To think that dogs are not born anxious

[bonbon2023]

And that their owners make them the way they are?

I'm on a couple of Facebook groups for the breeds of dogs I own and the amount of reactive/anxious dogs is getting ridiculous now. I'm seeing countless posts a day to the point I've left the groups. Dogs are not born this way it's what you do in bringing them up. The not ever leaving a dog to settle/be alone. Thinking a dog won't survive home alone if you leave the house for 5/6 hrs. A normal dog can be but the helicopter dog ownership is not helping them at all. And they are creating a rod for their own back, therefore ending up with a dog they can't control (or is controlling them) and then they are ending up rehomed. The final straw for me was a woman asking if she could give her dog a raw chicken wing that the butcher had given her saying her dog would love it, the comments went wild saying she shouldn't give her dog it, to the point she just threw it away. Some even telling her to freeze it first for two weeks 🤦🏻‍♀️
Dog ownership has changed massively in the last 10/15 years (since socially media) it's like dogs aren't treated like dogs anymore or aren't allowed to be because their owners are an anxious mess themselves 😬

I can't be the only one who thinks like this?

That’s really horrible.
I had to release my on lead dog and that of a friend’s when a completely out of control aggressive Hippo 🦛 dog ( XL Bully was lumbering at them.

I was injured trying to fend it off

I lost my friend’s dog for three hours in the melee - She ran off terrified.
Mercifully a wonderful young man caught her
and Dog Warden delivered her back to me

My own dog thankfully stayed close.
Dog Warden said the only thing to do is to release your dogs to give them a chance of escape from these very aggressive dogs.

Bitches can carry pups sired by different males. If the Bitch allows another dog to mate with her in that ovulation window. ( edited)

Op you can't possibly know that none of the dogs you have bred are anxious. Puppies under 4 months are babies and rarely anxious as they don't understand anything. Their temperaments at 8 weeks certainly can't be guessed at. Even if they go on to find perfect homes and you managed to stay in contact with 100 percent of puppy buyers they might not reveal to you a dog is anxious or they may think it's normal eg oh he hates going in the car or being left alone as do millions of other dogs.

Yanbu.Dogs are treated as though they are babies rather than animals who could survive without human input.

That is awful 😞 What can you do when people still don’t seem to understand that it’s the height of bad manners to allow your dog to run up to a leashed dog 🤷🏼‍♀️

Especially those “cocker spaniel x poodles”. Poodles are known for being prone to anxious disposition!

My dog can be 'anxious'. He was a confident puppy but due to several vet admissions is now afraid of lots of things.

But what should I have done differently?

@Anotherparkingthread I can't for everyone of them no. But I have a fb group with 90% of the owners on who post on it regularly so I see them all grow up and keep in contact it's lovely 😊

YABU, completely

@BiteyShark well that can't be helped and most dogs don't like the vets that's different. I'm talking about the ones that have made their dogs like it because they are a anxious mess themselves.

I do think having seen how mine has reacted is that once they have a fear it's very hard to change.

For example I have vertigo and a fear of heights and no matter what I try I know that it's irrational but it's still real.

For my dog he absolutely stands in fear with certain phone rings after a trip to the vets. And bloody hell it's amazing how often a phone rings on TV. And the difference is that I can't even reason with him.

The issue is that once they have a fear/anxiety it's hard to overcome.

@BiteyShark it's really not hard to train a dog out of a fear. It just takes time and effort. You just have to show them that what they fear is no threat.

@BiscuitsandPuffin totally agree. By reading posts even on here it's clear to see owners pass their own anxiety onto their dog 😥 I remember when dogs were just dogs and used to run around the streets, have a fight eat out of bins and were free. Now your an abomination is you have a dog that lives outside. East outside. Is left at home for more than 3 hrs. Isn't walked every day numerous times a day. Doesn't have a dog sitter or walker. Doesn't go to doggy day care (sounds ridiculous even typing out 🤣) my god talk about complicate things and make your life harder.

@BeMoreBarbie tell me about it I had to come off them. Half the people shouldn't even own a dog. One I saw yeasterday was that her dog hadn't eating in 24 hrs so she cooked up 3 different meals to get it to eat 🤦🏻‍♀️ the dogs clearly playing her while she's sweltering over a stove. Thick as shit.

Yabu

The anxiety thing is something some breeds are more prone to due to their breeding. For example we have a working dog breed,literally bred to be with their owner all hours of the day in constant activity. For me to leave him home for hours at a time would show a lack of understanding on my part as to his nature, instincts and needs. He would get very anxious and start to misbehave even though he's exceptionally well trained. A lot of dog breeds will have similar instinct. My personal feeling on it is why bother having a dog if you don't intend on doing the work as an owner.

As for the chicken wing thing, that's a choking risk for the dog and they could shatter the bone and swallow bits. So it's fine if you're happy to take the risk on your dog becoming unwell and needing emergency surgery.

@Teder mine can be left all day. They have access to to inside and outside plus outbuildings. Some days mine don't even get walked. No dog died from missing walks.

And as for this. It depends on the owners space and resource. With a high energy breed and a small yard at home we need to be walking our dog a few hours a day or he'd be climbing the walls. So again just the basics of responsible ownership.

@Lavender14 I have a working breed (cocker spaniel) but from day one she's been trained to fit in with our lifestyle and other dogs. She can be left and is fine.

FFS - yes the good old days when dogs were left to roam eat out of bins, get into fights, breed, get hit by cars, etc. When's your post berating health and safety rules coming?

Assuming you are genuine -how many litters have you bred? Proper health tests? Why have you jumped around from breed to breed? What happens to your breeding dogs? A dog breeder who does not know about dog temperaments does not sound responsible. Can we see this Facebook group full of happy owners and healthy dogs?

Of course you can have a dog that's born anxious!

I've had dogs for 30 years. Never had an anxious one until now. I've 3, one 5 year old, extremely laid back & friendly, and two brothers. They're two years old now. I've had them since they were 12 weeks old. One has always been laid back, friendly etc, the other is extremely nervous & anxious & was as a puppy. He's much better than he was due to a lot of hard work but we still avoid crowds and busy area with him. Luckily we're very rural so that's not a problem.

Just as people are different, so are dogs.

Most average dog owning people don’t have access to huge inside and outside buildings.

Poodles are particularly not the type of dog that can be left for hours and hours. Some breeds are more tolerant.

@WhatWhereWho the dogs we breed are our pets so they live with us. Where else would they go 😏

Yes you can join. After you buy a dog from me 😆

I wouldn’t purchase a dog from a breeder who has multiple breeds, even if it was over a number of years. I certainly wouldn’t even contemplate it if they crossbred a poodle and cocker spaniel - especially given the breeder doesn’t seem to understand poodle temperament and behaviour. Highly strung, people focused and can be anxious dogs!

@Teder you wouldn't but plenty do. My last little of 10 f1 poos went this weekend. There is and always will be a market for them.

Dogs absolutely can be born predisposed to anxiety - the genetics of this are actually well known in certain breeds.

I'd say I'm surprised a dog breeder wouldn't know this but having seen that you breed cockerpoos that says it all