Don’t Hurt Your Dog’s Feelings!

Attempting to live a life where you don’t feel as though you hurt your dog’s feelings is as likely as living a life where you don’t feel as though you hurt a human’s feelings!

During a training class, a dog was being a bit unruly.  I asked their human to give a quick “correction” to the dog with a tug on the leash.  My corrections are typically gentle compared to some approaches.  So, I wasn’t suggesting hanging the dog or doing anything that would emotionally traumatize the pup.

The dog’s human looked at me with concern in their face prior to taking any action.  Then, they said it – “I don’t want to hurt my dog’s feelings.”  I appreciate that and would rather that than someone being overtly rough with their dog.

I empathized for a second and responded with reassurance that they won’t hurt their dog’s feelings by providing guidance.  I think of it as just a consequence to the dog’s choice.  We wouldn’t wait a second before yelling as a child reached for a hot stove because we didn’t want to hurt their feelings by stopping their action.  Choice = consequence.  That may be a “correction” or it may be praise.

Think of correcting your dog as a means of providing positive guidance which will ultimately keep them from harm even if that harm is not as obvious as a burn from a stove.  It might be keeping them from eating something harmful, bolting away from you and getting hit by a car, or simply not respecting you because you are a weak leader.  Prior to the correction, tell them, “this will hurt me more than it hurts you.”