some of the most viral videos on social media involve dogs clothed in colourful outfits or doing all kinds of tricks but the practices behind such videos that tend to take a dog out of its natural comfort zone are dubbed unethical by many international animal organisations the reason dogs are not really comfortable in clothes or while walking on two legs these are not natural for them the tricks especially may be taught using rather harsh and unethical methods subjecting the animal to severe physical and mental trauma meet ashar associate manager emergency response team peta and advisor maharashtra state animal welfare board said ethical dog keeping involves a gamut of practices right from choosing the right breed to taking the right care for instance its cruel to keep a tibetan mastiff or a st bernard in delhi moreover feeding a dog anything it wants can also lead to physical and psychological problems like obesity and aggression in short you have to keep the dog in the most natural way as possible he addedso if you are a dog person here are a few tips to help you ensure you are raising your dog rightwhat is ethical dog keepingthe ethical way of keeping a dog is to provide it the most natural environment and not try to change its natural behaviour varkina singh legal officer federation of indian animal protection organisationstips for dog ownersalways check if the puppy you want to buy has been bred by an ethical breeder if you dont you risk the chance of ending up with a sick or crossbred pupdont overfeed your dog it can lead to a host of physical and psychological issues like obesity and food aggression also make sure your dog gets regular exercisenever use steroids to enhance your pets performance at dog shows its totally unethicalnever make your dog wear clothes even if you think it looks cute that way dogs are never comfortable in clothesmake sure you never abuse your dog or subject it to harsh treatment to make it do certain tricks that is sure to make your dog develop behavorial issueswhat should you do ifyou already have a breed like alaskan malamute try to keep it in an ac house and provide it a diet that helps keep it coolyou own a working breed like golden retriever labrador rottweiler german shepherd or belgian malamute make sure you exercise it regularly and play with ityou have a breed like lhasa apso or shih tzu you need to properly groom them as they have delicate coatsis training a dog unethicalaccording to animal rights activists things like toilet training are necessary teaching the dog tricks however is not natural or ethical toilet training doesnt harm the dog in any way just modifies its behaviour to suit the environment it currently lives in but teaching a dog to do tricks often involves harsh methods which is definitely unethical said jayashree rammohan an indorebased dog behaviouristwhats unethicalpet owners tend to