If you have a feeling you’re annoying your four-legged friend but can’t quite put your finger on how, you may wish to heed the advice of a dog trainer who revealed the three things your pet probably wishes you would stop doing.
Vickie Ford, who owns the training school, Just Pawfect, took to TikTok to explain how you can combat any unnecessary stress for your dog. With a lifelong experience of owning dogs, and numerous qualifications, Vickie believes she is well positioned to put you on the right path.
Rushing
If you are hurrying your dog along during walks, this could be where you are going wrong, Vickie explained. “Sniffing is the way your dog finds out about the world,” she said.
Therefore your canine pal will appreciate slow walks to let them “find out what’s going on in the world”.
Over-petting
Constantly petting may overstimulate your dog according to the expert. “Just like us, dogs don’t want continual attention,” Vickie continued. “They need time to chill out and time to relax.”
Body language
Vickie also suggests ignoring your pooch’s body language may leave them frustrated too. She elaborated by sharing that lip-licking and yawning are both examples of signs they’re not happy.
“If you ignore these subtle signs of dog language, which they are communicating to you that they’re not happy, then things can escalate pretty quickly,” she warned.
Agreeing with Vickie’s second point, one TikTok user quipped: “My friend reckons dogs sniffing on a walk is like us reading the newspaper or watching the news.” To which she replied: “Your friend is exactly right.”
While a second person exclaimed: “I agree with you on all of them, however, if you allow a dog to sniff away at its own leisure that will create the understanding that the dog is in control. A dog can process 30 smells in five seconds hence why dogs are used in bomb or drug sniffing. Yes allow your dog to sniff but don’t allow your dog to dictate the walk aka stubbornness to move or pulling to a sniff.”
It prompted Vickie to advise: “Definitely don’t allow the dog to dictate pulling etc. But i see far too often a dog having a good sniff and owners pulling them away. Some sniffs are just too good to leave quickly.”