Mistakes that you made as a dog owner?

Mandzhalas

Hi
i only got puppy for a week,but made mistake.i was running out of food that breeder gave me,so decided go to pet shop and get more.
Big bag of same brand food was on sale.turkey instead chicken.now puppy very reluctant eating it.even if i mix with only small amount of new food
so my advice-buy small bag,try it.than if its ok-buy big bag

caitmb

Where to start?? The funniest was, I bought a lovely bean bag bed for my lab cross. He loved it and it lasted wks and wks which I thought was a good sign as he had all previous beds in ribbons within days. Anyway,one summers day I left him and the bean bag bed out in garden while I went to work...big mistake! I came home to find the bed in bits around the garden and the beans EVERYWHERE!! It was so bad I had to hoover the garden which got a few funny looks from neighbours.... That was 5 yrs ago at least and every now and again a few beans show up from under the shed and still makes me laugh!

dave1982

I've a 8 year that still eats his beds, why do I keep buying him new one

aaabbbb

We gave up ages ago giving our Bichon a bed, it would always be clawed and chewed to bits as he loves to try digg everything !!!! He's now destroyed the couch in the kitchen to a sufficient standard he's happy with and sleeps on that now

Gitb1

Letting the dog sleep in my bed!!! Started when she was a pup for a a bit of peace from the crying and barking at night and now the only time the spoilt little fecker doesn't sleep in the bed is if I doze off on the couch.

Also underestimating how crafty and agile she is when putting stuff (what I thought was) out of her reach.

AlanS181824

Gitb1 wrote: »

Letting the dog sleep in my bed!!! Started when she was a pup for a a bit of peace from the crying and barking at night and now the only time the spoilt little fecker doesn't sleep in the bed is if I doze off on the couch.

Also underestimating how crafty and agile she is when putting stuff (what I thought was) out of her reach.

This is exactly what I was about to post!

My dog has never slept in her own bed, never!
We'll have her 2 years in February. She is beyond spoilt but I love her all the same :P

ZiabR

Buying nice bedding on a number of occasions only for it to be torn to pieces in the garden. She thinks its great craic.

ShaShaBear

I'd probably say letting him sleep in the bed.
To be honest I love that he sleeps in the bed, and my partner (who always had crate-trained/utility room trained dogs) loves it too.

But he is very big for a collie, and easily takes up the entire lower half of the bed, which means OH and I need to literally cramp ourselves together in the top half of the bed! If it's too warm he'll sometimes move to the floor but has never slept in, or even acknowledged any dog bed we have bought him. I'm pregnant now, so he's in for a mighty shock when I'm too big to curl up and he has to move to the floor!

foreversky

Letting my lad sleep on sofa or more like lying across me for a nap.had blanket on floor kinda uses it.had 3 beds he destroyed.hes a strong little fecker.so got him a cheap bed to train him now.doing up sittingroom so no more sleep on sofa I hope:D,he's a setter cross more long than big.

Hooked

The one HUGE mistake that we NEARLY made was not crate training our dog.

It's a life saver with so many things:

Toilet training
Sleeping soundly (no external noise/distraction)
When guests call
A place to feed him (and for him to wait while WE eat)
As it's located inside the back door - a place to dry him off
For crate rest after an elective operation
For camping
For holidaying in rented houses/hotels

Crate Training all the way...

caitmb

Not realising how NICE my dog thinks my cooking is! I made 2 lovely pasta bakes and invited the family up for dinner. So far so good....I took them out of the oven and left them pushed back on the counter while I went to answer the front door. I came back in followed by some of the family only to find Mutt (lab cross) on his hind legs with his nose buried in a pasta bake!!!

ps waste not want not....my least favourite brother got mutts "leftovers" and to this day still doesnt know!! One of these days I'll enjoy sharing that with him....

AlanS181824

ShaShaBear wrote: »

I'd probably say letting him sleep in the bed.
To be honest I love that he sleeps in the bed, and my partner (who always had crate-trained/utility room trained dogs) loves it too.

But he is very big for a collie, and easily takes up the entire lower half of the bed, which means OH and I need to literally cramp ourselves together in the top half of the bed! If it's too warm he'll sometimes move to the floor but has never slept in, or even acknowledged any dog bed we have bought him. I'm pregnant now, so he's in for a mighty shock when I'm too big to curl up and he has to move to the floor!

Huge congratulations
I'm sure he'll be great with your baba and you'll have nothing to worry about!

RubyGirl

Mine is also letting my crew (4) labs sleep on the sofa, hair everywhere.

foreversky

RubyGirl wrote: »

Mine is also letting my crew (4) labs sleep on the sofa, hair everywhere.

Know what u mean:)but love the snuggle he gives.

yellowlabrador

My worst mistake was taking a recently acquired rescue labrador for her first walk in the country side. She'd been confined her whole life in a small run and I'd trained her to walk on the lead. I let her off the lead and all was fine, until somebody in the distance fired a shot. She was gunshy and disappeared into the distance. As I'd only had her a week, and she's never had a name, I wasn't sure I would be able to retrieve her.
We drove around for an hour. Went home and came back out an hour later. We finally found her about 2 miles from where we'd lost her.
I've had her for 2 years now and she doesn't leave my side. She actually sleeps under my bed.
She's lovely but still a disgrace to the labrador race. No swimming or walking in the rain, gun shy, and a proper little lady. She still dives into a ditch if there's any shooting going on, even a crowbanger will make her cringe, but now at least she knows her name and where she belongs.

ShaShaBear

AlanS181824 wrote: »

Huge congratulations
I'm sure he'll be great with your baba and you'll have nothing to worry about!

Hes already shifted from my partners side of the bed to mine every night, a very distinct change. I get a lot more kisses and he regularly "bumps" his head to my tummy. Im not even close to showing yet, but he knows he has a brother or sister in there

aonb

RubyGirl wrote: »

Mine is also letting my crew (4) labs sleep on the sofa, hair everywhere.

If you have FOUR labs sleeping on a sofa (what a squash!!) then its no longer a human sofa - you will just have to buy a new sofa for you - hmnnnn or maybe not, cos then the dogs would sit on that one too - 2 Labs per sofa would be far more comfortable!!

My biggest mistake was not introducing kittens when they were puppies. We are a cat-free household while eldest JRT X is around.

RubyGirl

aonb wrote: »

If you have FOUR labs sleeping on a sofa (what a squash!!) then its no longer a human sofa - you will just have to buy a new sofa for you - hmnnnn or maybe not, cos then the dogs would sit on that one too - 2 Labs per sofa would be far more comfortable!!

My biggest mistake was not introducing kittens when they were puppies. We are a cat-free household while eldest JRT X is around.

Ya taken over 3 on one sofa and one between us on the other, poor kid's usually have to sit on one for a space and they still would'nt move. Must find a funny pic of them.

It's the uniforms really that are the worst for attracting the hair in the morning when they sit before I have a chance to pull off the fleece's.

Brian728

Went through numerous dog beds (one quite expensive) with my black Lab Finn. Finally got a cow mat - indestructible! My wife's dog - a cavalier king Charles used to sleep on the bed and I confess the Lab joined us for awhile - but we bit the bullet and they both share the cow mat in the utility now.

I work my Lab - hunting. My biggest mistake was not spending more time socialising him in classes when he was a puppy. He's 2 1/2 now

aonb

Brian728, whats a COW MAT??!

SillyMangoX

aonb wrote: »

Brian728, whats a COW MAT??!

It's a big rubbery mattress type thing that is used in cow sheds as bedding, it's meant to be quite comfy and warm!

oldyouth

Biggest mistake I've made with my pup is to encourage him to be extra nice to my wife, who previously had no time for dogs. Now the two of them are inseparable and I hardly get a look in .

blade1

Big bag of sweets for Trick or Treaters,left on the table while we popped out for an hour.
We knew something was up the second we walked in the door.
Dog sitting in the corner,head down,ears down, she couldn't even look us in the face(normally when you come in,she runs over to you), guilty as hell looking.
Went into the kitchen,papers everywhere and most of the sweets gone.

Tranceypoo

SillyMangoX wrote: »

It's a big rubbery mattress type thing that is used in cow sheds as bedding, it's meant to be quite comfy and warm!

I never heard of such a thing! And I'm married to a farmer! I'm off to question him.

RubyGirl

Tranceypoo wrote: »

I never heard of such a thing! And I'm married to a farmer! I'm off to question him.

I find them great aswell, go one in the co-op and cut it in two, they use it when outside, keeps them off the ground and warm aswell.

nemo32

Not training him to be outside on his own for 10 mins
Can't have people visit my house who are not dog friendly as all war breaks loose if himself has to be put outside :-(

sohsoh

Having realised my mistakes, each time we leave the house to go on a walk I give myself the following instructions:-

1. I will behave like a human and walk the dog in an appropriate way (not be walked!)

2. Not everybody likes to have a large black dog sniff them as we pass.

3. Stop daydreaming and be alert to my surroundings. That way I don't have the arm dragged out of it's socket when he sees a cat/dog/ubo (unidentified blowing object).

4. I won't get offended if little dogs start to bark at us and their owners have a conniption because he's a big black dog.

5. I will correct him if he's taking a dislike to other dogs, in an assertive manner, and not by pleading with him.

No doubt I'll continue to make mistakes but hopefully I'll recognise them and learn from them.

DeVore

Like many... I bought a lovely soft bed for wuggums...


Who? Moi?! by devoresphotos, on Flickr



Along with the most horrifyingly expensive blanket ever.


I MADE A HOLE!! LOL by devoresphotos, on Flickr

The Sweeper

Single biggest mistake I made was not teaching a 'release' word.

That's a word you teach to demonstrate that your previous command is no longer in operation and the dog can relax. 'At ease', if you will. Many owners use 'ok' or 'good'.

So 'sit' becomes 'sit there and stay there until I tell you 'ok', at which point you can stand and move about again'.
'Down' becomes 'lie down and stay lying down until I tell you 'ok'. Don't get up into a sit. Don't stand up and move about. Stay there until you're told 'ok'.'
The 'stay' command becomes redundant, because the dog will hold a sit or lie down until released.

Without a release word, in high drive (like when playing ball) my 'sit' turns into a flicker of the rear haunches where the arse skims the ground for a microsecond before the dog is back up on all fours and like a coiled spring waiting for the ball...

If I could do it all over again from the start that's the biggest thing I'd do differently - teach a release.

DeVore

I tried to teach Josh a release command. It seems I inadvertently chose the dog-word for "slightly longer than otherwise".

Whiteflag12

Letting her sleep in my bed.... Vowed at the beginning I would never ever ever allow that!
Feeding her from the table.....
Letting her on the couch....

I feel guilty now when I don't let her!! Eek bad sign!!!
Still love her though :-)