Top 7 Things We All Hate About Irresponsible Dog Owners

Nothing is worse than taking your dog for a nice walk around your neighborhood and landing your foot in a warm, squishy mess. Stepping in your own dog’s leftovers is bad enough, but even worse in stepping in the feces of someone else’s dog! Failing to pick up after their own dog is a defining characteristic of an irresponsible dog owner – keep reading to learn about the other top seven signs.

7 Common Signs of Irresponsible Dog Ownership

In the same way that different people have different styles for parenting, every dog owner is unique as well. But there are certain things that dog owners do or don’t do that identify them as an irresponsible dog owner – the kind of dog owner you want to avoid whenever possible.

1. Not picking up after their dog. This is dog ownership 101 – you always pick up after your dog. Leaving your dog’s leftovers could spread disease to other dogs or attract pests to the area, making it unpleasant for everyone else who goes there.
2. Letting their dog eat potentially toxic foods. This is a common practice among irresponsible dog owners and it can be dangerous! Even if your dog doesn’t have a negative reaction to these foods once, twice, or even three times doesn’t mean that he won’t the next time!
3. Not keeping their dog on a leash in public. No matter how well your dog is trained, it is just bad dog owner etiquette to allow your dog off the leash in public – especially around other dogs. Never let your dog run up to another dog without permission, even if he is friendly. You never know how another dog might react in that situation.
4. Leaving their dog in the car or tied up outside a store. Even if you’re only going to be gone for five minutes, leaving your dog locked in a hot car could quickly turn fatal. Leaving your dog tied up outside a store is no better because it puts him at risk for theft or he could be attacked by another dog and would be unable to get away.
5. Giving unsolicited (and incorrect) advice to other dog owners. Nothing is worse than the dog owner who thinks they know everything – except perhaps the dog owner who absolutely does NOT know everything but continues to give bad advice to other dog owners.
6. Not taking their dog to the vet. Just because your dog “never gets sick,” it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still take him to the vet once or twice a year. Dogs need annual vaccinations and a routine checkup could catch a serious problem in the early stages when it is still treatable.
7. Taking their dog everywhere with them. There is nothing wrong with taking your dog to the dog park or to a dog-friendly café, but there is a subset of dog owners who feel that they should be allowed to take their dogs with them everywhere. There are even some who go so far as to pretend that their dog is a service animal! These people give dog owners, especially those who NEED a service dog, a bad reputation.

It is unfortunate but true that the irresponsible dog owners of the world give all dog owners a bad name. Even if you always pick up after your own dog and hold your dog to the basics of leash etiquette, there will always be some who think the worst of you. All you can do is avoid the top seven things listed above and do your best to be a responsible dog owner!