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If you’ve ever been near an uncaring, selfish owner and their dog, you know what kind of awful tension that can create between neighbors. While some dog owners are simply bad and don’t care that they are bad, many don’t understand that they are imposing on their neighbors. If you want to ensure that you’re a conscientious dog-owning neighbor, you must avoid these common mistakes.

Letting your dog bark it out in the backyard

When our dogs are acting up, sometimes the most logical solution appears to be to let them outside. They’ll burn off some steam out in the backyard, right? Perhaps, but most likely at the expense of your neighbors’ sanity.

It’s true that to teach a dog not to bark, you mustn’t reward the barking. A lot of the time this means ignoring it. But a barking dog will bark incessantly outside, and this is simply unacceptable if you want to be a considerate dog owner. Take the time to work with your dog to prevent excessive barking, and try not to use the backyard as your dog’s timeout zone.

Forgetting to teach your dog basic manners

The sign of a good dog is not one that’s overly affectionate. It’s also not that important for your dog to be able to high-five and do other tricks. The hallmark of having a good dog, and thus being a respectful owner, is that your dog knows basic public etiquette. If we were talking about humans, we might call it basic manners.

For a dog, the basics are that they sit, stay, and come when commanded. Your dog should never run up to anyone (human or canine). They should wait to be approached. And in dining situations, dogs must never beg for food.

Treating the dog park like a free-for-all

For most dogs, a trip to the dog park is a special time in their lives that they get a chance to truly run free and play at full strength with other dogs. This is good for your dog’s body and mind. But it’s important not to confuse this wonderful activity source with some sort of free-for-all. There is etiquette you must follow if you take your dog to the neighborhood dog park.

Some basic no-nos are: Letting your dog run in a pack that gets too aggressive; failing to intervene when play gets too rough; failing to bring water and letting your dog drink from someone else’s supply; and not picking up poop. Check here for more on proper dog-park etiquette.

Failing to leash well-behaved dogs

Does your dog need to be leashed when it’s in public? Yes. Even if he’s incredibly well-behaved? Yes. Even if he has never shown aggression? Still, yes. No dog — no matter his temperament — should be allowed to roam free around a neighborhood, off-leash. It’s just rude to your neighbors, some of which may be elderly, young, or otherwise fearful of even the nicest of dogs. If your dog struggles being on-leash, try to make leash etiquette fun for them.

Getting behind on your dog’s medical care

Not only is failing to get the proper shots/parasite control bad for your own dog’s health, but it puts neighboring humans and canines at risk. If your dog seems ill, try to limit its interaction with neighboring pets. Infecting your neighborhood with kennel cough is a surefire way to make enemies.

Everything You Should Know About Dog Shots

Our good friend Jennifer over at Jen Reviews just published an updated, comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about dog shots on our sister site, Your Dog Advisor. It is completely free and you can find it here: https://yourdogadvisor.com/dog-shots/

For dog-owners, following these simple steps is the difference between being a respected member of your community and being a pariah. Proper dog etiquette is not hard if you know what you’re doing. To be a considerate neighbor, follow the golden rule: If you don’t want a neighbor and their dog behaving in a certain way, chances are near absolute that they don’t want you to either.

*This article was a guest submission by Jessica Brody of OurBestFriends.pet 

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