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WHY SHOULD I TRAIN MY DOG?
Quite a few people have asked why they should train their dogs. Their parents never took the family dog to school, why should they?
My belief is that every dog deserves the kind of training that will make him an acceptable part of your community. It becomes more and more necessary because of the anti dog movement gaining momentum in society today.
Obedience training creates a line of communication between you and your pet unlike anything you've experienced before. A competent instructor provides insight into how a dog thinks and reacts, and can teach you how to work with your dog in a way he can understand, and actually enjoy.
HOW DO I GET INTO THIS TRAINING STUFF?
There are several possibilities. First you may be one of the lucky few who can communicate mind and soul with your dog. Those folks are far and few between, and I am a little suspicious that there is still a little physical training going on behind the scenes in adition to the "esp".
Then there are books and tapes. Most are well meaning. Many are well written. But, if you're like me, you need lots of visual aids, and someone to ask questions of. That's the biggest problem with even the best written books. If you aren't on the same wavelength as the author and have no opportunity to ask questions, you won't get the full benefit of the material.
My personal choice from the time I trained my first dog back in 1976 is a class setting. Not that I got it right the first time. I was the victim of the same misconceptions that exist today. I assumed (wrongly) that the facility had to be licenced. Worse, I assumed that the instructors had formal training and the credentials to back it up. I discovered later that the only requirement was that you had to have trained your dog, joined the club amd asked to be an instructor and .
While still attending classes at this school, I came across an ad in the paper that you could train your dog with "college trained instructors." I was intrigued to say the least. A phone call to the listed number provided me with the missing facts. There was no regulation whatsoever as to whom could hang out a "Dog Obedience Instructor" shingle, but the owner of this school felt more than just training your own dog was required for you to become what was actually not a professional trainer of dogs, but a professional trainer of people who wanted to train their dogs!
That's right, her premise was "sure, now you can train a dog, but can you train a person to train a dog?"
I was hooked! I immediately signed up not only my dog at her school, but myself at the local college where this same farsighted woman, Olive Point, taught the "Instructor Training for Dog Obedience" course.
I must admit, that at the time it was the only course of it's kind in this country, and after a while a few other colleges offered similar courses, but I have no idea as to whether these classes are being taught anywhere today.
Now, all that said, let's get back to you and your dog. How do you find a competent instructor? Actually, it isn't too hard to ferret them out. First, go and observe a class. If you feel comfortable with the methods and the atmosphere, hang around and ask questions after class. If you are refused the opportunity to observe a class, or discouraged from asking questions, run, don't walk in the opposite direction. Don't believe either that the first class you come across offers the only teaching methods around. If you don't like what you see, go elsewhere and look again.
Be mindful of the size of the class. Eight to ten is all I would recommend if there is only one instructor. The class can be somewhat larger if there are assistants
Is the group organized, or wandering aimlessly about the floor?
Do the students appear to be able to follow the instruction and carry out what they were told to do?
If a student is unable to carry out an instruction is he actually shown what to do, or does the instructor merely take the dog, "make" him do it and hand the dog back with "here, that's how you do it."
Is a written summary of the class given out at the end of the class? In the first school I attended, there was not. When I left each class, my head was spinning and I was lucky to remember the dog's name, much less what we'd done and how to do it.
Now, the most important thing to remember is that even with the best instructor in the world, you will get out of the class only what you put into it. Unless the instructor is going to take your dog home and train it for you, guess who is going to do the training? You are, of course. That's why there can be no guarantee. I can give detailed visual instruction and send home detailed written instruction, but if the student goes home, puts the dog into the run, or in the yard, or even keeps him in the house, unless there is follow up, there is no learning!
Class time is for the handler, home practice is for the dog. If you don't understand the instruction, call the instructor. If you are not permitted to do this, your school doesn't have much of a comittment to the classes.
Persistance and consistancy are the key words to training. Do it the same way each time and do it lots of times. That will help your dog to learn. Keep yours sense of humor and patience.
Just picture yoursef in a strange place where no one speaks your language. Imagine being kept from restrooms till you have an accident then being physically punished for it. Imagine a person walking into the room and pointing to a chair, and once you have sat in it, smacking you with a slipper, and only after making many mistakes and being punished over and over do you finally deduce that pointing to the chair meant you were to pick it up and carry it! Well, your dog starts out in that miserable world, you can make it wonderful or even more miserable. It's up to you.
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