The Common Mistake That Dog Owners Make

The majority of dog owners love their dog to an extent where they treat the dog partly like a
child which is not necessarily the issue. The problem is that these owners often only do positive
and fun things spoiling their dogs without asking for anything in return. They do not create
boundaries or teach their dog right from wrong and that actions have consequences like with us
as human beings.

Dog owners give too much for free to their dogs, food, toys, love/attention is all a given and the
dog does not have to work for anything. More often than not these owners are not consistent
with other things either like not wanting their dog to jump on people but allow it when they get
home and the dog is all excited

The above can create several issues:

● You are creating “spoiled child” behaviour
Do you know those needy dogs that wont stop whining and barking until they get what they
want? This is just an example of a needy dog that will do anything to get what it wants. This, in
turn, can cause more serious issues like resource guarding which is when the dog becomes
very protective over what it has.
● You are not mentally stimulating your dog (enough)
Dogs need mental stimulation as much as they need physical and emotional stimulation. Not
doing this creates boredom which can be the cause of other issues like destruction, aggression,
anxiety, neediness etc
● You do not let your dog live up to its full potential
The majority of dogs love to please their owner, even if a dog is not a working breed it will like to
work for you and make you happy while doing it.
● Your dog might not be obedient
People often get in in touch with issues like pulling on the lead, no recall and or not paying
attention

Making your dog work for everything it wants will help you to increase the dogs focus on you
and earn his respect. Why would a dog listen to you when there are so many distractions
around knowing that he will get his food and toys anyway?

Humans expect a dog to listen because they give everything to the dog whereas the dog will
listen because it knows it has to work for stuff, understands right from wrong and is given the
opportunity to do more of the good things we want from them.

Here at Active Canine we train/rehabilitate dogs and help owners understand their dog’s
behaviour better allowing them to live a happier and more fulfilled life together.