When we love our dogs, we want them to be with us all the time. This sometimes causes us to overlook what is best for them in a specific situation.
Was that for you or your dog?
This is Panzer at her last swimming session – she looked cute in the life jacket and seemed to be happily sated, but we didn’t take her to the most recent session because she simply doesn’t enjoy it!
She’s a precious princess and doesn’t enjoy being wet, Hannya & Ava splashing was clearly offensive, she wanted the ball without having to swim for it – the list goes on 😂
We’re not going to pay for 4 dogs if only 3 enjoy it – there are other ways to enrich & exercise our dogs than expensive swimming lessons.
Another example was having Nina in the kitchen last night – she was too warm, and she has a strange dislike of sizzling meat on the hob. She clearly wanted to be in her crate in the cool garage – making her stay in the kitchen with me because she looks so cute on the dog bed with the tartan blanket wouldn’t have been kind.
These are 2 mini examples from my own household – however, every day we see plenty of large-scale examples of doing something for you rather than your dog, which are sometimes more than slightly concerning.
– does your very nervous dog want to go to the pub with you?
– does your aggressive dog want to greet your in laws?
– does your elderly dog want to go on a hike with uneven surfaces?
– does your new dog want to sleep with you overnight, or would they prefer time to acclimatise to their new surroundings alone?
Our love for our dogs is why we all spend thousands on training, food & enrichment – I wouldn’t change that, but maybe consider the role of humanisation in putting dogs in uncomfortable situations.
There are some uncomfortable situations your dog cannot avoid and must be trained for, but we don’t believe having an anxious dog in a heaving pub is necessary to that dog’s wellbeing.
Good for you if your dog is happy everywhere and can behave everywhere!
