3 Mistakes New Dog Owners Make and How to Avoid Them
Lessons learned from a new dog owner
Let me start by saying I have made each and every mistake mentioned in this guide. I am not embarrassed by them because I understand that adopting a new dog can be a mixed bag of emotions and experiences that are unique to every dog and its owner. Factors that can affect the process of adding a new dog to the home include: dog breed, monetary resources, other dogs in the home, age of the dog, size of family, and house size. There is no silver bullet that will make the process easy. Like people, dogs have varying personalities, needs, and difficulties that can affect training, changing environments, and meeting new people. Basically, what I’m saying is if you expect every dog you adopt to fit your cookie cutter mold of how it should act, you’re screwed. However, I do feel confident identifying mistakes that universally do not help create a positive transition for new pets and their owners. These mistakes were made by me and are made my others all the time. Don’t believe me? Visit a dog park and see the plethora of misbehaving dogs that ignore their owners, jump on others, and consistently receive poor dog training.
Mistake #1: Inconsistent Training
You hear it time and time again that the most important part of training a dog is consistency. Without it, it can be difficult to build consistent (duh) behavior from your dog. Similar to picking up a habit, the more you reinforce a behavior the more likely your dog is to pick it up. It is important to continually train and most importantly reinforce the desired behaviors from your dog. Just because your furry friend appears to have mastered the art of “sitting” does not mean you should stop reinforcing the desired behavior. Many interpret this as needing to constantly have treats on hand in hopes that they can reinforce their pup at any given moment. And at first, this kind of training can be helpful. But over time it is important to identify natural reinforcements that encourage good behavior.
Natural reinforcers are reinforcers that can be used through everyday interactions. One of the most important and hardest parts of training is finding natural reinforcers that work for your dog. For most, this looks like verbal praises, petting, cuddles or all of thee above. Natural reinforcers can even be as simple as being let into the house. Every time I come back to my apartment after a walk I make my dog sit and lay down. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t get let in. The natural reward in this situation would be being let in once he sits and lays down. Every dog has different natural reinforcers; it is your job to find them.
Mistake #2: Mixed Signals
Mixed signals are a surefire way to stunt training and even create unwanted behaviors. A prime example that I see often is when one member of the household spends times teaching their dog to not jump, while another freely allows the same dog to jump. Just like being consistent with reinforcing your dogs behavior, it is important to be consistent with what is being reinforced.
A hurdle that most people face is that it can be awkward to ask someone to not allow your dog to jump or to wait until their dog is calm. Trust me, been there done that. However, I will tell you right now it is worth it. It is a waste of your time and energy if everything you teach your dog is reversed by the interactions of others. It may seem mean, but it is in the best interest of not only you and your dog, but others as well. Friends, family, and strangers enjoy being around a well-behaving dog. To do so you need to get everyone you live and interact with to be on the same page. Not only will training become easier, but you will also receive the support of those around you.
Mistake #3: Ghosting Your Dog
Ghosting your dog after it has learned a behavior can be just a detrimental as the other mistakes on this list. “Ghosting” is not meant to describe abandoning your dog, but rather abandoning reinforcing your dog after it learns a new trick. Imagine training your dog to lay down. Your dog struggled to learn the concept at first, but with some practice they got it down. After you feel they are a laying down expert you have a false expectation that they should always listen from this moment on. When they lay down, you don’t give them a treat, food, toy, or verbal praise because you expect them to know what you want. They start listening less and less and eventually don’t listen at all, causing you to get more and more frustrated. Sometimes you even yell at your dog when they don’t listen. Sound familiar? The reason dogs tend to forget commands is because they have no reason to listen. Some might listen out of fear, yet that not only increases the likelihood of bad behaviors in the future. As mentioned in mistake #1, it is essential to discover natural reinforcers to prevent having to consistently give your dog treats. Nobody wants to smell like dog food. However, it is important to know that there is no value in discovering natural reinforcers if you are not using them. Just like you wouldn’t like being ghosted by a significant other, don’t ghost mans best friend from being told they are a good doggo.
Know other common mistakes new dog owners make? Leave a comment and let me know!
