You Might Be Ruining Your Dog's Trust And Not Even Know It

Trust can be built and broken.

As we all know, trust has to be built, and it's not incredibly easy to get back once it's broken.

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Hopefully, you were able to skim through the article that talked about signs that your dog trusts you.

Think about trust as a bridge. If the foundation is faulty, you probably don't want to walk across it. 

Remember, trust is a two-way street, so let's get down to the other side of that — breaking trust. This isn't just a human thing. It can be broken with your dog too. Taylor Barconey and Jio Alcaide came back to share how you can potentially ruin trust with your dog.

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ICYMI: Taylor Barconey and Jio Alcaide own a New Orleans-based business called Smart Bitches Modern Dog Training. 

In their adventures as dog trainers so far, Barconey said that they have rarely come to a home where there isn't trust at all, but there are situations where they can improve the bond. "Our job as dog trainers is to raise [trust]," Barconey said.

Here are their ways you could be breaking your dog's trust:

1. Forcing your dog to do things they don't want to do often.

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Barconey said this is one of the biggest things that can ruin a human and dog relationship. She uses nail trimming as an example. If your dog hates getting their nails trimmed, it's probably not a good idea for you to constantly trim their nails without considering their feelings. 

"That can lead to the dog expressing themselves in ways that are very scary, like bites or actually trying to back you away from them," she said. 

2. Forcing your dog into a lot of situations they don't like.

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Hopefully, you're catching onto the theme here. "Forcing" your dog to consistently to do things you know they do not like isn't going to make them come to you for guidance or help. 

3. Taking their things away a lot.

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Those bones and toys that they love shouldn't be used as leverage. Don't turn taking these keepsakes away into a habit. 

"If they're actively using those things, this is one of the things that can lead to resource guarding," Barconey said.

4. Not listening to their body language.

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If your dog, by chance, doesn't want to be picked up at the moment, don't pick them up. "You've got to be cognizant of what they're trying to tell you with their body language," Barconey said. Otherwise, you risk jeopardizing their trust. 

5. Not being an advocate for your dog.

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Your dog needs your help to navigate the world, which means you should advocate for them when they need it. Barconey outlined a few examples, including letting other people touch your dog even though they don't like it or forcing them to be around a lot of other dogs when it's not really their thing. 

6. Ignoring your dog's needs, desires, or genetic predispositions.

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Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to being a dog parent. If you picked a specific breed, make yourself knowledgeable of what that fully entails. 

"There's a huge myth that all dogs are the same. That is not the case. Every breed is different. Every single breed has different needs," Barconey said.  

7. Being overly corrective with your dog.

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Constantly yelling or even hitting your dog can definitely ruin trust, Barconey said. The premise of their dog training program is to promote positive reinforcement to convince people to use other ways to get their dogs to communicate with them. 

I don't know about you, but all of this distrust talk is making me want to go hug my dog. Feel free to do the same (if they're into that, of course).

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