'Spoiling' dogs

Cop-Pop

Cop-Pop

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What are people's opinions on this? I don't mean the making a lovely dog nasty but spoiling them by giving treats etc.

I've had a few PMs (very polite ones I hasten to add :) ) since my last Sandy thread about how spoilt she is and it isn't good for her. My parent's neighbour also has told them off in the past. To me she deserves it - she's a brilliant companion, has given my parents a new lease of life and who knows what kind of life she had before. She's seen regularly by the vet because of her joints and back and her weight is strictly monitiored. Yes she gets treats (mostly after vet visits etc) and things she shouldn't (my dad can't eat a meal without giving the last bite to one of the dogs :rolleyes: but you try teaching a stubborn 70+ year old new tricks ;) ) but like I said - we monitor everything and she's healthy, or as healthy as a dog that looks like it came from a cut and shut anyways.

She doesn't snap and always takes food nicely tho she's got some mean begging eyes on her :p I know that people go overboard and end up with piglets instead of dogs but both Sandy and Yellow Dog are nowhere near overweight so whats the problem?

On another note it makes me lol that Yellow Dog only ever begs when he's near my dad - everywhere else he goes to his bed when theres food around but he ain't daft! :D
 
Will is totally spoilt, he gets treats every time he comes in the kitchen, he gets a bit of cheese if I am cutting any up. He gets any table scraps; not that there are many in this house, he gets a pig trotter every day(raw ones I get them for nothing)!!!! Hes allowed on the sofa. And if I am on nights he always comes for a sleep with me. He also gets a sneaky extra meal at lunch time if I am in (so it works out that he misses two extra ones every 9 days although OH normally gives him something if I am at work).

But I have the opposite problem can't keep weight on him bless him. So yes hes totally spoilt. So if your dog is happy and not always insistant and rude about treats and weight is under control I dont see the problem with it. I wouldnt however encourage my younger two with this behaviour but I do have the hes old so he gets away with it attitude with Will.
 
i dont think thats spoiling her, sounds like she is just loved.

I mean, if it were the case that they were in some way harming her, making her fat, compromising her condition then yar, its bad, but heck, thats nothing.
 
My two are ruined but in the same way. If I have carrots/apple then they get some each. They're allowed on to the sofa when I invited them (most days) etc but they do what they're told when they're told. They don't snap and I tend to use treats as a training exercise (I can now send them to fetch a treat thrown across the room individually).

As long as they know the boundaries and they're healthy I see no harm.
 
I wouldn't consider that as spoiling a dog unless your seeing behavioural probems along with it..

Basicly a dog that has learned to take advantage of their owners to the dogs own detriment or their owners and visitors detriment.

When I think of a spoilt dog id be thinking along the lines of a

Dog who wont eat anything unless its from hand...because his owners have pampered to its food whims.. not due to illness etc..

Dogs that are allowed to claim toys or areas and are let growl at people to keep them to themselves.

Dogs who are feed excessive amounts of treats...particularly in response to begging and painful to see when the dog is overweight.

Dogs who are "just dont like any bland food and will only eat x"
Particularly when the dog is in for allergy testing... dont waste yours or the vets time if your not willing to make changes...of course the dog doesnt want to try the bland diet when he can refuse food once and the owner cave and feed him *insert all sorts of crap here because they worry hes going to be so hungry.Hunger will improve his appetite for new food that may help stop said creature scratching himself raw! *rant over sorry but that one just wound me up.


A dog who isn't obedient only follows their owners commands when they feel like it when they do know what the words mean.

A dog that growls when asked to get off furniture*hugh nono for me


Dogs that are allowed on beds.i can understand sofa but bed is to far for me :P
..sorry i know a lot of you on here do this*expects to go down in flames for it.....But although theres also the issue of dirt from dog spread onto sleeping place personal issue that i have.Theres also the fact that having done how to deal with behaviour issues as part of the vet course this is one that is always cropping up as an issue.
Beds and furniture are valuable resources to dogs so control of the bed is something that should remain human only to prevent issues down the line with dominant/pushing their luck dogs.

Ive plenty of other ideas on what spoilt is but I think Ive rambled enough :P

OP i havent followed your earlier thread but your dog doesnt sound very spoilt to me..or at least not spoilt in the bad way anywhere.Just spoilt as in she has an owner who cares about her and wants her happy. :) if there not overweight,have terrible teeth then what harm..
 
I spoil mine in some ways but there's always a 'but' - for example, they're allowed on the sofas but must move immediately if a human indicates they wish to sit there instead. They get plenty of treats but probably 90% are for training purposes and the ones that aren't still require a sit and a paw or a speak or something. They get dog-appropriate plate scraps but never from the table, always after the meal and in a bowl. I cuddle, kiss, smooch and babytalk but have zero tolerance for bad behaviour. :p

My old dog Spike lived with my grandparents and they spoiled him quite literally to death - poor old sod didn't have a tooth left in his head by the time he died aged only 10. Breakfast was two slices of white toast spread with paté, a cup of strong tea with three sugars and two or three custard creams soaked in. Dinner was boiled liver or braising steak cut into tiny pieces and fed by hand. I will never forgive them for killing my childhood friend. :(
 
Aru said:
I wouldn't consider that as spoiling a dog unless your seeing behavioural probems along with it..

Basicly a dog that has learned to take advantage of their owners to the dogs own detriment or their owners and visitors detriment.

When I think of a spoilt dog id be thinking along the lines of a

Dog who wont eat anything unless its from hand...because his owners have pampered to its food whims.. not due to illness etc..

Dogs that are allowed to claim toys or areas and are let growl at people to keep them to themselves.

Dogs who are feed excessive amounts of treats...particularly in response to begging and painful to see when the dog is overweight.

Dogs who are "just dont like any bland food and will only eat x"
Particularly when the dog is in for allergy testing... dont waste yours or the vets time if your not willing to make changes...of course the dog doesnt want to try the bland diet when he can refuse food once and the owner cave and feed him *insert all sorts of crap here because they worry hes going to be so hungry.Hunger will improve his appetite for new food that may help stop said creature scratching himself raw! *rant over sorry but that one just wound me up.


A dog who isn't obedient only follows their owners commands when they feel like it when they do know what the words mean.

A dog that growls when asked to get off furniture*hugh nono for me


Dogs that are allowed on beds.i can understand sofa but bed is to far for me :P
..sorry i know a lot of you on here do this*expects to go down in flames for it.....But although theres also the issue of dirt from dog spread onto sleeping place personal issue that i have.Theres also the fact that having done how to deal with behaviour issues as part of the vet course this is one that is always cropping up as an issue.
Beds and furniture are valuable resources to dogs so control of the bed is something that should remain human only to prevent issues down the line with dominant/pushing their luck dogs.

Ive plenty of other ideas on what spoilt is but I think Ive rambled enough :P

OP i havent followed your earlier thread but your dog doesnt sound very spoilt to me..or at least not spoilt in the bad way anywhere.Just spoilt as in she has an owner who cares about her and wants her happy. :) if there not overweight,have terrible teeth then what harm..
Click to expand...

See i see most of this as lack of training not being spoilt. I also don't buy into the bed/couch thing.
 
Our dogs generally get a treat three or four times a day and a dentastik once a day - they only eat one meal a day so their treats are supplements for that and are natural dog treats rather than human food. They must sit and wait until they can have the treat. They never have table scraps.

In addition, they are allowed on the sofa if they ask first and if given permission (and get down instantly if already up and told to) and they sleep upstairs on our beds. They are well mannered, respectful and devoted to us. There are rules and boundaries and they do everything on our terms . . . if that's spoiled then so be it. We have dogs to have them be part of the family - if they got out of hand or were dominant, we would change accordingly (and did, we had a rescue who was quite full on and we had to limit her to the floor and implement the "no bed" rule).

Again - what is the point of this thread? You're wrong and I'm right?

N
 
Obeys when he feels like it - well, to an extent, but that is part of his personality and I wouldn't change it, to be honest. We know one another, and while he is not a push-button dog he is well trained enough to garner the odd complimentary remark from strangers so I'm generally ok with his little moments.

Allowed on the sofa - yep, as long as he gets off or moves over when told (he's quite good at this, since being sat on a few times: he knows I really mean it now!)

On the bed - rarely but it does happen...

Treats - he earns them from me, although sometimes other people give him little extras. Occasionally he'll get the last bite of my lunch when we're out on long picnic walks - that's it though.

A little flexibility does no harm, IMO, as long as your dog has the character and you both have the relationship to deal with that.:)
 
My dog is probably spoilt if I'm honest.

She is allowed on the sofa (will get off if I tell her but flounces on and off it as she pleases) and whinges if she doesn't get what she wants.
 
If getting treats, and being allowed on the sofa is spolit then I imagine 90% of domestic dogs are spoilt.

Personally I think things like moving house so dogs have more room, do not have to deal with neighbours dog (yes I know someone who did this) is spoilt!!

The food thing grates on me "fido will only eat chicken liver parfait made by Mongolian virgins- it will eat pretty much anything you put down if it is hungry enough.
 
Unless she is the size of a house, taking your hand off, choosing what TV channels to watch and inviting her friends around for parties I would not stress.

I hand feed my pup because his food drive is high and I can manipulate this to make training a lot easier - he watches me, he pays attention to me because I am the food lady.
Am I spoiling him, I dunno, but he's damned obedient!!! (Most of the time :p)
He gets up for a bounce on my bed but only because it is fun :p
 
My dogs only get treats when training and if I go off for a few hours I always bring them back a treat.

They are not allowed in the kitchen when we are preparing food and go out of the room when we eat, I think of this as good manners.

They are allowed on the sofa they are my dogs and its acceptable to me but some people dont allow it.

They dont get on my bed 2 of them would wreck it but have never allowed any dog of mineto. My daughter will take Diesel to bed with her when I go training with Darcy but as soon as Im home he comes down to be with me.

I think treating a dog with treats is acceptable as long as it dosnt make it fat.
 
Mine get spoilt rotten and I wont ever stop spoiling them. They are well behaved, well mannered dogs and if they ever do step out of line they get told off so its not like they get away with bad behaviour. So, I dont think it hurts to pamper them a bit :) Whatever im eating they get a bit of, but they never TAKE it, they wwait politely til its offered. I hate bad mannered dogs.

If I could afford it, I would love to move to a house with areas for the dogs and a nice, private, dog-proof garden for them. The dogs needs were a priority for me when i bought my house - it is within about 2 mins walk of miles and miles of farmland to walk them on, and has a very dog proof garden!! Also, my mum sold her audi to buy an mpv to travel the dogs in :D Does that make them spoilt? No!! Just makes life easier for the shows!!
 
I spoil mine to death! :) and no-one will stop me! They are healthy, bright eyed and bushy tailed.

They sometimes sleep in my bed, gets packs of "sweeties" and the end of all my plates of food but who cares! They are my dogs and their health and happiness isn't compromised and I thank God for them every day - why shouldn't they get treated!?
 
Personally I don't give my dogs treats and I don't allow other people to...well I say I don't but at the yard there are certain people who don't listen when I ask them not to!:rolleyes: The reasons I don't is because I have a pack of dogs and I don't want food to become an issue, I feed them enough to maintain their energy and weight therefore they don't need treats and I don't like dogs being fed from the hand. I certainly don't have a problem with other people treating their dogs that's absolutely their choice, I just don't do it myself. As long as the dog is fit and healthy and the dog isn't snappy around food I really don't see a problem.

When I shared a house with a couple of friends a few years back the first night I was absolutely horrified when the husband put his dinner plate on the floor and called over his dog..of course mine looked over and went towards it and he said 'come on guys tuck in!!!'...needless to say I made my feelings on this clear and he made sure he took his dog and his plate into another room...apart from giving them treats..yuck feeding them off your own plate!!!!:eek:

Oh....yes mine do sleep on my bed...all 6 sometimes..that's cosy!! And believe me the toy box would make any kid jealous!!! So they are spoilt but just not food wise!!
 
God! My boy is utterly ruined then! He is allowed on the sofa, sleeps on my bed and I always save him some of whatever I am eating (assuming it's safe!).
However, he does what he is told, when he is told. He takes food really gently - 2 year olds can feed him with no problems. I have been told by many different people how well trained he is, and I always keep up with his training.
 
Having a dog in bed isnt spoiling it surely?

My terrier is on me constantly, or close behind. that includes sleeping in bed with me and OH, unless for whatever reason;);) i dont have her in, then shes perfectly happy to sleep on a pile of clothes, the spare bed if she can jump up there (she can, manages to most nights but she wouldnt have you believe it) and is always on the sofa, shes on my lap as we speak.

She gets food and water down constantly, she gets treat but isnt allowed to beg or scavenge, although having a son that learned very quickly that the dog clears up any incriminating food evidence, she goes in the garden whenever she wants. she goes for walks with the others (well, she trots about 50 yards, does a poo and trots home, on private land so its okay) if i go out she is more than happy to sit on the sofa and wait for me to get home. she goes and gets one of my slippers and sticks her nose in it.

She can be a madam, selective deafness is her favourite trick, if she cant see me then she does recall, just at her own pace, until i pop my head around the wall and then shes off like a shot into the house or suddenly needs a wee :o. she often pretends she is dead if ive ignored her and if ive upset her in the day she will go and poo upstairs, slap bang in the hallway.

She is not a dog, this needs to be remembered.

shes 14 now, looks about 4, acts about 4weeks, i dont think shes spoiled in the slightest, just a happy dog who is loved and has no reason to be treated as a lower entity.

just to add, she does EVERYTHING i ask of her, we do not have set commands, but then, we have been best friends for 14 years, i was in primary school when i picked her up as a diddly 6 week old, and have spent almost every single day with her since, demanding her to Sit, Stay, just doesnt sit right with me. (this doesnt apply to any other dog, just her) she knows what i want from her, we very rarely communicate through words (oh, she talks, well groans, snorts, complains...) but we just know. i wont trust her completely, she can be fickle sometimes, but she is something else.
 
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lol I don't lilke the dogs licking my face (Lil has been known to aim a well timed lick and her tongue go in my mouth!!! :D) but I dont mind a little kiss on the hand or something!!
 
Out of the four, Harry hound is the most spoilt. Having spent weeks bottle feeding him, learning he is mildly brain damaged, has extremely poor vision, its not like he is normal anyway, so it makes no odds if I spoil him or not! And funnily enough, he is the happiest dog I know!
 
My lot must be ruined! I trip over toys wherever I go, Brig finds toys in the woods and brings them home, Zak found one today and brought it home (probably covered in dangerous bacteria :rolleyes:). I made the mistake of buying two of everything when we first got dogs, not realising they'd want each other's!

They get treats all the time but I'm super careful re their weight, especially Zak cos of the displaysia, he doesn't need any extra.

They sit on me half the time, they are first consideration on the weekend, never mind what I want to do. They have three beds, a better variety of diet than me, a safe garden which we laboriously fenced at vast expense and we aren't going on holiday this year.

They go to the vet if I think they need it, I don't really hang about.

The biggest issue is cars: we both have small 4x4s because the boot space was the most important consideration (and I refuse to have a low to the ground car after an RTC in the US). I'd love a Streeka, but where the heck would I put three springers?!

Spoilt? Probably, but I just see it as normal, I don't see the point in having pet dogs unless you adore them. I certainly don't think giving food treats is a bad thing, although I'm thrilled that recall is no longer because of treats with the pups.
 
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