Different dogs display normal behaviours according to their breed, and won't necessarily fit into a home environment, so it is crucial to select the right breed of dog based on your lifestyle now.
Collies have been bred to herd, retrievers to fetch things and terriers to dig a hole and bury stuff. The Northern Inuit, the husky and the Alaskan malamutes are fun to have around and very intelligent, but suffer from extreme separation anxiety (not good if you are out all day), can be very boisterous and love to dig up your garden.
Bone behaviour. Terriers will dig a hole and bury it, some other breeds and cross-breeds will chew it for hours. Some dogs will bury food to save it for a rainy day; if you are being fed too much and are predisposed to living a feast or famine lifestyle, you're going to hoard food - which is why you may find your dog in bed with a bone being saved for later.
Normal dog behaviours include chewing, digging, barking at the doorbell or strangers, and guarding.
Barking can be a real problem and you can find various methods for dealing with this on the Internet; here are a selection. How to train a dog not to bark by Chris Smith; 3 ways to get Dogs to Stop Barking on WikiHow; a Training Checklist on BarkingDogs.net.
They guard that which they prize highly - their home, food, crate, your bed, you - which can be highly irritating and noisy. Any dog will guard if it's not taught to trade. A dog needs to learn that human hands bring things; they don't just take them away. A good way to get something away from your dog is to give them something else that is better in dog terms.You are not rewarding bad behaviour - dogs don't get our meaning of good and bad - just giving him something he wants more - a treat or a toy for instance.
Dogs need to be trained - they naturally rely on their instincts to survive in the wild. Everything you teach them is a learnt behaviour - sit, stay, leave, etc. This also explains negative behaviours: if your dog was kicked or taunted by small children before they came to you, they will remain wary of small children. Your dog will also be watching you for ways they can learn from you.
Before dogs became domesticated, the alpha dog would choose a higher sleeping ground than the rest of the pack.That's why dogs choose to sit on sofas and beds - not just because they are more comfortable.
Various sources including: Extract from Top Dog by Kate Bendix (Short Books) printed in Radio Times (6-12 Dec. 2014).
