53 mistakes every dog owner makes

Finding your dog gnawing on one of your expensive leather shoes or brand new ottoman is one of the most irritating parts of dog ownership, so it’s understandable that you want to put a stop to the damage immediately. Unfortunately, many people’s instinct is to give the dog something else to chew on, like a bone or toy. This rewards their bad behaviour with a treat, making it more likely to happen again, Williamson says. Instead, give them new chew toys when they are sitting quietly or playing well.

What will happen to your beloved pet when you die? It’s not fun, but you need to think about it. “Our dogs are an integral part of our lives, and we know that they depend on us completely,” Williamson says.

“So it is crucial to make careful preparations now for their future care by selecting a guardian and including that information in your estate planning.”

Make sure to talk to your loved ones about your plans so there won’t be any surprises.

One of the best things you can do for your pet is to put a “Please save our animals” sticker in a location that is visible from the outside your house, in case of a fire or other emergency, Williamson says. This alerts first responders to be on the lookout for your pets and may help them get to safety.

Choke and prong collars are designed to punish dogs for pulling on their leash by inflicting pain and discomfort. They can cause serious physical and emotional damage to dogs and should never be used, Williamson says.

The most humane and safest option for walking a dog who tends to want to pull is a front-leash attachment harness, such as the Sense-ation, which redirects the animal back to the human when they pull, he adds.

Foxtails are a very common spiky plant that can injure or even kill dogs as they carry barbs that can lodge themselves deep in your dog’s skin, feet, nose, mouth, ears, eyes, or genitals, Williamson says.

If you find a foxtail in an animal’s fur, you can carefully remove it with tweezers, but if it’s in any way lodged in the skin or you suspect that it has entered the animal’s body, get to a veterinarian immediately.

If you let your dog jump up on you when you get home but then yell at them when they jump up on you again later, you’re going to end up with a seriously confused dog who will likely jump up at inappropriate times, says Kayla Fratt, a dog behaviour specialist and trainer at Journey Dog Training.

“Being inconsistent with rules, then getting upset about it is a common mistake rookie owners make.”

Always be consistent.

Training a dog is just as much about training the human as it is the animal, Fratt says. For example, refusing to get baby locks for cabinets or put dirty dishes away allows your dog to learn to steal food and garbage, which is a much harder habit to break than just teaching your dog that scavenging isn’t an option by preventing it.

“Dogs don’t know the rules of human society, all they know is what you teach them,” Fratt says. So calling a dog “bad” or getting mad at them for “being a jerk” makes no sense and won’t help you get the behaviour changes you’d like.

Yelling “No, BAD! No bark!” doesn’t mean a darn thing to your dog, Fratt says. “The dog might stop barking because he’s startled or interested in your voice but the dog does not know what he’s being told to do,” she explains.

It may even have the opposite effect: some dogs, when they hear their owners yelling, decide they want to join in the fun and only get louder.

It’s time to forget that whole “dominant/submissive” thing we’ve all been told about dog behaviour, Fratt says. “Dominance as a construct has been pretty well debunked – even the guy who originally put forward dominance theory for dog training has gone back on the theory,” she says.