Have you offered your guidance?
Do you offer your dog enough guidance? Or do you leave them out there in our human world hanging; trying to figure it all out on their own? Perhaps their bad behaviors are spiraling out of control because they have a serious lack of guidance. Just like human children, dogs need guidance; they need to be shown how to act appropriately. That is our job.
I know, I know, many of you don't like to tell your dog what to do. I've heard it all, believe me. But when we don't offer our dogs guidance as they make their way through life in our human world, we fail them. That's right, we fail to do our part. Most dogs come to us knowing how to be dogs. Although sadly some dogs don't even have that much if they have not been raised properly or taken away from their litter too early. Learning to deal with the day to day in life takes guidance from us, their human.
Are you in teaching mode? You should be until you have taught your dog about most of your life together. That means that you need to be on your toes; constantly prepared to guide and educate. For most, that is about 2 years; yep, two years of constant guidance. Then after that there will be moments of specific guidance requirements. A bump in the road can call on us, the guardian to step up and guide, lead and educate.
A dog who lacks guidance may seem like an unruly beast. With a little guidance, leadership and education; that unruly beast can become an amazing dog.
Acceptable and unacceptable, does your dog know the difference? Have you shown them how to behave in our human world?
We have rules in our day to day; dogs need rules in theirs as well. Have you given your dog the guidance they need?
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