Am I the master?

Question

I now own a 6-month old dog. One of my neighbours like her very much. She likes to play with her. The problem is, she keeps letting her do things that I as the master want to get rid of, for example, playing too roughly. Besides, she keeps giving opinions about my dog's health, food etc. when she has never owned a dog and her information seems to be wrong according to what I've found online! For example, I think she gave her human cakes and food(normally oily and salty). Her reason was 'she looks pityful...'. I've told her many times that it's not good for dogs. AND, my dog seems to love her so much!!! On the other hand, I can't give her these things, or allow her to chew and bite even though I know she loves it because it's not good for her!

Do you think dogs recognise those who give them pleasure as masters, rather than those who really care for them? How do I make myself a master for her?

Answer 1

No you are not the master if you are allowing your neighbor to provide food, play, comfort, and companionship to your dog. If you keep letting her walk all over you than how are you going to raise a dog the way you want it to be raised?

Your dog does not see you as master because you are letting someone else dictate how she is cared for.

Answer 2

I've have had dog's all my life.
Many many years ago when I was married we bought a puppy from the cat and dog shelter my friends used to make a fuss over it as it wasn't very well but once it's health improved they still fussed over it. I started to put certain ground rules down when they came round.

I fell out on several occasions with friends when they came to visit. I insisted they ignore the dog but come in and sit down after 5 or 10 minutes I allowed the dog to come over and say hello.

When he was around 18 months old we bought a second dog same rules applied.
All my friends appreciated why I had layed those ground rules down (stopped all the jumping up).

Encourage your dog to get to know and be friendly to your neighbours, the last thing you want is a dog that constantly barks at them.
Ask your neighbour to feed it proper dog chews but to only give it a small amount, dogs should only eat once a day
(you will then have the upper hand legally if you fall out).

To stop the chewing go to your local butchers and ask for a large bone, a cows thigh bone for instance your dog will love you for ever and if you saw the bone in half it's packed full of bone marrow which is extremely good for them.

Be firm but fair with your dog and neighbour.
All the best Greg
Remember you are the 'Alpha' the leader in the pack.

Added to

Your dog thinks your neighbour is a subordinate member of the Wolfpack a lower rank member.

Answer 3

You are her master if she listens to you! You need to tell your neighbor that unless she owns the dog, she should not be giving her opinions and false information to you, and should not be doing things to/with YOUR dog that you disapprove of. The matter needs to be addressed, and if you cannot do anything, avoid taking the dog near your neighbor at all costs. The master of a dog is the person who controls the dog and who does the things that are BEST for the dog. The master of a dog does not always give the dog what they want because it is what the dog wants. the dog always trusts the master's desicion, even if the dog does not like the master's desicion. Your neighbor is NOT the dog's master. The person who does the BEST things for the dog is the master, and at this point it should be you.

Answer 4

Don't let your dog be with your neighbor alone. Always be there with them and make sure she is not doing anything you don't want her to do. Try explaining your point of view to her and if she won't respect your wishes, tell her that she could end up KILLING your dog. I could just see this woman giving your dog a chocolate cake or something. Some human food can kill dogs and most are not very good for them.

Stick to your guns and don't worry if you think your dog likes hte neighbor more than you. Put aside more time for your dog to go for walks, play, train, and your bond with your dog will get stronger. And you can give her all kinds of amazing treats that are good for her, so she will see you as the giver of good things, not your neighbor. Ever try a pig's ear or bully stick? You can get them in the supermarket dog aisle. Your dog will go crazy!

Answer 5

of course you are the master. you need to tell her that most of her info is wrong, and your doing just fine as a owner. Tell her if she wants to do stuff with a dog to get her own. it's wrong for her to go against what you've been trying to stop with your dog. She could cause more problems in your house. If your dog is ever going to her house again give her a list things she should know and do a with the dog, and talk to her about what example your trying to show to your dog. A dog is like a baby. you wouldn't let someone tell you what to do with your baby so it's the same thing with your dog.

Answer 6

I had the same problem with one dog, he would go visit a neighbor who gave him leftovers, spoiled him, and made him get fat. I tried two things - I told her that the Vet, Dr. Smith, had told me that the dog had to be on a very special diet, because he was "pre-diabetic" and could go into hypoglycemic shock and die, if I wasn't careful and deviated from the special, measured diet. Then, I also tried to keep the dog away. That helped.

With my current dog, I am more careful, that I don't let him go visit other folks. But I was careful to train him not to jump, and to be well-behaved. A know-it-all neighbor took great delight in breaking his training, getting him to bark and jump, just to show that she understood dogs.

The only thing that I have found that you can do with these types of jerks, is to keep the dog away.

Yes, the dog "loves" anyone who gives him food. But consider it like someone who gives you child candy and ice cream all the time. When your child gets sick... who has to take care of him.

My recommendation is to keep the dog away from this person, tell her not to feed the dog, and if she doesn't listen, then consider that she is actively trying to damage your property, in the eyes of the law, and you can try to call the police, if you get pictures, or you can easily have a restraining order taken out. If she violates that order, she can be arrested. That sounds extreme, but her food abuse can shorten your dog's life by much more than two years !

Answer 7

I think the dog will still know that you are the master because you spend more time with the dog and feed the dog and take care of it's needs. However it will be more difficult to rid the pup of unwanted behaviors if the neighbor does them and you are there allowing it. Ask the neighbor nicely to play a little less rough with the pup and to not feed her human snacks. Let her give the pup some treats that you bought and allow them to still play ...maybe she can teach the pup how to play fetch or something less rough.

Answer 8

the dog is your dog,if it were a child you wouldn't let anyone give her something you didn't want her to have. go out with the dog as often as you can train her by being fair but firm , when you say no to her MEAN NO it doesn't matter what the deal is no is no, when you say sit ,make sure she sits don't let her get away with anything , give her loads and loads of praise when she does things right ,and let her know when shes wrong, if you are trying to get her to do something and she cant do it don't keep on she'll get bored always finish on what you know she can do and loads of praise . oh and politely tell the neighbour mind her own ! and stop feeding YOUR dog, good luck.

Answer 9

Let's put this bluntly, it's YOUR dog, not the neighbor's. You'll need to put your foot down, firmly.
Your dog is at a critical age, a teenager if you will. She needs guidance and training to keep her going in the right direction, especially at this age! I would not allow your neighbor to play with your dog, A.unsupervised by you and B. if she doesn't respect your wishes in regard to your dog's health and training. Tell her that you have certain things that you want from YOUR dog and that she will not be allowed to play with her if she doesn't respect that.
First, you should be the only person giving her treats, unless you approve what someone else is giving her. If you need to, keep your pup on a leash while the neighbor plays with her. If the neighbor tries to give her sweets, pull your dog away, telling her, "No", firmly and tell your neighbor, "She's not allowed to have that." Bring your own yummy treats, like cooked chicken or hot dogs. Get your dog to focus on you even when you're with the neighbor. This way, your dog will see that you are taking control of the situation, in a good possitive way. Your dog most likely sees the neighbor as a "playmate" not a leader/master. That's fine, as long as both the dog and your neighbor respect you! The same goes for the rough play. If you keep your dog on lead, you can give her a correction and at the same time let your neighbor know that you don't want your dog playing like that.
In the end, do what's right for you and your dog. If your dog stays healthy, you could have her for 10-14 years. It's doubtful that you will have that same neighbor for that long! Your dog must be your first priority, not the neighbor or her feelings.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I know from experience!
(My sister & I got sister puppies at the same time. Mine went to work with me everyday and I had to constantly tell people not to give her treats because I didn't want her to get overweight. I finally had to be a very tough about it and people backed off. They still enjoyed her, but didn't feed her anything unless I said it was ok. My sister's dog got fed loads of extra fatty foods by her husband, which she tried to stop, but he snuck it to the dog while she wasn't looking! As a result, her dog was 20 pounds heavier than mine even though they were the same size, breed, age, etc. My sister's dog died of kidney failure at the age of 10, mine lived to be 15! BIG difference! and the only real difference between them was diet and exercise!
Stick to your way of doing things and demand that others respect that. You'll be glad you did when you have a happy, healthy, well trained dog for the next decade or so!!

Answer 10

wow so I'm not the only one with a pain in the neck neigh boor
anyhow its definitely not cool what she is doing breaking your chain of command and giving your dog human food ,cake no less check out the aspcas website about foods that are dangerous for your dog you will be surprised your dog is young and ready for some intense training i recommend you teaching the dog you are the master and to obey your commands dogs live to please their master so the will readily accept a command do you know that you can train your dog not to accept food from anyone other than you my dog does it well i feel your pain i hate it when some dope thinks their the dog whisperer if you put the time in now you will be surprised how obedient your dog becomes but remember never hit or be cruel to the dog while training good luck