Little Dogs
Why is that little dogs cause more problems than big ones? There are 2 weinie dogs that get put in a fenced in are on another set near us and they just bark and raise hell whenever someone walks by. L...
Forum Discussion
toedtoes wrote:
...My point is that while all these things are common sense to us, to many dog owners, they aren't that common sense. Most people with dogs I know have no idea that there are AKC obedience training courses - they only know about the Petsmart puppy class. I know - I grew up in a dog showing family.
This isn't to excuse people from training their dogs, but to suggest that we (the knowledgeable) need to get this type of information out there to the general public.
Rescue groups and breeders need to require dog owners attend quality obedience courses; we need to spell out things like "enough one-on-one time for multiple dogs", etc. We can't just assume everyone knows this stuff.
X2
And that is why it is important WHERE these people get their dogs from. People who show do not just give someone a dog and walk away. They become the new owners mentor and provide them with all the information needed to raise a well adjusted dog.
Buying dogs off the Internet websites whether it be rescues or not most certainly do not offer any help. I think this is the reason why dog problems are so prevalent nowadays.
The ob classes that are held in every town by the local kennel club is NOT and I repeat NOT just for showing dogs.
It is a service that they offer. Yes some who show will show up one day to polish a dog before a show but it is largely attended by 'ordinary', 'average' dog owners from the surrounding towns. I know I train some of the classes and they are newbies BUT when the class is done the 'owners' are very proud and well educated. And wonder why they waited so long to do it.
I will add that the pitfalls of going anywhere else for classes by simply pulling an ad out of a paper or a website ad is that you will have someone who wants to make a few bucks starts a class and knows absolutely nothing about training a dog. Petco/Petsmart included.
Which just compounds a dog owners frustrations. Not to mention what it does to the dog being trained improperly. And they don't know why because they are not able to recognize an uneducated trainer.
That is why I always suggest owners look up the kennel club ob classes. That are run by professionals that know how to train a dog to be confident, obedient and most importantly happy while doing it!
