Dog Owners Feel Guilty For Not Being Perfect Parents

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elina lee
Apr 9, 2022 1:00 PM EDT

Calling all puppy parents! Put a finger down if you've ever felt guilty for literally anything relating to dog parenting. Living in the digital age comes with its quirks. We're constantly watching as people display their 'perfect' lives and their 'perfect' puppy parenting. Social media makes it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. So while you may be seeing people promote a specific way to parent their pup, it doesn't always mean it's the right way or the only way. 

When parenting and training our pups, we have to realize that all dogs are different. They come in different shapes, sizes, and breeds, and this means that they all have different needs as well. It's easy to fall into a pit of guilt and pressure after watching others flaunt their unattainable lifestyles. But it's crucial we take everything we see online with a grain of salt and get advice from a professional, rather than a social media personality. As long as you're doing everything you can to make sure your doggo is living their best life - you're good. 

We present to you a Reddit thread of puppy parents that can relate. 

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/Anxious-Reality3329 20 hours ago Feeling like a bad dog owner. [Discussion]
    via u/Anxious-Reality3329
  • 02
    Font - I've recently had a lot of people get on me about leaving my dog at home during my work day. Many have suggested a dog walker to come by and give him a break. I finally decide that I will do this and start looking up places. Then I see the prices. $30 for a drop in visit seems to be the going rate for where I am. I get that dog walkers need to make money and that prices for everything have gone up. I guess I'm just bummed that this won't become a reality for my dog now. I know he would ha
    via u/Anxious-Reality3329
  • 03
    Mammal - limejasan6 · 19 hr. ago Relax my friend. You are doing just fine. Just walk your dog, feed your dog, keep up with vet visits and you and your dog will be fine. You have to go to work to pay for kibbles, toys, vaccines, etc. Don't let others guilt you. Relax and enjoy your dog's company. e
    via u/1imejasan6

    "You have to go to work to pay for kibbles, toys, vaccines, etc. Don't let others guilt you. Relax and enjoy your dog's company." 

    Say it louder for the shamers in the back! If you're privileged enough to stay home with your dog at all times, that's amazing. But please don't shame people who have to work for a living. 

  • 04
    Font - BelgianShepherds · 7 hr. ago It totally depends on the breed/type of dog. Many breeds would be content to mostly sleep or relax all day. Others are bred to be very active working dogs and will go stir crazy with no job to do or person to interact with. People who need to work away from home for 8+ hours at a time should definitely plan to get the former type of dog, rather than a working dog like a Belgian Malinois or llie, or an Australian Shepherd or Te ren, a Border Cattle Dog type.
    via u/BelgianShepherds

    "It totally depends on the breed/type of dog. Many breeds would be content to mostly sleep or relax all day. Others are bred to be very active working dogs and will go stir crazy with no job to do or person to interact with." 

    Exactly! It's all about doing your research prior to getting your pup to ensure both of you will be happy and content. 

  • 05
    Font - pctechadam · 11 hr. ago I agree your dog will be fine don't let others guilt you. I've surprised my dogs and showed up home for lunch several times only to find them sleeping. When I had my own staycation I also found that they slept most of the day. I do leave either TV or radio running something to change the day up.
    via u/pctechadam
  • 06
    Font - LilWeezey · 6 hr. ago We set up a webcam on Discord when we were first leaving our dog home alone, we couldn't afford a home security camera at the time. We were all excited to watch her get into shenanigans, even sent the link to our parents and dog obsessed friends .. And all she did was sleep.
    via u/LilWeezey
  • 07
    Font - AllWeb90 · 7 hr. ago Yeah I guarantee the dog doesn't care lol obviously doggo would rather have you around, but they're probably happy snoozing while you're gone too! Dogs sleep for like 15 hours a day, you'd probably be cutting into his naptime! Lol I agree with this commenter, don't let others guilt you, you're doing a good job!
    via u/AllWeb90
  • 08
    Font - Wooloopsy · 6 hr. ago I was going to mention the sleeping hours. My Fi collar clocks 16 hrs of sleep on average a day for my husky mix and I'm home all day.
    via u/Wooloopsy
  • 09
    Human body - AAM_critic · 34 min. ago I absolutely agree with the above. Online dog forums feature a lot of upper-middle class people shaming the less fortunate.
    via u/AAM_critic
  • 10
    Font - AnUnrulyLlama · 19 hr. ago Is your workday 8-9 hours? That's at the reasonable limits of how long your dog can be alone. People have to work. If someone tries to guilt you, well, you have every ability to let that shit roll off. Unless they feel like coming out of pocket to pay?
    via u/AnUnrulyLlama
  • 11
    Font - AnUnrulyLlama · 19 hr. ago · edited 18 hr. ago Boo. An 8 year old dog is fine for 9 hours, provided they get a good walk before you leave, and all the attention when you get home. Is your dog being destructive at all, chewing, whining, barking? Because that's a different conversation, but if he's straight chilling, he's fine. People love to judge, and I'm sure you'd love to stay home with your dog or run home for lunch breaks and a snuggle. But that's not the reality for the vast part of
    via u/AnUnrulyLlama
  • 12
    Font - vicariousgluten · 14 hr. ago I got a petkit rather than cameras. I figured that if I got cameras I'd either just spend all day watching them or if she was sad I wouldn't be able to get home to her. It's like a doggy fit bit. It showed me when she was active or asleep and I could see that when we left for work she went to sleep. Got up and stretched her legs for a few minutes around lunchtime (guessing from the state of the house, had a play with a toy - didn't destroy anything she shouldn
    via u/vicariousgluten
  • 13
    Font - Vzvv · 12 hr. ago · edited 12 hr. ago I know having multiple cameras like wyze allows is really useful! But if anyone wants a free solution, just set up a stream on your computer. We use discord, but I bet any free streaming platform (like twitch, etc.) would work. For discord if you log in elsewhere on the same user, it ends the stream on your original device. So we have a discord account just for our dog that I use to stream on my laptop. And then I can watch him whenever I open my pers
    via u/Vzvv
  • 14
    Font - igglesfangirl · 19 hr. ago If he's handling 9 hours alone without destroying things or messing in the house, stop worrying. As long as he gets his walks/exercise/play time with you, he'll be fine. A consistent routine is important. My pet peeve is when my husband and mother in law believe the dog needs to walk every 3 hours on the weekend- and then they report he didn't do anything. I ask both of them if they are going to walk the dog in the middle of a work day. Of course the dog gets mo
    via u/igglesfangirl
  • 15
    Font - GingerLibrarian76 · 9 hr. ago Yeah, I had someone accuse me of neglect for working full-time with commute, since I have two "high-energy breeds" (Shepherd/Cattle Dog mix and a Husky). I was like you do know breed standards are just that - standards? My boys are lazy af. e And after 16+ years with the Shepherd mix, I'm pretty sure I know what's best for him over some internet stranger. Clearly I've done something right for him to even get to that age. He's always been super well-behaved, t
    via u/GingerLibrarian76
  • 16
    Font - Delicious-Product968 · 19 hr. ago Dogs sleep 12-20 hours pending on their age. In my experience, a lot of people that tell me I am too busy or solitary for a dog regularly are out of the house 9+ hours per day? Like parents have jobs, kids have school, homework, and extra-curricular activities. I don't know where people get the idea that more people mean more attention for the dog, unless someone is staying at home. And even then, what are they doing with the dog? If you're working on enr
    via u/Delicious-Product968

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dogs guilt pets pressure dog owner walk dog shaming walking shaming
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