Top 4 Most Common Dog Parenting Mistakes Revealed

Raising a dog is very similar to raising a child. How you treat, train and what you instill in your pet early on greatly affects how they would turn out later on in life. While there is no exact "right" way to raise a dog, there are some wrong practices that owners make that may contribute or cause a pet's negative attitude, health problems or even put them in danger.

Here are the 4 most common dog parenting mistakes that you should avoid:

Lack of socialization

The first year of a dog's life is crucial - it is when he learns the most of everything that you teach him. That is why socializing your dog, especially during the early months, is important. When a dog isn't comfortable around people or other pets, it will be hard for him to trust and can be difficult and even dangerous. Play with your dog daily, bring him out so that he'll be familiar with the people in your surroundings and allow him to play with other dogs.

Lack of exercise

Eating without burning the calories off results to weight gain. This does not only apply to us but to our pets as well. According to statistics, obesity in dogs is now up to 52.5 percent due to lack of exercise. Consult your vet how much exercise your dog needs (depending on his age and size) and be sure to reach it through daily walks and keeping him active.

Lack of company

Leaving a dog alone for several hours is not healthy, especially when they are cooped up in a cage. This will lead to them feeling sad and eventually become aggressive - chewing on things, making a mess around the house and the like. If you're going to be away for more than 7 hours each day, be sure to have someone check your pet or have a sitter to walk your dog and keep him company.

Lack of supervision

Dogs are known to be curious and will eat anything. One common mistake that dog parents make is not being extra careful about what their pet eats. Small, sharp bones, spoiled food and chocolate are among the dangerous food that your pet will usually encounter and put in their mouth. This will lead to choking, poisoning and other problems.

Avoid these mistakes when raising your pup and you and he will have a continuous harmonious relationship.

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Dealing With a Food Aggressive Dog

Dogs just naturally guard their food due to thousands of years of running in packs, and when food was found, the biggest, most aggressive dog always got to eat first, then down through the pecking order to the smallest dog, who ate last or not at all. When dogs become aggressive around their food, it's because they are relying on their instincts, and they think you are a threat to their food. There are a lot of other reasons that dogs become aggressive, let's go over those now and discuss ways in which you can teach your dog to not be aggressive around food, for the sake of your family and peace of mind.

Isolation From Humans And Lack Of Socialization.

To prevent dog aggression,one of the best things you can do is socialize with him from the time he's really small. Dogs are very social creatures, and your objective is to be a substitute for the pack that they are naturally programmed to be a part of. So in order to not end up with an aggressive dog, always be positive and allow your dog to play with as many different humans as possible in a friendly non-aggressive atmosphere. It is also important to completely avoid excessive physical punishment as this can create an aggressive dog.

Train Your Dog Well, And Avoid Taunting.

It's important that you start right at the beginning training your dog well, and always in a positive manner. Waiting until later, can cause confusion in the dog, which will show as aggression. By teaching him obedience, what's allowed, and what's not allowed, he will understand that you are the alpha dog of the pack, and never become aggressive towards you. Never allow children to tease your dog through a fence, as this could definitely cause problems.

Training Your Dog How To Act Around Food.

There are many dogs that are never aggressive in any way, except around food, because that is one of the most basic instincts that they're hardwired with, and difficult for them to overcome. It is also possible that a dog would be aggressive with other people around its food, but not the master, because he has accepted the master as the alpha of the pack. Sometimes a dog will only be aggressive towards another dog around the food with growling, showing the teeth, and maybe even lunging in a threatening way towards the other dog. When it comes to two dogs acting aggressively, many times it's just better if you feed them in different locations and insist that each dog stay near their bowl until they are both done, then they can continue to socialize in the normal manner.

The most serious case of food aggression is with young children who don't understand why the dog has suddenly become aggressive, and this is something that needs to be handled immediately in order to safeguard your children from being bitten. You, the alpha dog, must step in and correct the aggression immediately while it's happening, by removing the food the minute there's any sign aggressive behavior. Keep the food out of reach until he has cooled down, then try again, do not allow the log to exhibit any aggressive behavior without taking away his food. Most dogs will quickly figure out that you are in control the food and if he's hungry he has to act accordingly in order to eat.

While there are many different reasons dogs could act aggressively, food aggression is probably one of the worst, but still, easy to change if one takes the time and energy to do it. Having a well-trained dog is important for his health as well as your peace of mind.

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Why Does My Dog Want To Attack Other Dogs?

This is a very common question that a lot of dog owners ask when their dogs start showing aggression as they reach maturity. One thing that is important is to spay or neuter your pets at a young age. Not only does this help keep them from developing aggression as they mature but it also does wonders for protecting your dog from different types of cancer as they age.

Let's talk about some of the reasons your dog wants to attack other dogs.

1. Lack of socialization

This is a very common reason for aggression. All puppies need to be socialized with other dogs during the period of socialization that is from birth to 20 weeks of age. If you want your pet to be around other dogs when it gets older then you better get them socialized early.

If you don't socialize your puppy before 20 weeks of age you are going to end up with a dog aggressive dog when it gets somewhere between 12 and 24 months old.

2. No Training

The second cause of a dog aggressive dog could be a lack of training. Yes, you read that right. If you don't obedience train your dog you are going to end up with a dog that doesn't know what is right and what is wrong. Training your dog will teach it where it is in the pack and of course you are at the top. If the dog has respect for you then it will not act like a crazy dog whenever other dogs are around.

3. Feeling a need to protect

The third reason is that your dog may be feeling that it needs to protect you from other dogs. Why does it act that way? Well part of it goes back to the lack of training. If you don't train your dog it feels that it must be the alpha and because of that it needs to take care of the lower members of the pack, you.

Aggression may also develop because as a pup it growled at a strange dog and you thought it was cute so over a period of time it simply grew and got worse. Your dog just assumed that it was supposed to act that way.

So now the big question, how do we fix it? Start by locating a great trainer or a behavior specialist that has a bunch of experience working with this type of problem. I will say that not every dog can be cured but with diligence and determination I think it will work to make your dog better.

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7 Different Causes Of Dog Aggression

Unfortunately dog aggression is a very common behavior issue that dog owners have to deal with. The aggression can be caused by several different things however and not receiving proper socialization before the age of 20 weeks is one of the most common causes. Here are several different causes of dog aggression.

1. Lack of proper socialization 

This is probably the most common problem when it comes to dog aggression. Puppies should always be properly socialized by the time they are 20 weeks old. 

2. Being isolated from human contact 

Believe it or not there are people that mistakenly believe that by isolating their dog from other human contact will be best for the dog and will create loyalty to the owner. This thinking is very wrong in fact what it does do is create a fearful aggressive dog. 

3. Excessive physical punishment 

People that are heavy handed with corrections and hit their young pups are very likely to find a dog that that is afraid of people and that actually may attack the owner as it gets older and is able to protect itself. 

4. Owner that does not provide proper training 

This is a very common problem. A new owner says we will train the dog later only to find that later never comes but the dog is still untrained and is now showing aggression. Obedience training is very important and creates the master dog relationship where the dog realizes that the master is the alpha of the pack, not the dog. 

5. Teasing from kids and people 

We have all seen this. Where kids coming home from school just can pass up the opportunity to tease your dog and really get it into defense mode. It could even be a nasty neighbor as well that just doesn't like dogs. 

6. Chaining 

OK this one is actually against the law in many locations around the country. You can visit http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Laws.htm to see if your city or state is included. Chaining creates aggression so don't do it. 

7. Attack from a dog 

If your dog was attacked by another dog then it may have some fear when it comes to other dogs. If that is the case you may see your dog showing aggression when another dog gets too close. Your dog is simply trying to act nasty and tough so that other dogs will stay away. 

If your dog is showing aggression you may have found the reason for that aggression right here in this article. Of course there are more reasons for aggression so this is not the complete list. 

If your dog is suffering from aggression be sure to contact a trainer or a canine behavior specialists to help you solve the problem as soon as possible. Aggression can be a serious problem and of course can create liability for you the dog owner.

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Are Certain Breeds More Aggressive Than Others?

Yes, some dog breeds are naturally more aggressive than others. In fact these breeds have usually been bred to be that way for a reason like hunting or protection. However that does not mean that these dogs cannot be nice sociable pets with good training and the proper socialization when they are young.

I feel that dogs that you see that are overly aggressive and dangerous are not that way because of their breed, they are that way because of the way that they have been raised.

It is not unusual for an unknowing dog owner to get a puppy take it home and keep it in the house or in the backyard without any socialization. Not allowing your dog to be socialized is the way you create a fearful, aggressive canine.

Quite often I hear a dog owner say that their pet is not aggressive it is simply fearful. Well plain and simple a fearful dog is probably the most dangerous dog in many situations. Without their knowledge most dog owners create the fear in their pets.

There are several things that can help create a dangerous dog so let's discuss a few of them now.

#1 Lack of socialization like we already mentioned. Socialization MUST be done before the dog is 20 weeks old.

#2 Isolation - yes many dog owners isolate their dog in an effort to have a protective dog but what they are actually creating is a fearful dog that really doesn't show any bravery.

#3 Back tying - this is where you tie the dog up in the yard because you don't have a fence.

Sometimes people do this to keep the dog from destroying things in the yard. A much better option would be to create a 6x10 foot kennel in the back yard so that the dog is not tied.

Unless you are looking for a mean nasty dog, and most people are not then following these few simple pointers will give you a dog that you can enjoy no matter what the breed is.

Keep in mind that dogs like German Shepherds, Rottweilers, and pits are dogs that were bred and created for the protective nature however that does not mean that they can't be very sociable.

On the other hand Labradors for example that are sweet fun loving dogs can be aggressive and dangerous if not trained and socialized. In fact recently I saw some information that showed Labrador and Labrador mixes bite more people every year than any other breed.

Socialize, train and treat them well and you can have a great dog no matter what the breed is.

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