a training problem, but it is often the result of illness. Getting the order wrong means it never resolves.
General behaviour and nutrition information. It does not replace diagnosis or prescription. Similar behaviour does not always have the same cause, and the cause is not necessarily diet or environment — have a vet rule out illness first, and consult a behaviour specialist where needed.