People would tell me that my dog was badly trained, but the way I see it, being trained isn’t fun. I have to be trained because I need to be able to earn money and survive in the real world, but my dog didn’t need a job and he asked for so little - why wouldn’t I provide him everything he wanted?
Plus it was absolutely hilarious when he would gradually lure guests away from the dinner table by being adorable and then when they were far enough from it, he would dash back to it faster than they could and eat their food.
Proper training for a dog isn’t a punishment. It’s a contract between you and them. It reduces stress, forms a stronger bond, and can make life easier for the both of you.
You don’t need to be your dog’s Supreme Commander or anything, but it’s important that both you and your dog know the rules in any situation before it comes up.
On a serious note, your dog tricking guests out of food is risky behavior, because the dog thinks it’s a game and as soon as someone doesn’t play along your dog will become frustrated and might lash out.
Just to clarify: he wasn’t completely wild. He was well-socialized and he wasn’t aggressive about food - you could safely stick your hand in his mouth and pull food out. Beyond that, I didn’t bring him to places where he could get in trouble that way.
I get that “badly trained” can mean various things including simply neglecting a dog, but in the context of this meme I just meant that my dog wanted to eat whatever people were eating (in moderation) and he whined a lot if someone refused to play with him.
Very true. My dogs aren’t perfectly obedient, but they’re not mean to people. It just takes setting some boundaries and being firm when they overstep. Now, all it takes is a, “hey!” when they’re getting too excitable or doing something bad and they’ll try to figure out what’s wrong. Their little nuzzles of contrition are so damn adorable.
As long as you foster a good relationship, the disapproval of the behavior should be enough punishment for the majority of dogs… and children for that matter. The rest shouldn’t need violence, but better forms of discipline than I know how to adequately describe.
People would tell me that my dog was badly trained, but the way I see it, being trained isn’t fun. I have to be trained because I need to be able to earn money and survive in the real world, but my dog didn’t need a job and he asked for so little - why wouldn’t I provide him everything he wanted?
Plus it was absolutely hilarious when he would gradually lure guests away from the dinner table by being adorable and then when they were far enough from it, he would dash back to it faster than they could and eat their food.
Proper training for a dog isn’t a punishment. It’s a contract between you and them. It reduces stress, forms a stronger bond, and can make life easier for the both of you.
You don’t need to be your dog’s Supreme Commander or anything, but it’s important that both you and your dog know the rules in any situation before it comes up.
On a serious note, your dog tricking guests out of food is risky behavior, because the dog thinks it’s a game and as soon as someone doesn’t play along your dog will become frustrated and might lash out.
Just to clarify: he wasn’t completely wild. He was well-socialized and he wasn’t aggressive about food - you could safely stick your hand in his mouth and pull food out. Beyond that, I didn’t bring him to places where he could get in trouble that way.
I get that “badly trained” can mean various things including simply neglecting a dog, but in the context of this meme I just meant that my dog wanted to eat whatever people were eating (in moderation) and he whined a lot if someone refused to play with him.
Very true. My dogs aren’t perfectly obedient, but they’re not mean to people. It just takes setting some boundaries and being firm when they overstep. Now, all it takes is a, “hey!” when they’re getting too excitable or doing something bad and they’ll try to figure out what’s wrong. Their little nuzzles of contrition are so damn adorable.
As long as you foster a good relationship, the disapproval of the behavior should be enough punishment for the majority of dogs… and children for that matter. The rest shouldn’t need violence, but better forms of discipline than I know how to adequately describe.