Pet behaviour quiz: Who's a good dog?

Q1. When you try to remove your dog from the lounge, he:
a) Snarls and resists. I’d be too frightened to push him off. (4 points)
b) Why would I do that? It’s his lounge! (2 points)
c) Politely jumps off when I ask and obediently sits at my feet. (3 points)
d) Would never jump up there in the first place. He knows where his dog bed is. (1 point)

Q2. When you take your dog in the car with you, he:
a) Howls, barks and clambers to sit on my lap in the driver’s seat. (2 points)
b) Will not get in the car and no-one will make him! (4 points)
c) Sits quietly on the back seat with his doggy seatbelt on. (1 point)
d) Runs away where possible. He’s terrified of the car. (3 points)

Q3. When you leave your dog at home alone during the day, he:
a) Howls in panic, urinates or defecates on the furniture – he’s a nervous wreck. (3 points)
b) Prowls the periphery of the house barking at any sign of life that comes close. (4 points)
c) Escapes, taking himself on an outing or spends the entire day chewing and destroying every plant and item of furniture he can. (2 points)
d) Plays with his Buster intelligence cube or Kong toy for a while, then sits happily and quietly in the knowledge that he always gets a good walk when I return. (1 point)

Q4. When you take your dog to the leash-free park, he:
a) Runs away and I’m lucky to see him again before he ends up at the pound. (2 points)
b) Happily stays within 50 metres, fetching his ball or playing with other dogs. (1 point)
c) Bails up as many dogs as possible, picking fights and getting into strife. (4 points)
d) Is very nervous and stays glued to my side the whole time, growling and snarling at other dogs and people who come close. (3 points)

Q5. At dinner time, your dog:
a) Stages a hunger strike until he gets whatever is on my dinner plate. (3 points)
b) Is ravenous, eats everything and anything. Doesn’t allow anyone near his dinner bowl or his bone. (4 points)
c) Sits patiently next to his bowl waiting for the OK command, so he can eat his dinner. (1 point)
d) Jumps up and down and all over me. Eats most of the food before it hits the bowl, makes a huge mess, goes straight back indoors and begs at the dinner table for more! (2 points)

Q6. When you arrive home, your dog greets you by:
a) Sitting and staying until I’m ready to greet him. (1 point)
b) Bowling me over on his way out the front door, down the road. (2 points)
c) Barking aggressively and lunging at the gate until he realises I’m alone. (4 points)
d) Hiding under the table until he can establish that I haven’t brought any visitors with me. (3 points)

Q7. When you take your dog for a walk, he:
a) Pulls like mad on the lead and barks and lunges at every dog. (4 points)
b) I don’t take the dog for walks anymore, as the pulling dislocated my shoulder. (2 points)
c) Happily trots along leaving the polite amount of slack on the lead, and waits for my OK before socialising with other dogs or people. (1 point)
d) Hides the minute he sees the lead. He hates walks. When he does go, he stays nervously next to me and growls if anyone or anything approaches him. (3 points)

Q8. When your dog needs medication, you:
a) Cry. The last time he bit me! (4 points)
b) Don’t worry, my dog eats anything. (2 points)
c) No problem. I’ve perfected the medicating technique and he knows he’ll get a reward. (1 point)
d) Worry. He throws himself around and nearly passes out. I have to get special transdermal formulations for him. (3 points)

How did you score?
Mostly 1 – Under control
You and Fido have either had plenty of training or you’re a natural! You have control over your perfectly behaved pooch and your pet is a delight to have anywhere.

Mostly 2 – Poor leadership is letting you down
Your dog is probably perfectly capable of being well-trained, and, let’s face it, he’s eager to please, but your leadership skills need improving. A professional trainer will give you the skills you need to guide your dog’s behaviour in the right direction.

Mostly 3 – Timid
Socialisation and training at an early age are key, but enrolling in a training program and careful, regular socialisation can help.

Mostly 4 – Aggressive
Start a training program now as a matter of urgency, but beware! Any aggressive tendencies need to be taken very seriously and a veterinary behavioural specialist should be consulted for advice.

5 commands every dog should know

Sit: Training your dog to sit calmly next to you on command is the first vital step in establishing control.

Stay: Essential for keeping control of your dog in challenging situations.

Heel: Ensures your dog walks next to you, in control and close enough to hear further commands. Also eliminates pulling on the lead!

Come: Ensures your dog knows when he needs to return to you.

Free: An essential command that quickly lets your dog know when he no longer needs to sit/heel/stay… for the time being!