Today I went for a long stroll with my favourite fluffy lady and adopted canine buddy, Poppy. Despite the fact that it is still pretty chilly in our neck of the woods to say the least (!), it was  lovely sunny day. Walking along with her and trying to work what she is thinking in various situations always intrigues me….

I have always had such an interest in canine psychology (I even did a course once!). Call me crazy, but I honestly believe that in however many hundreds years’ time it will take for peoples’ way of thinking to change enough, that it will be discovered that animals’ minds are way more similar to ours than they are given credit for. I basically think overall, it is just a language barrier. If a dog could fully explain to us what he/she was thinking/feeling which made him/her tear up the couch cushion, or pee in the kitchen, it would, I am sure give us a new understanding.

In the spirit of this, I thought I would share with you, my top 5 pet peeves when it comes to human interaction with dogs.

**Disclaimer Alert** This is all purely opinion! I am not claiming to be any sort of expert!

5) Dressing them up – Ok so this may seem pretty harmless to you, but your dog has no idea what he has on, or why he is being made to feel so restricted. Has he done something wrong? Add to that the squealing and giggling that is no doubt now surrounding him and I’m sure you’re left with one pretty confused and uncomfortable pooch. Yes, ok, he looks “cute” but wouldn’t you rather he was just himself, he’s pretty cute just the way he is right? 🙂

4) Shouting at them – I’ve seen videos, and I’m sure we all have of dogs looking “guilty” when their owners come home to find the bin has been emptied all over the floor and those vids do make me giggle because the dog knows she has done something wrong but I think it’s really important to get to the bottom of the question of why it has happened, because all shouting is going to do it scare your dog, and surely no good owner wants their dog to be scared of them. Respect, sure, but fear…?

3) Letting children be OTT with them – I just always feel so sorry for a poor, gentle dog when he is forced to endure some hyper child climbing all over him. I think it’s really important for kids to be taught to respect dogs at a very early age. They are not a toy and not less than, simply different to us.

2) Overuse of WORDS – Ok, so dogs can be trained to recognise words and to know what those words require of them, obviously. But as the amazing Cesar Milan (If you’ve never seen an episode of The Dog Whisperer, you haven’t lived!) teaches, dogs respond far better to energy. That may sound to some like a “hippy” way of thinking, but Cesar has proved it to be true. Simply put, saying the same words over and over, but using the wrong energy towards your dog is going to take FAR longer to get the desired response – they don’t speak human. Honestly if you are looking into training your dog and haven’t seen Cesar, check him out.

1) Lack of Exercise – If you choose to live with a dog, he/she deserves to have a good walk, every day. Some dogs are higher energy than others, but they patiently wait in all day for us to return to them and the least we can do is take them on a nice walk. Not only to “do their business” but also to leave their scent, encounter other dogs and let off some energy. I know how I feel if I don’t leave the house all day, so I would hate to have that forced on me!

So there they are – my top 5 pet dog peeves, or pet peeves for dogs….. either way, you catch my drift! xx

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