Dog misconceptions and old wives tales

What old wives tales ,misconceptions and myths have you been told that you know are utter tosh about dogs ...
The reason i started thinking about this was i heard 2 yesterday
1, That it was cruel not to let a bitch have a litter ..
2, That crates are like dog cages and are cruel...

What balderdash have you heard ???

Someone at work said he took a bone away from his dog when it was g rowling at him because "You have to show them who's boss"!

I replied that I couldn't imagine my dogs growling at me in the first place!

the one i hate the most is "if your puppy wets in the house rub there nose in it" i wonder where that came from

1. little dogs arent dogs, theyre rats on stilts.... funny that ive never seen a rat on stilts

other than that just the ones that are mentioned...

If you give a dog raw meat it'll get a taste for blood and be aggressive forever more with 'bloodlust'!!!

God I hope not seeing as mine are raw fed!!

Shouldn't get a male castrated its not natural, big dogs are more aggressive then smaller dogs, dont feed them raw makes them need the blood

oooh i forgot about that one!!! haha....

also "dont feed bones, it will kill them!!!!"

Leaving aside the caveat that I believe crates can be misused, the one that I can`t bear is when people exclaim after a dog has had a spat with another dog...
`you`ll have to watch him now or he`ll do that to a child!
Because every dog who has a problem with another dog turns into a child-killer, you know.

Couple I can think of from years back.....

when a dog has been in a fight.....leave it to lick its wounds they will heal themselves

Dogs grow thier own coats (used when dogs had a fight and you worried over it)

Don't feed raw it makes the dogs smell of raw-meat.

When it rained and the dog was outside....... stop worrying the dog will find a dry hedge to go under

Some good 'fairy tales' here:
The Top 10 Dog Behaviour Myths by Jean Donaldson.

All these topics are discussed:
1) Dogs are naturally pack animals with a clear social order.
2) If you let dogs exit doorways ahead of you, you’re letting them be dominant.
3) In multi-dog households, “support the hierarchy” by giving presumed dominant animals patting, treats, etc., first, before giving the same attention to presumed subordinate animals.
4) Dogs have an innate desire to please.
5) Rewards are bribes and thus compromise relationships.
6) If you pat your dog when he’s afraid, you’re rewarding the fear.
7) Punish dogs for growling or else they’ll become aggressive.
8 ) Playing tug makes dogs aggressive.
9) If you give dogs chew toys, they’ll learn to chew everything.
10) You can’t modify “genetic” behaviour.