Can one spoil their dog too much?

[Monique1]

Most people say my dog is spoiled - my son gave me a sign that said " My dog is not spoiled...I'm just well trained". She won't eat her regular food just food that I make for her, she is a lap dog and loves to be petted. If I don't pet her she takes her nose to my arm to lift it to be petted. She does sleep in a crate at night (has bedtime hours) and knows the ques for bedtime. Just before bedtime she jumps on my lap to cuddle. After that I take her to the litter box - she does her thing, I say let's go night night and she runs to her crate checking to see if I am behind. I close the crate, put the covers over it and that is that for the night. I do have to pick her up in the morning when I get her out of the crate or she will pee in front of her crate. I carry her to the litter box and she does her thing.

She is trained though to a certain degree. One thing is she is litter box trained so in this heat I don't need to walk her. When I say no, she stops what she is doing. She loves to play, retrieves a ball and brings it to my hand. She is not destructive (when a puppy she did a little damage to the carpet but not much).

I love my little one - she is less than 10lbs and very active. She is a mix of Papillon and Poodle.

[Demoiselle]

1. You haven't spoiled your dog.

On the contrary...you've trained her well to live with you. She sounds adorable.

A dog is "spoiled" when it's abused, made fearful, made aggressive by cruel treatment.

[Monique1]

3. My dog does not have amean bone in her body

she loves people. When people come to the house, she does jump but then runs to get a toy for them to play with her. She doesn't snap, bite, nip or anything like that. She is just one happy go lucky dog. I had neighbor children who would ring my doorbell to ask if they could come and play with my little "Angel" - that is her name. She is a companion dog - my companion. She is funny too.

[cbdo2007]

2. My dog says "no"

So I gave her a treat. She's such a good girl!!! :) Now I'm going to go roll around on the floor with her.

[Monique1]

4. No way for rolling on the floor for me

I'm 68 - I'm lucky I can reach the floor.

[femmocrat]

5. She is definitely not "spoiled".

Dogs are creatures of habit. Through repetition, she has learned your routine and what to expect from you.

Toy breeds have been bred over the generations to be companions and "lap" dogs. Being a Papillon-Poodle cross means that she is very intuitive and easy to train.

She sounds well-behaved and lovable to me! :hug:

[Gormy Cuss]

6. To me, "spoiled" would be if after all this wonderful care she acts badly

like nipping or biting for no good reason and doing her business wherever and whenever she feels like it just because you'll tolerate it, but even then she's a dog and the concept of being spoiled is about as foreign to her as speaking English. From your description she sounds like a dog who's secure and happy.

[Monique1]

7. Thank you

I live alone most of the time except when I have a visitor here who stays for a few days - my visitor she loves also. She does brighten my day and probably keeps me from feeling my age.

[MiddleFingerMom]

8. A friend of mine DID spoil his dog...

.
.
.
...this beautiful friendly, floppy, playful, clumsy, big bull
of a black Lab.
.
My friend lived in an 18th century farmhouse (that Jim Croce
has once rented) with rough plank flooring. The dog would pee
on the floor and my friend (a big ol' floppy friendly Viet Nam
vet Marine who looked like and could do the most remarkable
impression of Sylvester Stallone as Rambo) would watch and say,
"Isn't that CUTE?"
.
.
.
.
One day, despite my friend's desperate calling, his dog ran out
into the path of a car approaching on that stretch of the
lightly-traveled State Highway that bordered their property,
,
.
.
SOME discipline is necessary for safety and the ability to
function well in society in general -- makes the dog's (or
child's) life much better in the long run.
.
.
.
.
.
In this case, spoiling the dog may very well have been the
reason this dog didn't get a chance to HAVE that long run.
.

[Monique1]

9. I do discipline

She has peed in places where it is not allowed and I called her on it. She knew she did wrong. She now has a second litter box (I have two bathrooms in my apartment). When I expect vistitors - I hold her in my arms when I greet them. Also, there were a couple of times when I did not do things fast enough when people came to the door she ran out - I just called her back. She wanted to be with the people. When I have company I usually put her in the bathroom that is gated at that time so when I know someone is coming I put her in the gated area before I open the door.

My dog was the alpha puppy at birth. They had to separate her from the mom so the other puppies could get fed. Well, I am an alpha also - we did tangle for several months. I am now the alpha most of the time. I think we share the alpha role because I do give in to her at times.

Usually when someone comes to the door I have her sit which she does and then I pick her up.

[MajorChode]

10. I spoil my dog

I didn't really start until she was 15 or so. I figured if she lived that long she has earned the right to be spoiled a little. My reasoning was she probably wouldn't live another year. However, she is almost 17 now and still going strong. There really hasn't been any consequences for doing so. After 15 years she's really not going to pick up too many bad habits. She begs a bit now which she never did before, but other than that she is very well mannered.

[EFerrari]

12. My dog doesn't beg. She's figured out that I'm so easy

all she has to do is sit quietly and drool.

lol

[Monique1]

15. lol

[Orsino]

11. Not if one believes in meritocracy. n/t

[Monique1]

13. I think we all spoil our pets

that is why we have them. We can get away with it.

[Fleshdancer]

14. well considering my dog is currently at a doggie daycare right now, I'm not going to judge ya

Once a week I take her to this amazing place where she plays all day with other dogs her size in an inside gym while I work and run errands so that she's not bored at home in her crate. I can watch her on webcam when I start to miss her and see for myself that she's not missing me at all.

I had no idea dogs could be litter trained. It makes sense, I just never thought of it before. It sounds like you have a wonderful fur baby and maybe you are spoiling her, but there's no problem with it. She's obviously very well cared for and she loves you for it.

[Monique1]

16. I thought of taking my dog to a daycare

I think she would like it - she is not afraid of big dogs either. She has no fears. Play is her middle name. I might just check into daycare for a few hours one day a week. Maybe that is why she loves to go to the groomer - to see other dogs. I know when we come home from picking her up ---- she is pooped! :rofl:

[Fleshdancer]

19. day care will wipe her out for the rest of the day

Mine has been sleeping ever since I brought her home over four hours ago. I'll take her out in an hour or so, but then she'll pass out again as soon as we go back inside. Not too bad considering she's only 5 months old and usually full of energy! A tired puppy is a happy puppy. :D

[BrklynLiberal]

17. Not really... as long as you DO set some limits.

Cesar Milan says, Exercise, Discipline and Affection are the three main things you have to give your dog.

# Exercise, discipline, and affection… in that order – These are the three ingredients for creating a happy, balanced dog. Most dog owners give only affection, or don’t provide these three necessities in the correct order.

* Exercise – walking a dog at least one hour every day, and in the correct way.
* Discipline – giving a dog rules, boundaries, and limitations in a nonabusive manner.
* Affection – a reward we give to our dogs and to ourselves, but only after the dog has achieved calm submission in our “pack”.

[In_The_Wind]

18. nope

never


Life is too short.
My golden retriever ~ Lady Leigh ~ is 14 (bd 4/18/96). She thought she was a lapdog until a few years ago. Now, I'm just happy that she loves to lay in front of the fan and take all of the attention I can give her. Everyday is a gift.

She deserves all of the spoilin' I can give her!



That was Lord Byron & Lady Leigh ... in 1996.