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Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 3 days ago)
35,610 posts, read 17,935,039 times
Reputation: 50634
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow
People make so much money on dog training because people who have dogs don't seem to understand much of anything about dogs except, 'omg! He's soooooo cute!', and take the puppy home, might house train the dog, but don't do much else.
On this forum, we have seen so many threads that all boil down to: You never trained your dog, did you?
I could never figure out why people wouldn't take the time to train their dogs.
And then, yesterday happened.
I was going to the pet store to get my cat, Whitey, his prescription food. I took my new dog with me. I tak him with me to socialize him with other people and other dogs since he came from the pound, and I don't know his background. He is 2 years old, BC, and at first, he barked at all males. He barked at all dogs. I didn't want another dog aggressive dog like I had with Shasta in the past. (Shasta had fear aggression.) Since I don't know this dog's background, I decided that I'm going to make a major effort to get him socialized, and, it's also a great time to work on 'doing what I asked with distractions'. We are to that point now.
So, he knows, good and well, that he is not to barge through doors. He is to stay by my side, and we walk in or out of doors together, not lunging at the end of the leash. He is really good about it at home. He knows h has to do this. And he does it. But what about in public, with distractions? So, I take him to the pet store, and we work on whatever he is good at in the home, but needs strengthening with distractions. AND, he is good on this training up to a certain level of distraction - ie; the pet store, which is so exciting.
Overall, he does a really good job staying by my side, not yelling at everyone or dogs, and not misbehaving. Again, this dog makes me look really good, but we have created a bond to the point that he wants to do what I ask. Nonetheless, he's still a young dog, and they can get distracted and excited and forget the rules.
I was approaching the automatic doors to the store. In addition to the rule of 'no you don't barge in through doors', I also don't want him to get hurt one day by an automatic door. So he espcially is not allowed to barge through them.
The doors started to open, he started to pull, so I stomped my shoe on the ground, which is his signal that he is to come back to my side. And he did.
Meanwhile, there was some lady inside who was coming out. She was off to the side of the doors telling me to 'come in'.
I merely replied, 'No, come on out, he's in training.'
A simple, non aggressive, easy to understand reply.
But no. NO! She raised the level to defcon 5.
She came out towards the door, and as she walked through it, she snarled at me and said, 'That sounds like a drag!'
Out of complete shock, I said, "Training your dog is a 'complete drag'?" I was floored by such a comment.
She then started cursing and yelling at me for 'torturing' my dog. Tha f...........?
My boy was standing by my side, calmly. Tongue was out in excitement, but he was calm. The leash was loose, because of it, but I'm 'torturing' my dog because I want him to have manners.
O. k.
I couldn't help myself, I told her she was crazy. But she was so confident with herself about how 'tortorous' and 'a drag' it is to TRAIN your dog not to barge through a door, that I was left wondering...is this why people don't train their pets? I always thought it was just 'know nothing about dogs' or 'laziness', and those are probably true, but to be against training your dog? She had just walked by a sign in front of the pet store detailing their training provided in the store, yet....
There are good reasons not to have your dog barging in and out of doors, especially places that have other dogs. Not only is it good manners to act calmly, but there are other dogs going in and out of places like that, and you never know if another dog is going to lose their ish.
There are good reasons to have your dog heeling, no matter where you go.
There are good reasons for your dog not to jump on people.
There are good reasons for your dog to learn sit and stay...especially stay.
There are good reasons to teach your dog that you don't run out into the middle of a road.
Yet, apparently, there are people on this earth who think that training your dog is a bad thing for the dog.
I've heard things like this said in the past, although not as aggressively and angrily, but to curse someone out for training their dog is a new one to me.
I think I'm starting to see where the problem is in our society. We have people out there who don't believe in training or teaching, animals or children, and are so confident in that belief that they will lash out at anyone else who does.
To keep you, your dog, and other animals safe, it is imperative that you train your dog. It's not about what you 'feel', it's about reality. An out of control dog can easily become a dangerous dog. If you appreciate your dog, love your dog, then train your fricken dog!
Your story seems very odd, and it's hard to even picture what you're talking about. You're standing outside the store, the woman beckons you in maybe out of politeness yielding to giving you first use of the doorway, and when you politely say we're staying out here, I'm training him, she turns into a screaming loon.
Only well trained dogs are fun. Unruly dogs create life problems at bad times.
I find owners of small dogs to be much more lax on training. They just pick them up and carry them if problems occur. You can't do that with a 100 pound German Shepherd. Big dogs require training, but little dogs should be trained as well. Most of their owners just dno't see the need or aren't the type.
Not that they are alone. Tons of big dogs around pulling on the leash, jumping, barking, misbehaving.
Your story seems very odd, and it's hard to even picture what you're talking about. You're standing outside the store, the woman beckons you in maybe out of politeness yielding to giving you first use of the doorway, and when you politely say we're staying out here, I'm training him, she turns into a screaming loon.
What am I missing?
I couldn't tell you. Like I said, her comment with a snarl to go with it shocked me.
It takes quite a bit to shock me. Cripes, Clara, we both spend most of our time on that 'other' forum. We have read so many ridiculous things over the years. But this? I have no idea what we are both missing.
Ha! Our dog ain't dumb. She knows what you want her to do and she knows what she wants to do. Two different things and it is going to take a lot to finally get her to do what we ask every time. We are working on it, but glad to hear you can train any dog with little effort. I bet our dog would change your tune.
I don't agree you can train any dog with "little effort".
Intelligent breeds trend to be easier to train. Lesser intelligent breeds and stubborn breeds are harder to train. It take a lot more effort, not a little, but it can still be done with consistent practice from a young age.
My last dog was a German Shepherd dog. He learned sit in 3 cycles. He learned shake after one cycle. Not every breed learns that fast. Intelligence matters.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 3 days ago)
35,610 posts, read 17,935,039 times
Reputation: 50634
Quote:
Originally Posted by Igor Blevin
I don't agree you can train any dog with "little effort".
Intelligent breeds trend to be easier to train. Lesser intelligent breeds and stubborn breeds are harder to train. It take a lot more effort, not a little, but it can still be done with consistent practice from a young age.
My last dog was a German Shepherd dog. He learned sit in 3 cycles. He learned shake after one cycle. Not every breed learns that fast. Intelligence matters.
A notable exception would be a Basenji. Arguably the smartest of the AKC breeds, and arguably the least trainable.
Took my dog to the pet store to pick up some things. He's still not allowed to barge through the doors, especially automatic doors.
Once again, we were at the doors, and he was standing by my side, learning to wait patiently. He was just calming down from his over excitement, and we were just getting ready to take a step in when a lady came out of the store.
She stepped back to let us in, and I waved her on to come out.
At first, I thought this was a person who understood. She said, 'Oh! You're training him!' in a nice voice. I replied with a 'yes'.
She stopped for a second and then, as she began to walk by, said 'That sounds tedious.'
At least she didn't lose her ish like the last lady, but wth with these people thinking training is unnecessary, or too hard, or 'a drag', or 'tedious'?
I'll bet they are the first ones to complain if a dog is not trained well and does something they don't like.
Clara C: Yes, I have had dogs that were "smart", and they were stubborn. They knew what I wanted them to do, but for that reason, they didn't do it. One thought she was definitely smarter than me! Some breeds, due to being bred for a certain purpose, are easier to train.
I have had people butt in about the something I was doing with my dogs in the past, especially those that walk their dogs on 20 ft. leashes, as my "poor" dogs were on traffic leads (about 24") when we were out walking.
Sadly, I have been looking for a dog, and I was thinking "senior", but few of those come up in our area, and those that do are quickly adopted. Most of the dogs are young, between 8 months and 2 years. I keep thinking that if they had worked with the dogs, they were nearly over the "hump" of the puppy years. Leash and crate training go a long way in keeping dogs in the home. I have had people tell me that they thought the dog would "housebreak" itself as it got older.
Beware of those lists of dogs that are whatever they are claiming (smart, obedient, etc.) as I have had some of the breeds, and what they are claiming was not my experience.
At least she didn't lose her ish like the last lady, but wth with these people thinking training is unnecessary, or too hard, or 'a drag', or 'tedious'?
A lot of people seem to want a dog, but they don't seem to want to actually interact wit their dog. it's like they want an animate houseplant with fur.
Others seem to feel that it's cruel to curb a dog's behavior in any way.
Still others seem to think that good behavior comes naturally to dogs, they don't actually have to learn it.
A log of people seem to want a dog, but they don't seem to want to actually interact wit their dog. it's like they want an animate houseplant with fur.
Others seem to feel that it's cruel to curb a dog's behavior in any way.
Still others seem to think that good behavior comes naturally to dogs, they don't actually have to learn it.
I don't understand any of them!
My baseline for dog behaviour is twofold. Firstly, that the dog should not do anything to a person that that person does not want. It's not good enough for a dog to jump up on someone looking for a pat and have the owner say "oh he's just being friendly." Secondly, they must come back when called. No ifs or buts on that, it will probably at some point save the dog's life.
Once that bar is cleared, it's up to the owner to decide what they can tolerate from the dog.
From what I've seen, the people who turn dog training methods into an ideology have dogs that are very poor at clearing that baseline behaviour requirement.
My baseline for dog behaviour is twofold. Firstly, that the dog should not do anything to a person that that person does not want. It's not good enough for a dog to jump up on someone looking for a pat and have the owner say "oh he's just being friendly." Secondly, they must come back when called. No ifs or buts on that, it will probably at some point save the dog's life.
Once that bar is cleared, it's up to the owner to decide what they can tolerate from the dog.
From what I've seen, the people who turn dog training methods into an ideology have dogs that are very poor at clearing that baseline behaviour requirement.
What ideology are they turning it into?
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