Estonian behavior specialist: mistakes are already made when taking a dog from a shelter out of a good heart

04.12.2022
Helen Eelrand/Delfi Media

Dog behavior specialist Eliise Valmis, who was educated as an animal biologist at the University of Worcester in the United Kingdom and studied at Lisbeth Borg de Waard's International School of Dog Trainers, emphasizes that if the right herd structure is not established when adopting a dog, even the best will is not enough.

"The first mistake that is made is comparing a dog to a child and applying human psychology to a dog. Many families without children do just that - the dog becomes the third member of the family," he admits. Unfortunately, this leads to innumerable problems up to and including aggression - especially in the case of dogs taken from the shelter, who arrive at their new home with an already existing backlog.

According to him, the problem is that people want the best, but they don't know how to realize it, because they are afraid to set boundaries for the dog at home, and by overflowing with love, they forget that the dog needs a leader. This is how it happens that a dog taken in good faith returns to the shelter because they could not cope with him. This in turn destroys the dog's trust once and for all.

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