Biggest Mistakes New Dog Owners Make

When you first get a puppy, there are a few things a new dog owner needs to know. Having a new puppy will be exhausting and you will make a few mistakes, but there are a few big mistakes you should avoid:

Not socializing your pup enough.

You want your dog to be able to react to people and animals in a controlled way. It is important as a puppy that they meet people and other animals to learn how to behave. For example, a dog that is not exposed to very many other dogs, as a puppy, may bark or growl at other dogs. To make sure this doesn’t happen try to enroll your dog in training classes or take him to the park so your dog can socialize with other people and dogs.  A puppy should be exposed to as many people as possible – consider throwing a puppy party for all of your friends to meet your new family member.

Exposing your puppy to diseases.

This mistake is made by a lot of dog owners, but your puppy is easily susceptible to disease if their vaccines are not complete. Avoid taking your dog anywhere that other dogs have been until all of your dog’s vaccines have been completed.

Punishing a puppy can just confuse them.

Your dog will not understand if you scream or yell at them if they do something wrong. Dogs learn best through positive reinforcement when they do something good and if they do something bad it is best to firmly tell them “NO”. Any type of physical punishment will just cause your dog to fear you.

Feeding your puppy human food.

Obviously, your puppy will like human food, but when you give your dog people food this habitis hard to break. If you feed your puppy human food, every time you eat your puppy will look at you with those sad puppy dog eyes. It is always best not to give in because people food is also not healthy for dogs.

To avoid these mistakes, just don’t do them. Also always let your minder know mistakes you’ve made with your pup so they can avoid them as well.