Everyone loves their pets, right? Well, in a perfect world.
I’m sure we can all agree that there are some people who harm their pets by not taking enough care of them. We all hear the horror stories and watch the animal cop shows with tears and horror. Animal cruelty is too common.
Fewer people will notice and agree that some people harm their pets by loving them too much.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s wonderful to love your pets so much that you can’t even describe the feeling. By ‘loving them too much’ in this case, I mean the care practices of the animal owners.
Loving a dog so much that you feed him a cheeseburger a day, for example. Now the dog enjoys the cheeseburger. Any dog would, unless he has some weird eating habits and preferences. However, it is best for the dog’s well-being not to eat a cheeseburger every day, no matter how big or active the dog is.
The same goes for large amounts of treats with any species. The occasional gift, of course. Everyone likes some variety in their day. However, the beggar animals do not consider their own health when they look for whatever is in the pantry.
Extend this to the preparation. If a dog/cat etc. You really don’t like being brushed, bathed, cut, etc. It’s easy to drop out of the practice because you feel bad about putting them through something you obviously hate. Letting them do what they want may be easier and seems to be for the best. However, in the long term, not brushing any animal can cause matting, bad odors, and various health problems.
Letting a pet get away with nervous clothing is another example. It may be cute, and it may seem like a coping mechanism for something, but there is an underlying issue with your environment that is causing your behavior, and it needs to be addressed.
The gist is that letting an animal do things that are harmful to their long-term health, like eating too many cheeseburgers or constantly picking at their skin or any other type of potentially destructive behavior, is not good for them. The need to not be the one to hold and groom them, or deny them something they seek is understandable, but harmful to animals who depend on us for our judgment of what is good for them.
Your animals love you. They will continue to love you despite the care or attention you give them, despite the fact that you refuse to give them that piece of chicken that they think smells very good, or any other event that they do not like but that they have to endure.
Remember that, and take care of them without taking too much care of them. By balancing love and care with stern teaching and medical attention when they need it, your animals will be the best animals they can be, and you and your pet will be the happiest for it.