14 Ways You Are Hurting Your Dog Without Realizing It

14 ways you are hurting your dog without realizing it.

In this guide, we've provided you with a few things that seem right but actually ends up harming your pets either physically or emotionally and you should do well to avoid them at all costs.

Exposing them to strong smells
How do you feel when you're in the same room with someone wearing excessive perfume? I guess irritated or probably nauseated.
Dogs have about a 1000-10,000 of your ability to perceive scents. Now think how much nauseated they will feel when sprayed with a perfume or brought close to a particularly strong smelling substance.
It wouldn’t feel pleasant at all. As such you may want to protect your pet from your perfume and any other strong smelling chemicals as much as possible.

Letting them eat everything
Giving dogs human food is among the top ways most dog owners harm their pet thinking they are actually caring for it.
Your dog’s alimentary canal is quite different from yours just as its nutritional requirements are different. Most times the foods you eat are too spicy, too fatty or too salty for your dog.

Lack of routine and rules
Routines and rules are very important because dogs have an internal clock. They give structure and a sense of ‘what-to-do-next’ to your pet.
Take for instance; if you feed your dog after ringing a bell every day for a few weeks, your dog will start salivating at the sound of the bell even when the food is not yet in sight. This is actually called the Pavlov dog experiment.

Patting their heads
This is one thing dog owners do that irritates their pets more than they can imagine. Think about it; how many times have you really liked it when someone reaches out and patted you on the head suddenly? My guess is you can’t think of such an instance.
Being patted on the head whether lovingly or not is something most of us never really enjoy.

Skipping flea, tick and worming treatment
Preventive your dog from flea, tick, worm, and heartworm is very important. This can be lesser of an issue in the winter time, but you should definitely talk to a vet to keep your dog safe in the warmer months of the year.

Leaving them alone in the car
Never ever leave your dog alone in the car with the windows closed. Researches have shown that the temperature within a closed car can rise often as high as 20 degree in every 10 minutes!
Unlike us, dogs do not sweat and become very uncomfortable in such an environment.

Neglecting their teeth
The teeth are an important part of your dog’s body.
Their teeth are often home to hundreds of bacteria and need to be brushed just like yours do. Seriously, taking care of your dog’s teeth should go beyond the chewing sticks most dog owners are accustomed to giving to their pets.

Taking the little puppy to a dog park
It’s a good thing to take your pet to the park once in a while. This allows it to mingle with its own species and not feel like it is the only one left in the world.
In as such as this is a good for your dog, you shouldn’t forget that dogs can be passive carriers of diseases. This can easily be transferred to your pet. Also, if you're visiting a park with your little puppy, you may want to keep an eye on it as larger dogs often are rough while playing and may end up harming your little pet.

Using physical punishments
It’s good you discipline your pet but physical punishment should never be the way you do. For one, physically punishing your pet constitutes animal abuse.
Secondly, physical punishment doesn’t really work when it comes to disciplining a pet. It only makes your pet afraid of you.

Yelling
Yelling is never a great way to discipline your dog. If you yell at your dog when it does something bad, it may act all timid but will be unrepentant. This is because yelling actually scares it and does not tell your dog what it did wrong. Your dog may assume you are just angry hence the timid behavior to protect itself.

Neglecting breed-specific health issues
Certain dogs breeds require specific care for their skin, ear or fur.
Some other breeds are prone to certain health issues and you should make sure to have an eye out for them. For example, Dobermans, in addition to heart muscle failure, are prone to ventricular arrhythmias. Make sure to talk with your vet to discuss the breed-specific health issues

Not socializing your dog with other dogs and people
Thorough socialization is very important for dog’s health and behavior.
Lack of socializations results in release of adrenaline hormones that increase dog’s blood pressure and heart rate in any unfamiliar situation.
Dogs who don’t socialize can have anxiety about anything that’s unfamiliar.
Too much food
If you often keep your dog’s bowl filled, you may be putting your dog in the risk of obesity. Dogs are expert at acting like they’re starving all the time. Don’t fall for their whining
Vegan Diet

Background Music: Youtube Audio Library

[delphilouise]

my dog as soon as i stop petting her head will put her head in hand and rub it on it herself.

[LPCHYPR]

Showed this to my vet he laughed and said some of this wasn’t true

[michael]

Lol my dog puts her head in my hand for head pets.

[vinnn]

My dog would bite my hand to give her head pat's lol

[xaddictixn]

“Don’t pet your dog’s head”

My dog: Lemme crash that phone

[teresitalescano]

“dogs don’t like their heads being pet”

my dog: *u hearin smth hooman???*

[heliex]

y'all: thEy doNT LIKE HEAD PATS




me dog that falls asleep when i pat her head: :eyes:

[kyleighhenkel]

“Think about if you were patted on the head randomly. How would you feel?” Fam people are different from dogs I’d feel weird if someone randomly patted me anywhere 🤷🏼‍♀️

[rgrndu]

#4. There’s a difference between patting & petting. My dogs love their heads gently massaged/petted. Nobody wants their head patted.

[thelanddud]

that’s enough internet for today. My dog loves his head pets boi

[kmariep]

A lot of the human food they showed, like fish and beef, is actually really good for dogs... Most dog food is corn and wheat and not healthy for dogs. And those dogs are being petted, NOT patted. Petting feels amazing for dogs and humans. So a lot of this is either BS or common sense-we all know skipping treatments or leaving them in cars is dangerous, this isn't new info

[holliedelk]

My dog gets very light spankings and a strict no. He understands and doesn’t do it again(most of the time). He also has never once acted afraid or been afraid of me. And him getting pet on the head is his FAVORITE!

[MitchEXE-vsek]

My dog lets me pat him on the head, maybe because he has a lot of respect for me, and I have a lot of respect for him

[briandarazs]

I call BS on head patting. My two dogs physically push their heads into my hands for a scalp massage. They keep pushing harder and harder. They absolutely love it.

[KingSethMorton]

I've had my bassett hound on an all human food diet for years and he is the most energetic and in shape bassett hound you will ever see, and his coat looks great.

[nitogame]

Rules you say? Like for example "Don't steal stuff from the table", well she just drops it on the ground and steals it from the ground. It's no longer on the table so it's fair game apparently.

[sadrobot]

"Yelling"

Me: *whispers* I LUV YOU DOG

[chrisbarone]

I agree with NO Yelling and NO physical punishments. I for one would *NEVER* do that to my dog. Even when he makes mistakes, But my parents don't see it that way.

[roberttaylor]

If I stop petting my dog's head he uses his nose to flip my hand back onto his head, if that doesn't work he whines.

[sophstan]

Patting your dogs head is fine as long as they enjoy it! telling them no in a firm manner is fine (that maybe a little shouty) loud nosies like a clap is a good way of disciplining your dog. Shouting at them all the time is not a good method, you wouldn’t shout at a child constantly! Also if a dog doesn’t like you brushing their teeth don’t do it! Doing things they don’t like can cause them stress, instead use plastic toys that squeak with soft spikes on them as are really good for dental hygiene as long as you wash them, and dental sticks they’ve been really helpful! Also don’t wash your dog all the time you’re destroying the natural oils in its skin, and that can make them have bad skin making them smell more! You only really need to wash them with warm water if they are dirty, that’s a massive one they missed out!