7 mistakes you make with your dog without knowing it – Insurance for Pets

France is the 5ᵉ European country in terms of dog population, with 7.6 million domestic dogs. Yet, every year, very many are abandoned, especially because some owners underestimate the real needs of the animal.

Dog: the 3 biggest mistakes to avoid every day

Not interacting enough with him

“The current fundamental mistake that over 95% of dog owners make is failing to not provide him with the physical and intellectual exercise he needs »Says the veterinarian. « Dogs are very intelligent living things programmed to live with humans, and they need to constantly learn things. » Your presence in the home is therefore not enough to meet their attention needs: you must play with the dog and offer him varied activities every day to avoid boredom.

“Today, most of the behavioral problems encountered with dogs are directly linked to this lack of physical and intellectual exercise: taking them out three times a day in the garden for their needs and 15 minutes on a leash is not enough. In theory, a dog needs five hours of daily exercise « . Depending on the breed, physical abilities and character of the animal, the activities will not be the same.

Dr Hameurt-Fortineau therefore advises future adopters to choose the animal well according to their own means and capacities: “For example, the border collie and the berger australia are dogs that can and love to work up to ten hours a day ; so if you cannot devote the necessary time to them, they risk developing behavioral problems ”.

Signs of your pet’s illness may be: barking all day long, a aggressiveness, repeated runaways, damage in the house, but also health problems related to depression with digestive disorders and the appearance of ulcers, wounds caused by continuous licking, etc.

Forcing him into human contact

“Usually, people interpret the dog’s requests for attention as requests for physical contact: they think the dog wants a pat when in reality, one in two dogs don’t like to be touched », Warns the veterinarian. Signals of discomfort emitted by the dog are to be spotted, such as the back ears, the head turning, repeated yawning, rolled-up lips, etc. « We must therefore keep in mind that most of the time, when a dog comes to seek the attention of the owner, it is because he is bored and wants to do an activity ».

Furthermore, dogs do not understand the cuddle system like humans: they may perceive this interaction as an attempt at domination, as it does in the canine system when one dog puts its paw on top of another. As a result, some dogs cannot stand being cuddled and hugged, at the risk of becoming aggressive.

Finally, Dr Hameurt-Fortineau underlines the importance ofeducate children and their parents to avoid bite accidents: « Children do not always interact properly with the animal, and until they are past the age of about six, they cannot recognize the signals. threat like growling ”.

Give him too much to eat

It is not always easy to know how much to feed your animal and owners are often too generous.  » The mistake not to make is to trust your appetite, because very often the dog tries to eat more than he needs. Feeding your animal is quite technical, you have to calculate the intake according to its physiological needs (breed, age, castrated or not, etc.) and its energy expenditure ”. Vets are therefore excellent advice to help you, because in the long run, a poor diet can affect the longevity of your companion. If in doubt, a few signs should be noted: loss of hair shine, weight gain, too soft droppings, etc.

In addition, even if the dog is an omnivorous carnivore and he does not eat only meat, it is important not to give him sweets, cakes, chocolate or other sweets, but favor, for example, a piece of cheese. or treats designed especially for him when you want to please or reward him.