These days, it's as easy to spoil your dog as it is to spoil your children. What DON'T they have for dogs these days? Swarovski crystal-embedded dog collars, gourmet dog food, feather canopy dog beds, haute couture dog clothes...the list is endless!
Because Guide Dogs has a lot of strict rules for puppy raisers, it's a bit more difficult for us to spoil our dogs. But I sometimes wonder if I spoil Cabana in subtle ways. If Cabana were a pet, I wouldn't be concerned at all. But as a guide dog puppy in training, I'd hate for my spoiling to lead to spoiling her career as a service dog.
Here are my guilty pleasures. Because Cabana isn't allowed on furniture, I always sit with her on the floor when watching TV. If I don't sit on the floor with her, then my husband does. Cabana doesn't complain when we don't sit with her--but we don't really give her much opportunity to complain because we do it pretty automatically. Also, I hold her bones for her so she can chew on them easier. Not all the time, but it's frequently the case.
Are there ways in which you spoil your dog? Will my habits spoil Cabana? Will they make life difficult for her blind partner in the future? Or maybe even cause her to flunk out in formal training? I'll brace myself for the answer....
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