Positive Paws Training & Behaviour

just saw this and had to share

Lest we forget….our dogs do not owe us. Love them, and treat them well with respect and kindness.

Your dog owes you nothing. Not a thing.

The decision for him to be in your life wasn’t his, it was yours. He doesn’t owe you anything. If you look at your dog as owing you something in return for your attention, food, medical care etc, then that’s the first problem we have to tackle before we can even begin true training together.

Your dog doesn’t owe you “obedience” he doesn’t owe you “respect” he doesn’t owe you “good behavior” simply because he gets to share the same space and life with you. If you want that kind of relationship and behavior; that’s on you to create, not him.

YOU owe your dog. You owe it to him to understand his history, his development and his ancestors. You owe it to him to learn about his needs, his characteristics and his individual personality. You owe it to him to become educated on how he communicates with you, his body language and train him in a way he understands and enjoys and doesn’t cut corners just because it’s easier on YOU. You owe it to him to protect him and keep him safe. You owe it to him to modify YOUR environment to help him be successful.

Dogs are a privilege. WE created THEM. We’ve done them so many injustices and yet they still go to war with us, herd our livestock, protect us, find people for us, assist us devotedly, meet us at the door wagging their tails and comfort us when we are down. The tasks they do for us go above and beyond any other partnership between species imaginable, so you have to be willing to do your part too.

Your dog owes you nothing. You owe your dog. Remind yourself of that every time you get mad at him for simply doing dog things. Now, let’s get to work to make a great team.

Written by Helen St. Pierre. No Monkey Business Dog Training. Please share with CREDIT to the author.

Please read this.

If you can, adopt and not buy. A huge number of lovely pets out there deserve a second chance and a real forever home.

Seniors are great but if you must get a puppy, still, check out your local animal shelters or rescuers who might have a suitable pup waiting for you.

Lastly, if you decide to buy a new pup, then please please do your homework and give yourself time to look for a responsible breeder and get to know him/her and the work that they do. Try to avoid buying off-the-shelf.

In short, get to know the breeder you’re buying your pup from, find out as much as you can about the pup and his/her parents and grandparents, give yourself time to observe the pup and make informed decisions when getting a new 4-legged family member.