What mistake(s) did you make with your dog that you wouldnt make today?

What mistakes have you made as a dog owner that you would not do again? Or could be preventable?

Didn't get one sooner :)Seriously...it is the greatest joy to me!

I thought it was super cute when my dog was a puppy...he was always chewing my hands...I let him get away with it....BAD idea, would never make that mistake again. It's taken me 5 months to break the habit of him biting!

I got a dog aggressive dog 6 years ago and I did all the wrong things at first. Now I know how to better handle it, so if it happens again, it won't take 6 years to take care of the problem.The other thing is food. I used to think that Iams was great food. Now I know better and feed my dogs good quality food. I feel terrible for all those years I fed my poor dogs Iams!

Great question. I would probably have not let him sleep in bed with me. I never get a good night's sleep anymore. I just love cuddling with him.I know I can still do that though.Also, I have been feeding my dog Science Diet because the Vet said to but I have since found out it is crappy food and I now feed him Canidae.

First I bit off more than I could chew, ended up rehoming the second dog I kept from a litter. (He's happy, healthy and doing lots better now). Then I didn't take more time off from work to make sure the dog I kept was socialized enough. (I took him out as much as possible when I was home, we'd be out for hours) Last I would have started him on natural pet food sooner and avoided some of the issues he has now.

Great question! I intended to ask this one myself but you beat me to it!With Sydney, my Siberian Husky: I would not have transferred my anxiety to her in situations when she has gotten into dog fights. I feel that the anxiety she sensed was the reason the fights happend.With Louie, my Papillon Puppy: I would have started his training earlier. He's extremely smart and he could be cooking me dinner by now if I started training sooner!

Giving her a taste of people food like steak! I mean when we cook it she begs like there is no food left on earth. Actually, my husband is the culprit, he gives her bits of steak, chicken....

I would not leave my dog unkenneled again when I'm gone knowing that she is a big chewer! You should have seen my house when I got home. I actually took pics it was sooo bad. I did laugh about it I mean I should have known better! Won't happen again!

Don't take any time that you have with them for granted, you never know what could happen tomorrow, I learned that this past March, when my Pom. that I had for 10yrs passed away, I still sit and think I could have spent more time with her, but I was to busy planning a wedding, moving into a new house etc., and wish everyday that I could have one more day with her, now the three dogs that I have are my everything, my husband and I have fertility issues, and haven't had a baby of our own yet, so we have three dogs that are our babies!

letting my dog go swimming in the pool with me and teaching her how to climb the ladder.she is 3 now and since she was a pup i took her in the pool and taught her foot by foot how to climb the ladder and get out. now i can't even sneak in for a dip with out her getting in first or waiting to jump on my head and back when i don't think she is looking. one thing she does get out before me and the times she gets in first i have to hurry and get in the water or i get soaking wet when she shakes.

My first Samoyed as an adult (my grandparents bred them) didn't bark until she was 3 months old.. the first time she barked she startled herself and bounced backwards.. it looked so funny we all laughed. After that she LITERALLY would not EVER stop barking unless she was in the house. Even letting her out to go to the bathroom for 30 seconds would cause angry neighbors. We tried everything from training, to a citronella collar to an electric collar. Finally, after the second $500 ticket for barking and the realization that if Animal Control came back again they would confiscate her and euthanize her, we had her surgically debarked. After that, life was a lot better.. her bark could no longer be heard a mile away (LITERALLY) and she barked "hop,hop,hop" to her little hearts content with noone yelling at her... and she was finally able to play outside.I wish I hadn't laughed... then maybe she wouldn't have been such a barker. My dogs learn early on now that after two barks you get tossed in a crate. So they don't bark very often.

When i first got my dog I ran to Petsmart or what not and grabbed whatever dog food looked good and whatever treats sounded yummy for them. Commercial dog food is TERRIBLE and you dog gets absolutely no nutritional value out of it. Since learning of this i will never go to a pet food Superstore for my pups, Instead there are a few hidden treasures, Healthy dog food store, I would defiantly try to find one and feed your pups beneficial food

I should have been firmer and more consistent with setting boundaries for him as a pup. I let him get away with some "cute puppy" behaviors that weren't cute at all by the time he weighed 70 pounds.I should have socialized him more (as a puppy) and exposed him to more situations than I did. He still doesn't like unfamiliar situations. He's getting better, though.I should have put a lot more thought into what I was feeding him. I fed him what the breeder recommended (Eukanuba) and never gave a thought to it until the recent food-recall. Turns out Eukanuba is no better than Alpo, and I'd been shorting him on nutrition all along.This was a great question! Thanks for asking! And it shows how much you learn as you go.

The biggest mistake I made with a dog was with my first one. She was just sooo cute I could not resist giving her a bit of what I was eating when she looked a me with those big sad eyes. I created a real mooch though who started to jump up on me when I was trying to cook and soon started to steal food and nip when it was denied. It went from cute to pushy to downright naughty, and it was all my fault and completely avoidable. As she got more comfortable with being in my home she got more confident. It took months to get her not to beg for or steal people food and that time could have been spent on other training. The dumbest thing was I KNEW BETER having read up on training, but fell for her big sad eyes. I know now that being nice to your dog is not the same thing as being a pushover and how easily people can mess that up. It only takes a few times to teach your dog some bad tricks, but far longer to teach them to stop.

My first Pit Bull I had while growing up was a big, black, male named Pudge. He was the greatest dog ever but sadly, we never had him neutered. My parents never thought anything of it and I was only in the 2nd grade when we got him so I was too young to know any better...we always knew when there was a female in heat somewhere cause he'd be gone most of the day (we lived in a quiet, country, neighborhood). He normally would stay in the yard but once he caught that smell, he'd run outta the house like a bat outta hell...one day, I was in the 8th grade...he never came home. The morning after he had taken off, my dad and I went to go look for him. We found his body by the railroad tracks....after that had happened...we put a fence up, took our other dog, Duke, to get neutered, and all of our dogs thereafter have been altered. (God only knows how many puppies he fathered) Its a shame that it took my wonderful dog's life to realize what the responsible thing to do was....I will never let something like that happen again.

I've made 2 mistakes with dogs.1. Bought one from a pet shop and had to have it put down because of inherent health problems.2. Didn't begin training soon enough with subsequent dogs.No 1 has been rectified and I will only ever by a dog from a breeder who health tests and x-rays their breeding stock in the future. No 2. has been overcome with a lot of work and fun.

I don't ever remember not having a dog. I guess my first mistakes would be breed related-- choosing the wrong breed just because that was the breed I grew up with. You tend to just get what is cute or familiar instead of thinking about your own personality and lifestyle.And another mistake is not considering the health and temperament of dogs when adopting or rescuing. Many times in life, emotions overrule logic. That never turns out well.

I was too impulsive and brought a dog home mostly because I could - I'd read up on her breed mix and wasn't as honest with myself as I should've been. It ended up being a really bad fit and I had to return her to the shelter (which was the first time she had been happy since I got her - I'm serious). I've made a bunch of little mistakes, but that's the one I hope that karma will forgive me for...

When we first moved to our present home we were one of 2 homes on the street. Well the farmer behind us loved my dogs so he allowed them to romp in his fields. I thought it was great the dogs thought it was great until he passed away and his kids didnt think it was so great. So It took a while for me to retrain them not to go into the back field any more. From that point on all my dogs were trained not to leave the yard and a fence went up too. Fences make very good neighbors!