Pawrenting: Case of the untrained pet
An untrained pet is nagging. You may have witnessed this when you visited a friend who owns a pet or your pet could be exhibiting this behaviour. An untrained dog keeps jumping at visitors when they visit your house, barking or makes noise for no reason, a cat nudges and claws on people as it begs for food as they eat or worse shoving people out of the way.
This behaviour shows that your pet is telling you what to do when in essence, pets should take directions from you.
Pets that are controlling
If your cat meows until you give them a treat, keeps pushing your legs around until you give him food, you are pandering to their whims without realising it.
If your dog jumps and dashes towards the door when the doorbell rings and starts barking or if they push you to the side when the door suddenly opens and forces their body in front of yours and slips out of the door, then you need to retrain them on proper door etiquette.
A cat’s or dog’s excessive whining or whimpering is a sign of them being pushy. The whining is usually one that will irritate you to cajole you to do what they want. And once the pet figures out that you meet their demands when they make that noise, they will make that sound until you untrain them.
Another sign of an untrained pet eats their food as you are putting for them on their plate. Train them to sit on the side until you are done pouring the food and then you tell them “eat.”
Curbing pushy behaviour
You curb pushy tendencies by rewarding them when they do what you like. When, for example, the dog remains calm when the front door opens, give them a treat, pat them in the back and tell them what a good dog they are. Tell them a firm no when they lunge away from you when they are on a leash when you are taking them for a walk.
Give the cat a treat only when they are not whining or clawing on you for food.
A pet also becomes pushy if they do not have a schedule. When you keep and follow a schedule for feeding time, walking time and nap time, they will be more disciplined. Also, make sure they are full, do not keep them hungry, it is an uphill task for a cat or dog to refrain from borrowing your visitors' food when they are hungry.
An untrained pet will often embarrass you in front of your guests. So curb the nasty behaviour as soon as you spot them. Also, remember a well-behaved pet takes time, so be kind to your pet, they should not be afraid of you, they should respect you.
Maryanne is a pet owner. Maryanne.gicobi@gmail.com BY DAILY NATION
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