Do You Advocate for Your Dog?

Your dog is going to live with you for the next decade, you are never going to see that stranger again. 

Something I say a lot to clients, usually after they say something like this...

“I know my dog isn’t supposed to greet other dogs on leash, but these people just walked right up with their dog and I didn’t want them to think I was being rude so I let them say hi. “ 

“Some lady came up to me when I was walking my dog and told me the prong collar can hurt my dog. I know that’s not the case, but it’s just so embarrassing when people say stuff like that.”

“This off leash dog came running up to us on our walk and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to yell at a stranger's dog.”

When we care more about the opinions & feelings of other people than those of the dogs that we love and share our lives with, we are setting our dogs up for failure. 

Relationship is everything in dog training. Showing your dog through your daily actions that they can trust you and that you are a human worth listening to is the core of having a well trained dog. Sometimes the decision that is best for your dog goes against the status quo and an owner who values their relationship with their dog won’t hesitate to advocate for their dog. 

Not all dogs want to be pet, not all dogs want to say hi, not all dogs want someone staring at them, and it’s okay for you to be the one to stand up for your dog. 

You are going to live with your dog for years, you may never see that stranger again. What they think about you and your dog doesn’t matter at all. What matters is the decision you made at that moment, did it fortify your relationship with your dog or fracture it?