Tag: puppy

Not the dog you thought you were getting

sofudogs

                                                          20180912_073049(1)

 

It’s exciting when you get a new dog or puppy. It makes you feel good, the dog/puppy is happy, your happy, your family is happy everything is happy, happy, happy. You have great intensions and visions of what and how your new dog is going to be. Your going to teach this and that and he’s going to be the best dog you have ever had, you have great intensions.

But, then reality sinks in. Things aren’t going like you would like or even thought it would. What this dog doesn’t do what I tell it to do and it’s destructive and crazy to top things off. Not what you had in mind. Right?

Well you are not alone. All kinds of folks get new pups/dogs with no idea what really to expect. They’ve seen all the movies, the pictures and have heard all the great stories of dogs. What you didn’t hear is all the truths about dogs.

They are a responsibility. But for most folks their dog becomes a liability. Why? Because they didn’t hear the reality of having a dog. All they heard was it’s a fur baby, it’s like my child, it’s so fun having a dog. I would do anything for my dog. My dog is the world to me.

 But somewhere things have gone wrong. You start to lose the good felling you had with your dog in the beginning. It’s just not what you thought it was going to be like having a dog. Reality, what a game changer.

Dogs take work, training, love and most of all leadership. Your dog needs to look to you as a leader someone who will give them the information they need, advocate for them and build a great relationship. Dogs don’t come knowing what we want or able to speak or understand language as we know it. But yet, it’s expected. Maybe just maybe that is where it went wrong. Expecting things from your dog without you ever taking the time or true effort to help your dog be the dog you thought it would be.

Fun with your dog

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Having fun with your dog is great, it’s what we want. But when is fun fun and when is it not so good.

I don’t’ mean that fun is not good. What I’m saying is that not all fun is good for some dogs. For instance, if your dog is wildly out of control, doesn’t listen and has no structure. Letting him run crazy is not a good thing. All it does is keep your dog in an excitable and aroused state of mind where he won’t listen to you or at least not how you would like. If you don’t have an on off switch with your dog, then it could just keep your dog in a bad state of mind. Letting your dog run crazy with other dogs, running them as fast as they can go will wear them out but, that’s all it will do and only for a short period of time. They will still be crazy and not listening.

A good thing to do is control your dog’s excitement and arousal. Give them structure, rules and boundaries and hold them accountable for breaking commands. You will have more fun with your dog and life together will be much more enjoyable.

Building a relationship with your dog

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A great relationship is something everyone wants with their dog. How we get there is something that is wildly disagreed about. Some folks think giving their dog only love and affection is the way to go. Why wouldn’t my dog love me if I love him and give him lots of affection. Then there’s the folks that agree with that and also believe giving them lots of toys and special things to chew on will give them the best relationship they could have with their dog.

Well, I’m not so sure about that. I see lots of dogs that their owners give them a ton of love and affection and they make sure they have lots of toys, treats and all the good things. But still they don’t have the relationship they’d hope for or the good dog. They struggle to figure out why. Maybe, just maybe it’s because of what they are doing or not doing. Mostly the not doing part is where things go wrong.

If you are always giving your dog the things that make you feel good and never giving your dog the information, he needs along with no structure, rules or holding your dog accountable you will never build a good relationship with your dog. There will be a lack of trust, and believability. Your dog will just look at you as a resource and not a leader which, is what dogs are looking for and need. They don’t know how to live in your world and if you don’t take the time to teach them you will not have a good relationship or a good dog. They will struggle with what you are asking of them and you will struggle trying to have a good relationship and the dog you hoped for.

So, take the time to teach and lead your dog. Give them the information they need to live in your world. Don’t just do what makes you feel good but do what makes both of you feel good and have a great relationship and a long life together leadership.

Loving your dog

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I believe everyone loves their dog. Especially in the beginning. The kind of love you give your dog is important. The love you give your dog should benefit your dog more than it does you. Most of the love I see folks giving their dog is not the kind of love that benefits dogs rather, it benefits the human. It makes the human feel good and they believe it makes them look like a good dog owner. But, how does the dog end up?

There’s a reason that humane societies (dog pounds in my day) and rescues are always full and over run. For most folks all they want to do is love their dog. Well, that’s great but the kind of love you are giving your dog may not be good. Is your dog excited, full of arousal, jumping on guest, being destructive, dog or human reactive or the many other issues that dogs come up with?  It may not be that you have a bad dog. It may be that you are loving your dog in the wrong way. It’s always Love, Love, Love.

It’s great you love your dog but, how are you loving it? If all you do is love your dog and are unwilling to give the other half of the conversation your dog needs. Well, that’s why shelters and rescues are over run. It takes love and tough love to have a good dog. Your dog needs to learn how to live in your world and not be left to figure it out. If your dog gets to do whatever it wants because of love. They will do the things that you don’t love.

Take the time to teach your dog all about love not, just the love that makes you feel good. But, the love that helps your dog be good.