Blame the owner, not the dog (worst phrase ever invented!)

"I blame the owner"

Or

"Its not the dogs fault"

Or

"There's no such thing as bad dogs just bad owners"

How many times do you hear these most ridiculous words??

Thing is, there are MILLIONS of wonderful dog owners out there who have done absolutely NOTHING wrong and yet they still have "difficult" dogs.

Owners who bought a puppy & took him to Puppy Classes. Owners that adopted a Rescue dog. They trained him. They socialised him. They walked him. They played with him. They cuddled him. They fed him good food. They loved him. They did everything right and yet, suddenly, one day, from out of nowhere, their adorable, lovable, playful dog attacks another dog over the park...... What on earth just happened?? Where did that come from? What caused this beautiful dog to suddenly hurt another dog?

A photograph of you & your dog is plastered all over Social Media with everyone commenting about how irresponsible the owner is and that the dog needs to be muzzled.

Well, yes, now that we know that this dog causes harm to others he should be muzzled but to blame the owner for that behaviour is just so unfair.

Most dog owners I work with are completely devastated that their dog has turned "aggressive" towards others. They are heartbroken. Confused. Beating themselves up, wracking their brains trying to think of a reason - was it because of that other dog that had a go at him a few weeks back? Was it because we didn't socialise him enough? Was it something we did or didn't do??

Blaming themselves over & over.

One thing I can promise you is that it is entirely possible to NOT have anything to do with the owners.

Most people don't want an aggressive dog. They don't intentionally cause their dog to be aggressive. They don't train him to attack. They don't purposely screw up their dog..... They don't do anything different to those of you with perfectly behaved, friendly, social dogs.... They did everything right just like you did. They tried their absolute hardest and behind closed doors they are sobbing into their dogs fur because daily dog walks are becoming so stressful, day after day.

You'll preach "well you just need to train your dog"..... But these owners already know that. They are trying to train their dog..... They've been trying for years but some dogs will just never be the kind of dog that runs & plays with a bunch of other dogs.

If you're lucky enough to own that friendly, social, loves-everyone type of dog then good for you but please do not assume that those other owners are bad people or that they did anything wrong.

If you're lucky enough to own those special, loving, frightened, nervous, anxious, over excited reactive dogs who lunge & snap at others then HERE'S TO YOU!! You're doing great. It's exhausting owning a dog like that. All of your dreams of long, countryside walks with other dogs have been crushed. Taking the dog out has become a dreaded chore instead of a pleasure but one thing to remember is.... Its not your fault and you are not a bad dog owner.