My Boyfriend Treats His Dog Like a Baby

Picture this: Guests arrive at the front door and as you open up the door to greet them, your 5-twelvemonth-former son or girl runs wildly at your company, screaming and pulling on their arms and apparel for attention. This is unacceptable beliefs for our kids, so why do we allow our dogs to practise it?

Whether you lot're a pet parent or a pet sitter, it's not a very proficient idea to treat your dog like a baby. Simply information technology is a proficient idea to treat our furry friends like you would a 5-year-old child. That ways teaching them boundaries, manners, and subject. Canis familiaris behaviorist Beverly Ulbrich preaches this motto with her San Francisco clients, and we're outlining the reasons why it works.

From Family Protector to Family Member

If you call back, "my dog is my child," you're not alone. The dog's role in the dwelling house has evolved greatly in the by 100 years. A majority of dog owners now consider themselves 'pet parents' rather than 'pet owners.' Most three-quarters of them talk to their dogs and many purchase their dogs birthday treats or even gifts for Valentine's Twenty-four hours.

Dr. Stanley Coren, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the Academy of British Columbia, details the irresolute roles in his book "The Mod Dog," explaining how nosotros've seen dogs go from herding, hunting, or guarding dogs to full-blown family members merely in the past century.

Dr. Coren cites two chief reasons why we now view our dogs as our kids instead of our property: we're living longer and the family isn't as intact as it used to be, with extended family spread out over the land or fifty-fifty beyond.

"We have a version of empty-nest syndrome," Dr. Coren explains. "Humans have a demand to nurture and feel there is somebody or someone that depends on you. A dog tends to fit this very well because he's socially responsive where a cat tends to be somewhat elusive."

Not that he sees anything wrong with treating our dogs like kids. In fact, there are some advantages, equally long you have the right expectations.

"Recognize the domestic dog is not a child," Dr. Coren clarifies. "Pet owners who admit treating their dogs as children too tend to give their dogs responsibilities. They expect in some mode or another the dog has that level of understanding and if y'all overestimate that, it volition damage the relationship."

With the correct expectations in mind, let's explore the reasons why treating your domestic dog like a child tin can be a good thought.

For Their Own Prophylactic

Our number-ane priority equally pet parents is to go along our canine kids safe. Merely if your dog won't mind to you inside the habitation, you tin bet he won't mind to yous on the street where there are serious risks like passing cars.

"If you tin can't control your canis familiaris in the house under at-home circumstances, y'all aren't going to be able to control him when he's excited or distracted," Ulbrich says.

Knowing commands like "stay" and "come" tin save your domestic dog'due south life, and obeying them is not an option.

"You should simply say a control once," Ulbrich explains. "In an urgent situation where there can be dire consequences, you just get 1 hazard."

Commands like "drop information technology!" and "off!" are every bit of import to keeping your dog kid prophylactic, especially since dogs are naturally inquisitive and will put pretty much anything in their oral fissure, similar a young human child.

"It'south important to teach your dog non to pick upward certain things," Ulbrich suggests. "Things similar chocolate, chicken bones, and poop—if they get information technology into their mouth and ingest it, information technology could be fatal."

On that same annotation, you should also be able to take your dog's food, treats, or toys abroad at any given time without him snarling, growling, or lashing out at you.

"It'due south a natural tendency for dogs because if you lot recollect about survival of the fittest, the dog who ends upward with the nutrient survives," Ulbrich explains. "Our job is to train them that we feed them twice a twenty-four hours and give snacks, so they don't accept to worry about protecting their food."

If your dog does snap at you lot for trying to take his food, yous should consult a professional to help instead of trying to handle it yourself.

For Practiced Manners and Obedience

Practice you find yourself request your dog to go to bed multiple times so finally bribing him with a cookie to comply? You wouldn't requite your five-yr-old $five to just go to bed, so why practice the same for your fur baby?

If you accept to coax your canis familiaris to do what y'all enquire, y'all are not establishing a respectful relationship. You as well won't ever have full control of your canis familiaris.

"If y'all tell your canis familiaris to do something, he should simply do it," Ulbrich says. "You'll run across problem in an urgent situation if you don't take a high-value cookie in your hand. And even and so, your dog may make up one's mind the squirrel is more exciting than your cookie."

Does your dog manus at you lot for attending or start whining to get it? A expert dog mom or dad should never give in, which would encourage this bad beliefs.

"Both children and dogs should learn to self-soothe, significant they should be able to be lone for a half-hour and practise their own activity without needing the attention of an adult," Ulbrich says.

For Proper Socialization and Skills

It would be weird if y'all kept your child locked in the house all mean solar day and never introduced him to another kid to play with, or merely let him play in the yard. Just some people actually do this with their dogs out of fear their dog may become into a fight at the park.

"Dogs, simply like children, need to learn social skills and cues to know when they're being invited to play and when they're being told to leave someone else lonely," Ulbrich says.

Your domestic dog needs to interact with groups of people and dogs akin to learn skill sets and how to accept direction. If y'all have a skittish dog, yous can brand it easier for him by beingness a strong leader, every bit a canis familiaris looks to their pet parent for security the same mode a child does.

"Y'all should go outside the business firm first, get into the dog park first, and pet another dog offset," Ulbrich explains.  "Show them leadership and so they can see you lot are checking it out and making it safe for them then they don't have that burden on themselves."

Of class, if your dog has major issues interacting with other dogs, you should consult a professional trainer for advice on how to socialize him.

For Learning New Tricks

Imagine your kid wants to try playing baseball game, and then you take him down to the park and throw him a couple pitches. He swings and misses then you throw your artillery up and walk away because obviously he's no proficient at baseball game.

Working with your dog often and learning how to communicate are keys to pedagogy new tricks. Photo by Billy Poon.

This is exactly how we treat our dogs when we get frustrated if they don't immediately learn a new pull a fast one on. Some people assume their dog isn't smart enough when he doesn't pick up the play tricks instantly.

"It's not because of their limitations, it's because we don't work with them," Ulbrich says. "If a dog is used to learning, it'south like shooting fish in a barrel to teach new commands."

Spend some time on the floor with your dog didactics new tricks, which is easier one time you find his motivation to larn.

"All dogs are motivated by something," Ulbrich says. "Dogs are motivated by toys, balls, treats, and nigh all dogs are motivated by affection."

Think, dogs don't speak English. Office of pet parenthood is learning how to communicate with your dog to avoid frustration on both ends.

"Dogs can follow body language and hand motions very easily," Ulbrich explains. "They have the ability to learn words are associated with objects or tasks."

The Lesser Line

Treating your dog the same as your five-year-old has some advantages. Ask yourself, "Is this behavior rude or unacceptable for my child?" If the answer is yes, it'south probably also rude and unacceptable for your dog child.

Superlative epitome via Flickr/Lion Chang

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Source: https://www.rover.com/blog/pet-parents-treating-your-dog-like-a-child/

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