15 Ways You Are Hurting Your Dog Without Even Knowing It

1.Letting Your Dog Eat Everything

Most dog owners give their dogs human food, thinking they are actually caring for it. In fact, giving dogs human food is hurting your dog. Your dog’s elementary canal is quite different from yours just as its nutritional requirements are different. Most times the food you eat are too spicy, too fatty or too salty for your dog. In fact, human food are way too toxic for your dog and you should avoid feeding them with it, even little crumbles from the table. 

2.Giving Your Dog Too Much Food

If you often keep your dog’s bowl filled, you may be putting your dog at the risk of obesity. Dogs are experts at acting like they’re starving all the time. Don’t fall for their whining vegan diet. Many vets believe it’s not a good idea to feed your dog a vegan diet. Dogs need meat to live, otherwise their body will need to break down the muscle tissue to get some protein. 

3.Exposing Your Dog to Strong Smells

You may feel irritated or probably nauseated when you are in the same room with someone wearing excessive perfume. This is the same to your dog. Actually, dogs have about a 1,000 to 10,000 of your ability to perceive sense. Your dog will feel nauseated when sprayed with a perfume or brought close to a particularly strong smelling substance, it wouldn’t feel pleasant at all. For this reason, you should protect your pet from perfume and any other strong smelling chemicals as much as possible.

4.Lack of Routine and Rules

Dogs have an internal clock, they give structure in a sense of “what to do next” to your pet. So routines and rules are very important. Take care for instance. If you feed your dog after ringing a bell every day for a few weeks, your dog will start salivating at the sound of a bell even when the food is not yet in sight. This is actually called the Pavlov dog experiment. Dogs are extremely habitual animals. A little variation in their daily lives can throw them into confusion. For this, it is best to feed your dog and take them for a walk at the same time of the day.

5.Patting Your Dog's Head

Dog owners usually pat their dogs’ heads. However, it irritates their pets more than they can imagine. Think about it. Do you really liked it when someone reaches out and patted you on the head suddenly? The answer may be “NO”. The truth is your dog dislikes it even more. Though your dog may not turn around and run away when you pat its head, it’ll turn it sideways showing that it is not comfortable with the gesture.

6.Picking the Wrong Collar

Getting the right collar and leash helps both your dog and you. If a collar is too tight, it can rub against the skin and hurt your dog. If it is too loose, your dog can wiggle out and potentially run away and get into trouble. So made sure to do the trick vets teach: you should be able to fit one finger between the skin and the collar for small dogs and two for big dogs.

7.Using Physical Punishments

It’s good to discipline your dog, but physical punishment should never be the way you do to your pet. Firstly, physically punishing your pet constitutes animal abuse. Secondly, physical punishment doesn’t really work when it comes to disciplining a pet. It only makes your pet afraid of you.

8.Yelling at Your Dog

Yelling is never a great way to discipline your dog. If you yell at your dog when it does something bad, your dog may act all timid, but it will still be unrepentant. This is because yelling actually scares your dog and does not tell your dog what it did wrong. Your dog may assume you are just angry, so it may make itself looked timid to protect itself. 

9.Taking A Little Puppy to A Dog Park

Take your pet to the park once in a while allows it to mingle with its own species. It won’t feel like it is the only one left in the world. As much as this is good for your dog, you shouldn’t forget that dogs can be passive carriers of diseases. This can easily transferred to your pet. If you are visiting a dog park with your little puppy, you may want to keep an eye on it, especially when your puppy meets a large dog. Larger dogs are rough while playing and may end up harming your little puppy.

10.Leaving Your Dog Alone in the Car

NEVER ever leave your dog in the car with the windows closed. According to researches, the temperature within a closed car can rise often as high as 20 degrees in every 10 minutes. Unlike us, dogs do not sweat. they become very uncomfortable in such an environment. If you are leaving your car, it is best to take your dog with you.

11.Skipping Flea Tick and Worming Treatment

It’s very important to prevent your dogs from fleas, ticks, worms and heartworm. This can be less of an issue in the wintertime, but you should definitely talk to the vet to keep your dog safe in the warmer months of the year. 

12.Not Making Socialization A Priority

Socialization is very important for dogs health and behavior. Lack of socialization results in release of adrenaline hormones that increase dog’s blood pleasure and heart rate in any unfamiliar situation. Dogs who don’t socialize can have anxiety about anything that’s unfamiliar.

13.Neglecting Their Teeth 

The teeth are an important part of your dog’s body. Their teeth are often home to hundreds of bacteria and need to be brushed just like yours. Do seriously take care of your dog’s teeth. You should go beyond the chewing sticks. Also, get a dog’s toothpaste and brush your dog’s teeth as often as you can. 

14.Neglecting Breed-Specific Health Issues

Certain dog breeds require specific care for their skin, ear, fur, etc. Some other breeds are prone to certain health issues and you should make sure to have an eye out for them. For example, Dobermans in addition to heart muscle failure are prone to ventricular arrhythmias. Make sure to talk with your vet to discuss the breed specific health issues.

15.Skipping the vet

We know that taking your dog to the vet is a pain, not to mention expensive. But regular check-ups are so important for your dog’s health. The vet can identify issues you might not even be aware of. Plus, they’ll make sure your dog’s weight is in check and their teeth are in good health. We recommend finding a good vet you like and double checking to make sure they send you notifications when your dog is due for check-ups or shots.

If your budget is tight and you’re not sure if you can make room for veterinarian expenses, there are a number of ways to still get care for your pup, like going to vet schools or getting help from local charities.