A 5 kg dog has the same predatory drives and need for structure as a 30 kg working dog. Treating small dogs like babies, as Bob's owners did with their French Bulldog in Perth, creates anxiety and reactivity. Dogs need clear boundaries and independence, not constant coddling.
Chapters
Your dog is a terror because you treat them like a bloody baby instead of what they are, a dog. You've completely stripped them of their identity and you've replaced it with the identity of a baby, which I can assure you they're absolutely not. And I get it, they're small, they're cute, they look up to you, those big eyes, and it's incredibly easy just to pick them up whenever they're scared. But when you do that, you are creating a monster. A 5 kilo dog has the exact same genetic instincts, the exact same predatory drives, and the exact same need for structure as a 30 kilo working dog. The only difference is that when a 30 kilo dog lunges at someone, it's a liability. And when a 5 kilo dog does it, people laugh and say, ah, that's cute. It's not funny, it's not cute, it's stressful. Not only for you, but also it's incredibly stressful for your dog. Let me tell you about a Frenchie that I worked with here in Perth. His name was Bob, and Bob was the definition of spoiled dog. His owners loved him to death, but they babied him to the point of absolute dysfunction. He was so terrified of the environment and other dogs that he was only ever taken out in a pram. Think about that. A dog, an animal descended from wolves, being pushed around in a park in a pram because he couldn't handle the world. He slept in their bed every night. He was never alone. If they went to the bathroom, guess what? Bob followed them. If they sat on the couch, Bob was on their lap. And because of that, it was an anxious and reactive nightmare. He had zero independence. He had zero frustration tolerance. If he didn't get what he wanted exactly when he wanted, he'd throw a tanty. It's exactly like a spoiled child in a supermarket. If a child is never told no at home and now given everything that they want, what happens when you finally tell them no in public? They scream, they they cry and they throw themselves on the floor.
