Why You Should Never Spoil Your Dog

If you ever saw me with my dog, you might think this is a “pot calling the kettle black” kind of post, but bear with me – I’ll explain. I do spoil my dog a little bit, but she’s extremely well behaved to begin with. She’s the kind of dog that gets so upset whenever she does something wrong that I barely need to discipline her. Just knowing she’s done something wrong is enough for her to want to correct her behavior. Yep, she’s my little angel. But, not all of my dogs have been this way. Believe me; I know how hard it is to train an adorable, yet strong-willed little puppy. They look up at you with those puppy-dog eyes (that term was coined for a reason, folks) and you just want to laugh instead of what you know you should do, which is give them some discipline.

But, dogs aren’t like humans. We can’t reason with them. We can’t let things slide one time and choose to make an issue of it the next. This is how dogs get confused and end up misbehaving. It’s not because they’re bad dogs; it’s because they’re confused about how to behave. Well, in some cases it’s also because they know they can get away with the bad thing every other time they do it, so they’re willing to take the risk. You can think of things this way: Just like you, your dog needs a job. It needs to fulfill a purpose, and it looks to you to define that purpose. Just as you would look to your captain for direction if you were a police officer, your dog looks to you for responsibility. You are your dog's captain.

When a dog is young, it’s really important that you step into that leadership role. You can have your cute and cuddly time, but when it’s time for discipline, you have to be strong. Think of yourself as your dog’s leader at all times. He or she is desperately either looking for a leader or looking to lead. That’s how they're programmed. It doesn’t matter how cute they are; it’s all the same. If you don’t step into that role, your dog will walk all over you. It’s that simple.