You're giving Fido table food… again?! Even though a snack here and there is okay, don't give your doggy mixed messages by telling him to get down when it's dinner time if you're constantly giving him table scraps. Not providing him with enough structure and rules or being inconsistent with him is not doing him any favors.
5. Not providing structure and rules
Dogs want, need, and love having rules. You might think having strict rules makes life boring or unhappy for your dog. But dogs really want to know what’s what according to their leader. Rules make life a lot more predictable, a lot less confusing and a lot less stressful.
Dogs thrive when they know where the boundaries are, and when you spend time enforcing consistent boundaries with positive rewards, you also are building up their trust in you as a leader. You’re setting up conditions for a very happy dog!
Speaking of keeping your dog happy, you may be doing the following that is NOT making your fur child jubilant. If you have a shy dog and you're making her socialize then you have no idea what serious consequences are in store for you both…
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