What is a trick you shouldn't teach your dog?
Dejah Aufderhar
2025-05-29 18:15:57
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: 13
One trick you shouldn't teach your dog is sitting pretty, as it puts a strain on your dog’s back legs that will negatively affect the way your puppy grows and develops. Dogs taught to sit pretty while very young may develop back or joint problems later in their lives. A good rule of thumb is not to teach your dog this trick until they are at least a year old, at which point their growth plates will have fused, and they should be able to sit pretty without any damaging side effects. Another trick to avoid is jump or up, as landing from large jumps on flexible growth plates can be extremely damaging to your dog’s skeletal system and long-term growth. The dance or stand tall trick is also problematic, as standing on their hind legs puts an unnecessary strain on a growing dog’s skeletal and muscular system. Additionally, wait is a command that can be confusing for a young dog still in the midst of learning sit and especially stay, and training both at the same time can be confusing and overwhelming for a young puppy. Put your feet on mine is also a trick that should wait until your dog is physically fully grown, or close to it, as it involves your dog having an understanding of their own proportions.
Zoe Green
2025-05-20 13:42:59
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: 10
The issue is that cute can quickly turn ugly, warns Roche. “Shake” is usually a harmless trick, but I have seen it go wrong, she says, recalling stories of dogs knocking tea out of someone’s hands or whacking a child in the face. That risk is inherent in the trick because “we know now that any behaviour we teach a dog through positive reinforcement will almost always occur spontaneously, too,” says Roche. If we teach a dog to shake, we’re teaching them ‘Go ahead and put a paw on a person.’ For most dogs, it’s incredibly hard to know that one is OK but two isn’t, and before you know it, you have an otherwise great dog jumping when that’s not an encouraged behaviour, she explains. Someone could get very hurt. For your dog – particularly if you have a shy one – ‘shake’ could also invite distress, adds Roche. Your pup might be cool with being touched in one context but not another; and bringing strangers into the mix could put them on edge and result in a not-so-welcoming reaction. All that matters is your personal tolerance – do you care if your dog paws when you don’t want them to? asks Hansen.
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