By Fran Jewell
In a nutshell, when we spoil our dogs, we set them up for all sorts of behavior problems and emotional discord. The biggest of these issues is separation anxiety. But there are other very unfavorable behaviors such as possession aggression and even dominance aggression. All become very difficult to reverse once the dog begins down this slippery slope.
Years and years ago I knew someone that had adopted a wonderful golden retriever mix. He was sweet, good-natured, and easy with other dogs, and already had some nice obedience skills. Within a week, this dog began to control the sofa. If the owner went near the sofa while the dog was on it, the dog would bare his teeth and growl at her. Occasionally, he would snap at her. Next, he moved to the bedroom and claimed the bed. Soon, he no longer would come when he was called. Afraid she would befriend him if she said “No!” at the first incident, the possessive aggressive behavior escalated very quickly. Because the dog was a rescue, the owner felt sorry for him and gave him anything he wanted, including access to the furniture, food, and going outside with no confinement, and so on. Eventually, the dog ran away, nowhere to be found. The moral of this story is that the spoiled dog is not going to love or respect you more.
This woman decided she needed an easier dog, so she adopted a darling little poodle mix. This dog already had all sorts of obedience skills and tricks from her previous owners, who had died. Feeling sorry for the dog, the new owner had placed bowls of dog food all over the house because “she likes to eat here.” And every bowl had a different food because… well, you get the story. Very quickly the dog became obsessed with the owner and could no longer be left alone without tearing her front teeth out on the crate door. The crate, by the way, was a place the dog had loved to go before. The owner now had to hire a dogsitter even if she had to go to the store. The dog could NEVER be left alone. The moral of this story is that a spoiled dog can quickly become a nightmare to live with, making the dog and the owner miserable AND costing way more money than ever expected!
It is no crime to treat dogs like dogs. No matter how much we love them, when we treat them like “dogs,” then we HONOR them for what they are… dogs. When we treat dogs like babies, we start down that slippery slope of unhappiness, neurotic behavior and even dangerous if not life-threatening behaviors.
Dogs need boundaries and rules. They need leadership. Dogs need to be dogs to be happy and well adjusted. When we honor our dogs as dogs, we develop a loving, respectful and joyous relationship. Dogs enrich our lives. We need to enrich their lives in return by understanding the wonderful species that they are!
Caption: “Licking your plate clean is not only bad manners, but this sort of behavior can lead to other more difficult behaviors to deal with.”