5 Mistakes Pet Parents Make

5 Mistakes Pet Parents Make

No pet parent is perfect, and we can all agree that parenting comes with a few mistakes. What is important is that we acknowledge our errors and work diligently to correct them. We have compiled a list of five mistakes that pet parents are prone to make. Are you guilty of one or two of these?

1. Free Feeding

Free feeding can cause a pet to graze at their food throughout the day and ultimately lead to them lose interest, overeating, or improper nutrition. Without knowing how much your pet is truly eating, they could potentially be eating too much or not getting the nutrients they need which could lead to health problems later on. Maintaining a regular feeding schedule can greatly improve your pet's life. 

 

free feeding your dog

2. Causing Separation Anxiety

As pet parents, we shower our pets with love when we first see them or when we are going away for a few hours. Although this act of care may seem harmless, it can attribute to separation anxiety in dogs. If your pup whines or howls when you are leaving or lets their bladder flow from the excitement of seeing you, these are signs of separation anxiety. The best way to teach your pet to cope with this type of anxiety is downplaying your departure or arrival. Before you overwhelm your pup with emotion, let a few moments pass to let them calm down.

 

separation anxiety in dogs

3. Offering Table Scraps

Offering your pup leftovers develops bad habits. Your pup now knows that whenever you are eating, it's also their turn to get another tasty snack. This can develop to your pup pawing at you during mealtime or becoming unhealthily overweight. Many of the foods we eat are detrimental to a dog's health. Dog's do not need food that is over seasoned or high in fats, calories, and hard to digest. 

 

feeding table scraps

4. Too Many Treats

We can all agree that we have been guilty of this at one point or another. We love to see our pups happy and sometimes the easiest way of rewarding good behavior is by offering them a treat. Although natural and limited ingredient treats can be incorporated into a pup's diet in a healthy way, a common mistake pet owners make is not adjusting their pup's every day food intake according to how many treats they have given their pup. Single ingredient treats are a great way to calculate exactly what your pup is consuming.

 

feeding too many treats

5. Improper Training

Some pet parents believe that starting a pup's training needs to put off until they are old enough to "understand". This myth can cause some major setbacks in your pet's behavior. Dogs are creatures of habit and as they age, their habits have already been set. Although you can recondition a senior pup to learn new behaviors it takes more effort than starting when they are younger.

 

dog training