Things I never let my dog do
Are any rules black and white?
For a while I tried to develop a list of “right” and “wrong” in dog training. I clung to generalizations that you should never do X and always do Y. It felt straightforward—and I really wanted that clarity.
But hard-and-fast claims just aren’t accurate.
Everyone’s lifestyle and personal goals are different. For us, there are very few actions that are completely off limits 100% of the time.
“Do you let Scout do ___?” The answer is almost always “Sometimes, in ___ specific context.”
Things I never let my dog do:
Consume or interact with anything dangerous (discarded animal bones, snakes, gross Florida pond water, you get the gist)
Otherwise risk her own or anyone else’s safety (run into a road, startle a stranger, etc.)
Things I sometimes let my dog do:
Have human food
Jump, nip, bark, and growl
Beg for food
Walk on top of me
Take things out of our hands
Leap onto the counter
Sit on top of the fridge
Have free access to toys
Destroy objects
Opt out of a training session
Many more
We make intentional decisions to maximize our enjoyment
We have a lot of flexibility and silliness. Our life also isn’t a free for all! Clear windows of opportunity and a solid foundation of obedience cues & commands enable us to enjoy some of the crazier items on the “sometimes” list without repercussions.
And if something we did seemed to hurt Scout’s mental state or our relationship? We’d absolutely change it up.
Every dog / owner team is different
Just because we sometimes do these things doesn’t mean you also should—and just because other people don’t do them doesn’t mean we automatically shouldn’t.
We all get to make our own decisions with our dogs, and if we’re intentional and ready to accept responsibility for their training and wellbeing? Then awesome!
Basically, Pantone’s 2021 colors of the year are my favorite thing ever: I’m obsessed with yellow, and I love living in the gray area
