Why we train our dogs. Well, let me see. At first, I didn’t think it really necessary to train our dog. After all, she was so cute. We loved taking her for walks and listen to people’s comments. But if she got off the leash, she was a lot faster than we were and could dodge better too! She quickly discovered squirrels would run and it was so much fun to chase them. When people came to our house, she wanted to sniff their faces. A dog jumping up on you when you enter a house is one thing (not good), but when the dog is big enough to look you in the eye when it puts its paws on your shoulder, it’s frightening. Then there’s the chewing. Best to put those real expensive shoes somewhere where the dog can’t get to them and under the bed isn’t it. Don’t leave your panties out anywhere either. Nice carpet? Oh, it was - before you got the puppy. Did you know that some puppies love to roll around and dig in the cold ashes from your fireplace? They do, oh, they do! Gee, that was a real nice garden, at one time. You used to complain that the neighborhood cats like to use it as their favorite litter area, now your dog likes to dig and lie in it. Somehow that doesn’t work for you. Is your dog barking? At what? How many little yellow slips did the animal control guy leave on your door - this week? We used to get lots.
Here’s the thing. What is cute as a puppy is destructive as a dog - no matter the size of dog. Everything mentioned above can be fixed simply by training your dog. As early as possible. The old saying about not being able to train an old dog is cute. It’s also not true. Dogs don’t quit learning at a certain age, it just takes a little more time and patience. When it comes to your stuff, complaints from your neighbors and giving your dog away, or sadly, having it put down, patience can go a long ways.
You don’t have to have a pricey one-on-one dog trainer, or go to a class that is very inconvenient and possibly not effective. There are lots of books, ebooks, videos, and other material out there. How ever you do it - TRAIN YOUR DOG! Or don’t get one.
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