10 Mistakes New Dog Owners Must Avoid

Bringing a new addition to the family is always overwhelming. As pet owners, we do understand, when we bring home the new bundle of joy into our family, we want to give it the very best of everything.

Now being in that state of happiness, new pet owners often tend to make mistakes in the beginning, which could prove to be a problem in the future.

If you are wondering what they are, read on to find out more.

1. Making Decisions Based On the First Impression:

When people first go and pick a puppy from the breeder, there are high chances that they think the personality and behavior of the puppy will always be the same.

However, that is not the case; the personality and behavior of dogs undergo changes when they are subjected to different environments. For example, if you find a dog that is quite depressed, there are high chances, when you bring it home and give it a loving environment, he will become a happier fellow.

What to do about it?

Simply ask the breeder about the behavioral patterns of the breed, the puppy’s parents, other siblings etc. and you will have an idea about what to expect.

2. Not Giving Social Training to Puppies:

It is important that you introduce your dog to other dogs, people, family, whoever, you want them to be around. In other words, you need to socialize with others.

Dogs do not just go in to contact with everybody. It takes time for them to understand and get used to life outside their breeder. So it is important you expose them to the outer world and allow them to make friends of their own.

And it is also worth remembering that studies have shown the first four months are the most important months which leave an impact on the dog.

3. No Setting Up Strict Rules of Behavior:

One of the biggest mistakes that new dog owners make is they do not set any house rules for the puppies to follow.

In the beginning, most people tend to allow their dogs to run about freely in the house. Unfortunately, when this later turns into a habit, we end up giving him new rules to follow or simply punish him. Stop! This only confuses your dog and will make him more anxious, before bringing in a pet, discuss what rules should be followed in the house and when your dog arrives, train him accordingly.

4. Being Inconsistent:

Once you have set the rules, it is imperative that you follow them. For example, if your dog gets extra treats for being active, he may do it all the time.

So before bouncing and prancing become a habit, stop it beforehand and make sure, everyone, your friends, and family are following the rules you have set.

5. Lack of Ample Exercise:

It is important that you exercise your dog well enough and make sure that he gets lots of activity throughout the day. Why? In that case, he will stop the excessive barking, jumping and chewing around.

Therefore, it is also recommended that you choose the dog breed very carefully because, if you choose an active breed of dog, it is obvious that he will expect more activity and if you are not as active, then you will face some problems. Choose a dog, whose activity levels meet your lifestyle.

6. Thinking All Puppies Are the Same:

With the point on activity level being said, it is important you remember that not all puppies are the same and each dog breed comes with his own temperament.

So, it is important that you understand what the behavior of your dog breed is in order to deal better with your puppy. It is very important that we keep this in mind because, sometimes, emotions such as anxiety and fear are mistaken to be aggressive.

7. Being Lenient On Puppies Because of Their Age:

No puppies are very young to learn in fact they learn their best from the age of eight weeks on up to sixteen weeks as we have already stated before.

This is the time when they can be trained on house manners and also socialization skills. The best way to teach a puppy would be by using positive reinforcements.

8. Leaving Dogs and Kids Unsupervised:

This is a very important thing that you should keep in mind about dogs and kids. Sometimes, kids will do things that are going to be very annoying to dogs and hence, dogs will naturally react if their tolerance threshold has been crossed.

While you are around, do not allow your dog to squeeze or poke your dog or do things like pulling its tail. Any behavior that is going to be disturbing for your dog, do not allow your child to do it.

Moreover, never leave them attended. It’s best to take your child with you and leave the dog a bit away. Also, encourage your child to be friendly yet calm to the dog.

And most importantly, try to understand what your dog is trying to tell you- which is hard but not an impossible thing to do.

9. Giving the “Cute” Excuse:

Well, a lot of behavior which may seem cute now will not be cute when they grow older. So it is important that you put an end to it right away.

For example, it is nice to have a puppy licking you and jumping all over you for a few days. However, if it becomes a habit, it is something that can be extremely annoying or even dangerous. Imagine a fully grown dog jumping on a toddler- not so cute.

10. Improper Management:

Now, it is important that you do not scatter your things all around the house and keep them in an organized manner.

Why? Because your puppy does not yet know the difference between the toys you bought for him to chew and your brand new shoes. It is you who has to teach him and it will also take some time for him to learn.

In the meanwhile, keep training him to behave in the house while you get everything organized.

Final Words:

There you go, we have laid down some of the mistakes that new dog owners make and how you can avoid them before getting a new life into your house, make sure to do lots of research and train them to be the very best.

Most importantly, do not forget the treats and cuddles after the training after all, with the unwavering love they give us, dogs do deserve our special care and attention.