Things dogs hate that humans do, and you’re probably doing a few of them without even realizing it.One of the easiest traps to fall into is forcing your dog into an uncomfortable situation. This often happens when you’re on a walk and you see another dog or person.
Of course, you have the cutest, friendliest dog, so you want them to say hi. But the problem is your dog doesn’t always want to say hi to other dogs or other people. It’s like when you were a kid and your parents always made you say hi to weird adults that you didn’t want to talk to. Remember how that sucked? Well, it’s okay. Now that you know that your dog doesn’t want to say hi to everybody, you can change your behavior next time.
Whenever you see another dog or person or you’re going to an unfamiliar place, look at your dog’s body language. Here are some signs that they’re scared or nervous: they’re getting low or avoiding the other dogs or humans, their tail is between their legs or it’s wagging stiffly, they’re looking away, you can see the whites of their eyes, or they’re panting more than expected.
If you see these signs, you might want to give your dog some extra space so that they feel more comfortable. You’ll probably see this body language again if you make some of the mistakes that we’ll mention later. But here’s an innocent thing people do that dogs hate:
1. not sticking to a routine.
Yes, your dog probably likes going on the occasional spontaneous adventure with you, but most dogs are happiest when they’re in a routine. They like knowing when they’ll go for their walk, when they’ll go outside to potty, and when they’re gonna eat next. Think about it like this: if you had no control over when you ate and were totally dependent on someone else to feed you, wouldn’t you like to know when to expect dinner? Of course, you would, and that’s how it is for dogs.
A routine tells them what to expect, which can help them relax. And that’s not to say that you need to stick to a strict routine all the time. Just be mindful of how your dog is feeling when you’re in a busy season of life. But even when your dog is comfortable in their routine, you can still upset them by doing this:
2. Having unreasonable expectations.
I know that sounds a little wordy, but this is one of the most common mistakes people make. Your dog is, well, a dog, but many people expect their dogs to be perfect or at least to handle tough situations better than they actually do. Here’s a quick story: the other day I visited my friend’s house. He has a, shall we say, enthusiastic Labrador Retriever. Well, when I walked in, his dog started jumping all over me. Obviously, I love dogs, so I didn’t care that much.
But the part I didn’t like was that my friend was getting all mad at his dog for jumping on me. Here’s the thing: I asked him how much training he’s doing with his dog to stop him from jumping on other people when they walk in the house. He kind of looked down and away and told me, “Not much.” That’s the problem. People expect their dogs to behave when they haven’t even taught them how. It’s not fair for him to get mad at his dog when he hasn’t put the time in to train him. Some dogs are naturally more calm and well-behaved than others. Some, like my friend’s Lab and my own Golden Retriever, need a bit more training to direct all of their love and enthusiasm for life. This is a small part of another big mistake that we’ll talk about later.
If you ever find yourself frustrated at your dog for doing something, you might want to ask yourself if you have set them up for success in whatever situation you’re in. This mistake is understandable since it’s not really a natural way of thinking. But this next thing people do is just irresponsible: your dog will hate it if you skip Nail clipping day. Well, in the short term, they’ll probably love it if you never clip their nails. But when their nails get too long, they can cause deformed or injured feet. And then they’ll be upset. And nail trimming is a bit of a slippery slope because the quick, which contains a nail’s blood vessel and nerves, grows with the nail.
So if you let their nails grow out too long, you can’t just trim them short like they used to be because you’ll cut the quick, which will be painful and very bloody for your puppy. The same goes for all of their hygienic needs: brushing their teeth, giving them a bath, and brushing their coats. They might not like it in the moment, but when they’re feeling good and healthy down the road, they’ll be thanking you in their own sweet way. When you think about it, it’s obvious that you need to take care of their basic hygienic needs. But this next one might not be so obvious.
3. When humans use harsh chemicals to clean their homes.
It kind of feels like there is a big shift in cleaning products. Everybody was into all-natural products. But when 2020 came around, that all went out the window, and everybody was bathing their homes in pure bleach to kill all the germs. But if you have a dog, harsh chemicals in the air and on the floor aren’t good for them. So just be mindful about where you’re cleaning and what you’re using to clean it with.
There’s another thing you do at home that has nothing to do with your dog, but it really upsets them, and we’ll talk about that one later. Because while we’re on the topic of all-natural products, I’ve got an extra spicy issue for you: fleas, ticks, and heartworm can be serious problems.
So your dog might not appreciate it if you want them to be all-natural and skip out on giving them medicine to prevent these diseases. But here’s our biggest tip: talk to your vet about what to give them to keep them healthy. That’s all we’re going to say on that for now because your vet knows your dog best and knows what potential problems are in your environment. But this next thing your dog will hate that you do is definitely understandable.
4. That is being inconsistent.
Here’s a common scenario: you’re walking your dog in your neighborhood, and they see their doggy best friend. They start pulling on the leash to see them because they’re so excited. Of course, you let them drag you over there to say hi. It’s their best friend, you’ve got to make an exception, right? Well, the next time they see a dog on your walk and they start pulling, they might be surprised when you’re mad and not letting them pull.
Being inconsistent in when you let them pull on the leash or do any other behavior is confusing and frustrating for your dog. And if you’re frustrated at them for misbehaving, well, being inconsistent could be part of your problem. Of course, you don’t want them to misbehave because of you. But this next thing people accidentally do is even worse: it can cause health issues for your dog. Dogs hate it when you change their food too quickly because it can cause them to get tummy aches. If you’re like me, you had no clue this was a thing until you got your first puppy. Then, unfortunately, you learned the messy way that this is not a good idea.
When you change your dog’s food too quickly, like trying out a different brand, that can cause them to vomit or have diarrhea. The best way to change their food is using the 10 rule. Here’s how it works: on day one, feed them 90 percent of their old food and 10 percent of their new food. On day two, feed them 80 percent of their old food and 20 percent of their new food. Every day, you feed them 10 percent more of their new food until they’re fully transitioned. This will usually save them from some tummy aches and save you from some messy cleanups. But you don’t only need to move slow.
5. Change their food too quickly.
If you’re training your pup or getting them used to something new, dogs hate it when you move too fast. And not only will they hate it, but so will you.
Here’s what I mean: let’s say you’re trying to teach your puppy how to sit. The name of the game here is baby steps. First, you teach them how to sit in your living room with no distractions. Once they’ve mastered that, you teach them how to sit with distractions around, like other members of the family.
Once they’ve mastered that, then you take them to another room or even outside where there are new tempting smells and noises and start training them with nobody around again. Eventually, you work all the way up to where they are good enough at sitting where you can ask them to sit in public with all sorts of people and dogs and smells around. But most people make this mistake: they teach them how to sit in their living room with no distractions, then they skip all the steps in between and go right to asking them to sit in public.
Of course, it doesn’t work, and both of them and their puppies are frustrated. And it’s not only with training, it’s also with things like clipping their nails and getting them used to the vacuum. If you don’t take baby steps, everybody is going to be unhappy. But this next mistake is even worse when it comes to everybody being unhappy: your dog will hate it if you ignore their natural doggy needs, and you will hate their reaction to it. You know how sometimes you just want to chew the heck out of some stick? Okay, I’m kidding, that’s weird if you do. But because we humans don’t have that desire, it can be easy to forget that our dogs do.
Dogs need to do dog things like smell, chew, and run around to feel satisfied. If they don’t, that pent-up energy often turns into unwanted behaviors like barking, chewing up your shoes, or acting out to get attention. Your pup will love it if you consider their canine needs and work them into your daily schedule, and they won’t like it if you don’t. But that’s still not as bad as this:
6. Punishing your dog.
Oh man, this is a tricky one because at first it might work. They’re chewing on your shoe, so you yell at them, then they stop. Problem solved, right? Not so much. This is a short-term fix that can have bad long-term effects. You’re teaching your dog to be scared of you instead of to want to obey you. So training them might be hard in the future. And even worse than making training harder in the future is that you’re hurting your relationship with your best friend.
Do you really want to have a relationship with your dog that’s based on dominating and yelling at them instead of mutual love and respect and a desire to make each other happy? I will say this: if you are into dominating and yelling at your pup, then this channel is not for you. Now it’s kind of obvious that your pup won’t like it if you yell at them, but this next one isn’t so obvious: dogs hate it when humans are mad at each other.
Pretend you’re in a foreign country and two locals are yelling at each other in a language you don’t understand. You have no idea what’s going on, so you don’t know how severe this thing is because you don’t know what they’re saying. Sounds pretty scary, right? Now pretend that you can smell their fear and their stress, so there’s no doubt that this is not a good situation.
Well, that’s what it’s like for dogs. They hate it when their humans argue because they’re so in tune with their emotions. The ideal scenario would be that you just don’t argue with your family, but I know that’s not exactly realistic. So maybe just try to keep it down or take it outside away from your pup. Now, if you’ve been around dogs a lot, there’s a chance you’re accidentally doing this,
7. Thinking that all dogs are the same.
thinking that all dogs are the same, even if you’ve had the same breed before. All dogs are actually different. Where people really get into trouble here is assuming things will be easier than they actually are because their previous dogs were well behaved. Some dogs take a little more work than others, and understanding that will help make life with your current dog so much easier. And speaking of making life with your dog so much easier, see the seven simple things you can do every day with your dog to help them be more calm and more well-behaved
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