Loving a dog is more than just feelings

Leaving aside whatever views you might have on the show or the dog trainer in question, this is a good illustration what can happen when people get a dog “for the family”.

Watch the video by clicking the image – it’s on Facebook and can’t be embedded.

I’ve spent the past 6 weeks cleaning up the mess of one family in a similar situation which thankfully now has a happy ending – but at a huge cost to several people who took time and effort to help her after first family failed her.

Families with small kids are often WAY too busy for dogs especially if the parents do not make a significant investment in training and really take on the dog’s wellbeing – but unfortunately their priorities tend to always be with their skin puppies and the dog loses out, even though the dog had no choice in being brought into their lives (neither did their kids but hey, that’s another discussion).

Kids do NOT “deserve” to grow up with a dog because dogs are not toys or helpful tools to help make children into rounded adults.

Dogs are sentient beings who deserve just as much attention as humans – people who bring dogs into their lives and then neglect their needs in any way deserve all the bad karma in the world, possibly in the form of someone else treating their kids just as badly as they treated the innocent dog.

If that sounds harsh, come talk to me after you’ve spent half of your summer fostering a teenage dog whose only “crime” is that her first family failed to give her the attention and life skills she needs. It has been an emotional 6 weeks – not a day has passed without me worrying about her future and where to find a suitable home for her. Many nights I have cried when I thought about this sweet dog who just needs safety, security and guidance.

Meanwhile, her former family went on a nice summer holiday and continue their lives with the occasional wistful, fantasy memory of missing her.

Loving a dog isn’t just feelings – it’s putting in the work to help them grow up and become stable, happy adults just like with human puppies. And just like human puppies, it’s often hard work instead of fairytales and fantasies.