I almost missed this today… thank you to all my Tribemates participating. As I really didn’t know what this was.
My passion is training dogs. I happen to live in a county that has the highest euthanasia rate in California. Yes this is very sad. When you go into our shelter what do you see? Black & Yellow Labs and Pitbulls under the age of 2 years. I don’t blame this occurance on the fact that the economy is still recovering from whatever happened, I blame it on a lack of or unwillingness for new pet owners to train their dogs. Yes, I blame it all on the owners.
But where do you start?
Did you know that a critical time in a puppies life is between 12-18 weeks? This is a period of time where socialization is so important with other dogs. I highly suggest finding a puppy class that is taught off-leash, these are more of puppy socialization classes, but they can lay important foundations down for the future that are sized and aged appropriately for your pup. If you happen to be worried about diseases (parvo, etc) be sure when you find a trainer you ask about the disinfection protocol they have at their facility. I do not recommend a big box retailer for these types of puppy classes. Do not use dog parks as a socialization training ground!!!
But I don’t have a puppy anymore!!
That is okay, it’s never to late. If your dog or puppy is well socialized join a basic manners class. Did you know most SPCA facilities have free or low-cost classes? Make sure that the class you participate in a positive reinforcement only class, there should never be a reason for a leash correction (instilling fear) or force (forcing a sit with your hand) to be used. Think Victoria Stilwell!!
Its never too late to start training your dog!! It creates trust, love and bond that can never be broken.
Fantastic post and a good reminder about the importance of training. Thanks for joining us to Blog the Change!
A.J.
Team BtC4A
Pup Fan recently posted…Teach your dog to wine
Thank you soo much!! Sorry I missed the linky, was a little after 9pm PST for me!! Oppss 🙂
Thank you! I share the same passion and am using my time trying to solve the problem of so many untrained dogs and frustrated owners. I appreciate this post!
BoingyDog recently posted…Pittsburgh’s Historic Ruling Against Dog Fighter
Thanks.. I wish more people would train their dogs. It’s very sad that they blame the dog because they can’t “control” them or that they have become “destructive” and will turn them in, when it is a very simple solution. Get off your lazy but and train your dog as you would teach your children.
Great post and excellent point! The excuses many people give when depositing their young dog at the shelter could be addressed by TRAINING!
Sue at Talking Dogs recently posted…Adopt Sally, a Senior Australian Cattle Dog | Tuesday Tails
So very true Sue. It would be great if some of the SPCA’s could create an incentive/training program for the dogs to stay in the home with some simple training.