Dog Companionship Issues

Getting a dog for companionship seems like a great reason to own a dog and many canines do live up to their reputation as being ,man’s best friend,.   However it is important to realize that dogs are not a substitute for human companionship.   Many people spoil a dog to death or lose control over its training because they start projecting the qualities of a human on the animal’s personality.    Mistaking a dog for being a human is the number one reason why pets end up being overweight, overly dominant or submissive and aggressive to strangers. They are fed human food, encouraged to sleep on beds just like human children and never chastised as puppies for biting, nipping and growling.   An unhealthy emotional reliance on your pet can also lead to all kinds of behavioral and psychological problems for your dog such as possessiveness, submissive urination and separation anxiety.   It is also not good for you to develop a codependency with your pet. You may develop anger or resentment issues over a dog that you can’t control or take misbehavior personally.  Although it is a great idea to think of your pet as one of the family, he should not become the master of your domain.   To make sure that your dog is psychologically healthy and well behaved be prepared to withhold your tendencies to coddle him or her as a puppy. This includes denying the puppy food when he leaps up at the table and being too enthusiastic when greeting him or her when you come home.    An inability to establish healthy boundaries between you, the human and your dog, the pet can lead to problems that are so serious that the dog has to be put down. At the very least a dog that is treated like a human may have to take obedience lessons so that he treats humans with respect  Sometimes you can acquire a pet so that other pets in your home will not be lonely. . This is a fantastic idea. Just keep in mind that your costs of owning a pet will be double , including food and veterinarian bills.  Of course it is important to choose dogs that are peaceful and make easy friends with other dogs. It would be a bad idea to combine a Yorkshire Terrier with a Rotweiller for example, as the Rottie may perceive it as food. You are much better off to pair that Yorkie with a Dachshund who is very sociable with other animals.   However just because an animal is small does not mean it is more sociable.   Jack Russell Terriers have been known to kill other pets simply because they are jealous of the attention they are getting from the owner.  Whether you are getting a dog because you feel that you need companionship or because you feel like your other pets do the key to success is balance. Keep your expectations realistic and don’t try to turn your dog into your boyfriend or expect a dog that chases cats to become your kitty’s best buddy.

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Do Watch Dogs Make Good Pets?

Some people figure they will kill two birds with one stone and get a dog that is both a pet and a guardian. Unfortunately, watchdogs and guard dogs do not make the best pets. For one thing, the instincts in any dog that can make it good guardian is the same ones hat can compel them to attack strangers or even a member of your own family.    

A particularly good watchdog may be hard to keep quiet at night and may adopt the habit of snarling and snapping at anybody that comes near you or your things and property.  Guardian dogs or watch dogs tend to be hard wired to be a little more possessive or territorial then other types of dogs. This is why they don’t make the greatest of pets.  

 It does not take much of a transgression to set the dog right off or perhaps even put into into attack mode.  The best guardians are usually the dogs that qualify as alpha dogs. They respond well to training but untrained they can attack loved ones and strangers, make a shambles of your house and yard and incur lawsuits for noise, injuries and damage to other people’s property.  Guard dogs and watchdogs usually comprise the larger breeds such as German shepherds, Bull Mastiffs and Akitas. This means that they can easily overpower a small animal or child. Most of them also tend to shed quite heavily and do not make great residents inside the house.

Of course, I know that there are a lot of owners out there that have these kinds of dogs and that would disagree with me. I am talking in broad generalities here.  Some smaller dogs such as Maltese, Daschunds and Yorkshire Terriers do make keen watchdogs but they are not really capable of defending you in case of an attack.   In fact some little watchdogs, such as the Pomeranian are more likely to sound the alert and then make friends with the intruder.    

The key is to choose the dog according to what you need as security. As a rule of thumb the larger and more ,alpha, the dog is the better he will be at protecting your person and your property.   The smaller the dog the more likely he is to sound the alert not only when real threats appear but also when he perceives just about anyone approaching you or your yard. Some animal owners find this tendency for small dogs to bark at the drop of a hat to be very irritating (and so do the neighbors.)

 A true watch dog needs to be run in an off leash area frequently. Ideally they should be kept in a large yard with lots of shelter, food and water and with some protection between them and the general public.   You should also go to great care to take your watch or guard dog to obedience or training classes or else you could end up with a pet that is treated like public enemy number one by the neighborhood.

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