Dog trainer based in the UK Will Athertonby Will Atherton Canine Training, has dedicated his life to helping dogs and helping owners understand and get the best out of their pups. Even the most well-meaning dog owner can cause problems for their pets if they don’t put in the effort and train their dog to enjoy their life to the fullest. Some mistakes are obvious – like neglecting to train small breeds – but others can be a complete surprise. Here are the 8 worst mistakes dog owners make that undermine their dog’s happiness and cause long-term problems, from Atherton and his YouTube clip.
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Atherton says it doesn’t matter if you have a Great Dane or a Yorkshire Terrier – training is non-negotiable. “If you don’t train your dog, if you don’t communicate with them,” he says. “If you don’t make your rules, boundaries and expectations clear from a position of loving leadership, your dog will become anxious, frustrated, fearful and confused, which is the root cause of 99% of all behavior problems. And that’s true whether they’re Chihuahuas or English Mastiffs.”
Atherton reminds pet owners that social media isn’t always an accurate representation of real life. “If you’re comparing yourself to the dogs you see on social media, you’re making a huge mistake,” he says. “You should just care about yourself and your dog and making progress with your dog. If you do that, great. Will you be as good as competition dogs on social media? Probably not. Are those competition dogs as good as they look on social media? I’ll let you in on a secret. No, they absolutely aren’t. They just chose the footage to look great.”
Atherton believes that too much pity can undermine the progress and training of rescue dogs. “Don’t get me wrong, I really feel sorry for all rescue dogs, I want to help all rescue dogs and I volunteer with many rescue dogs,” he says. “However, I have to remain a calm, consistent and assertive leader. If I want to help this dog, the best way I can give them confidence and help them overcome the trauma in their life is to be a calm, consistent and loving leader, forget their past and focus on their future.”
Atherton says being a good dog owner is about more than just feeling affection for your pet – in fact, it’s not fair to the dog. “Far too many people think they should just love their dog, but that’s a terrible mistake,” he says. “You have to lead your dogs, otherwise dogs crave leadership. And if they don’t have that leadership in their lives, they feel like they have to make decisions for themselves. And if you put a dog in a position where they have to make decisions for themselves, they become confused, anxious and nervous and live in a constant state of fight or flight, and that’s no life for a dog. That’s why we need to communicate clearly to them what we want and what we don’t want so they can follow our loving leadership and guidance.”
Atherton uses the example of a dog he is training to show why you should only praise dogs when they follow instructions to avoid giving mixed messages. “You need to make sure you only praise and give attention to your dog when he is doing something you are happy with. This little girl is doing great in my advanced leash handling class and is sitting nice and quiet instead of jumping up on me. I am very happy with that. So I praise her and give her attention. If she were to jump up on me and I were to give her praise and attention, I would reward and reinforce the jumping up instead of rewarding and reinforcing that kind of calmness. So remember to give her attention at the right moment, not the wrong one.”
Atherton says dogs shouldn’t be allowed to make their own decisions because that sets them up for failure. “Don’t get me wrong, we don’t want robots and we don’t want to give them militant control mechanisms every day, but there is a time and a place for that,” he says. “If you’re in a situation where you need your dog to behave, you need your dog to look up to you for guidance and direction, that’s exactly what your dog should be doing. He shouldn’t be making decisions for himself. And to do that, you need to use your leash skills and your obedience.”
Atherton says you shouldn’t try to train different dogs in exactly the same way. “Every single dog is different and there’s a lot of variation from breed to breed,” he says. “Even within the same breed, there’s a huge variety of temperaments, characteristics and behaviors. And so you have to deal with each dog individually to honor that dog, to honor who that dog is, and to make sure that we’re working with that dog and not constantly conflicting with them.”
Atherton says some people try to push their dogs too far too soon. “When it comes to training a dog, people make a big mistake by not understanding their dogs’ comfort zones,” he says. “And even when they do understand the comfort zones, they make the mistake of either never pushing them out of their comfort zone or pushing them too far out of their comfort zone. It’s a constant balancing act that you have to work with your dog or the dog you’re working with to help them build trust, build communication and strengthen your relationship.”
