The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) is
promoting for the second year National Train Your Dog Month.
The number one killer of dogs isn’t cancer or other
diseases, it’s euthanasia in shelters. Most shelters won’t be filled with
adorable eight week old puppies. Nope, they’ll have 9 – 18 month dogs who have either
been turned in by their owners for behavioral issues or found on the streets
because their owners dumped them there because of behavior issues (I have one
of those!).
In recognition of the newly adopted dogs over the holidays
and resolutions being made, January is the perfect time to get started training
your dog. You may be thinking that your dog doesn’t need training; after all,
you’re not competing or showing your dog. Not so fast. Take a look at the photo
below.
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| Katja & Nikita with Santa, 2007 |
Were you able to capture your dogs for that holiday photo in
just a few minutes OR without getting frustrated? At the time this photo was
taken, we only had Katja and Nikita for 5 months. They didn’t start learning
basic signals until we adopted them at the age of 15 months.
A little background on Katja and Nikita
They were found living under a house. Best guess is they
were around nine months at the time. The lady who found them, fostered them and
insisted they be adopted together because of their strong bond with each other.
Fast forward 6 months and here come two suckers (my husband and I) who were
looking to adopt two adult dogs.
From day one, I worked with them on basic signals and a
regular routine. We think they were adopted out at one point and returned. So,
they had gone from who knows where, to the streets, to a home, another home,
back to first home and finally to their forever home. I needed to quickly
establish confidence and security in these two girls. What better way than
teaching them stuff to do on cue in a safe rewarding environment?
Back to Santa Photo Shoot
So, when it came time for Santa pictures, all I had to do
was tell Katja, Down --> Stay; and Nikita, Sit --> Stay. They knew what we wanted because I had been practicing (aka training!) the
cues with them beforehand. We went behind the photographer. He clicked several
pictures. And Bob’s your uncle! We were done in just a few minutes. Happy dogs,
happy us and a very happy photographer!
The same couldn’t be said for the dogs before and after us.
So, I ask again…think you don’t need any dog training?
How
are you going to communicate to your furry companion what he should be doing
(instead of focusing on what he shouldn’t be doing)?
