PUPPY OR ADULT DOG?
If you are thinking about becoming a pet parent and you aren't sure if you should get a puppy or an adult dog, here are some considerations:
Adult dogs are calmer than puppies, they are full grown and their coat has grown in (no surprises), they are less likely to chew, they can "hold it" for a couple of hours, they require less exercise than a puppy - but they still need some, they require less training that a puppy, they generally enjoy sitting still for hours of human attention, their personality won't change much, they will probably come with a few good habits and a few bad habits, they will love you even if you aren't their original owner.
Puppies chew, dig, whine, need to go out every hour, have accidents in the house as part of the learning process, nip playfully (but it hurts!), need several hours of exercise a day, need a year of training (professional is better), they need three veterinary visits in their first year for vaccines and to be spayed/neutered - puppies cost a lot of money, they don't usually like to sit still for more than three seconds unless they are asleep, they will grow up with a couple of good habits and a couple of bad habits no matter how well you raise them and of course they will love you for the rest of their lives.
I am a sucker for puppies, but I see so many mismatches that could have been prevented. Puppies don't generally thrive in an environment with children under the age of four - the nipping, the food stealing and constant attention they need is generally too overwhelming for parents with young children. Likewise, puppies don't usually do great with very elderly people, their exercise requirements and nipping behaviours can be very difficult to deal with. a very busy family has a hard time letting a puppy outside enough and being consistent with house training. An adult dog (over a year old) is a better option for many households. In fact as one of my clients once told me "dogs are perfect when they are around five years old", I have to agree.
Shannon Spooner
Shannoncourt Family Dog Training
Certified Canine Specialist
www.shannoncourtdogtraining.com
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DOES YOUR DOG JUMP ON PEOPLE?
Fred is a big black mixed breed dog, he's hairy, he's young and he greets me with the force of a Mac truck. He takes a running leap toward me and slams his two paws into me while craftily slopping a big wet kiss on my face. As I stumble backward I ask his owners, "Is this how he greets everyone?" They are quick to reply that Fred does not know his place, he is out of control and they just don't know if they can keep him. I assure them that Fred is trainable and proceed to give them a demo. I go out the door and come back in with treats. Fred sees me and starts racing in my direction, eyes wide, tongue ready. I hold a treat in my hand down low, near his nose. He is ready to leap when his nose starts to wiggle. He stops dead in his tracks and I ask him to sit. He does, "Good Fred," I throw the treat to him. I repeat the lesson and he makes a booboo. he doesn't smell the treats and he plows into me. I quickly turn arond and leave the room. He is insulted and confused. On the third try Fred sits right away upon my arriva, he won't chance having me (along with the treats I'm holding) leave again. We repeat this another ten times. Fred greets me by sitting politely every time.
Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not jump up on people because they are dominant. Dogs jump to greet people because they have not been taught alternate behaviour and jumping comes naturally.
Fred is a big dog with a big personality. His owners followed my advise, they continued training him and also exercised him more. Fred is now a well behaved dog that is a joy to be around, he knows all of his basic manners. In addition to basic training, he has learned ti navigate an agility course and he's a superstar at jumping the jumps!
Shannon Spooner
Shannoncourt Family Dog Training
Certified Canine Specialist
www.shannoncourtdogtraining.com
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THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT QUICK FIXES IN DOG TRAINING
They are on the shelves at your local department stores. People buy them because they want a well trained dog, fast. I am referring to remote shock collars.
Using a shock collar to train your dog has many draw backs. They are gaining popularity and have the illusion of creating a quick fix for your dog's training problems, but don't be fooled, the cons far outweigh the pros. Remote shock collars were designed for professional use. They were designed to touch up a dog's behaviour that already had at least a year or two of professional training. When used by a well trained professional they are only needed a couple of times. Used in this manner, they are an effective learning tool. Having said that, many professionals are staying away from shock collars because of the dangerous side effects and because they have other training tools that work just as well that don't involve any unpleasant feeling to the dog.
Using a shock collar once or twice on a professionally trained dog to reinforce a well known behaviour is one thing. Using a shock collar on an untrained dog or worse an untrained puppy is a disaster waiting to happen. Dogs associate the unpleasant feeling (the shock) with anything that is happening at the moment. Example: your dog runs up to a child on a bike and you press the remote, thinking it will stop your dog from chasing bikes, but there is a good chance that your dog associates that child on the bike with the feeling of the shock and from that point forward may become aggressive and fearful toward children.
The skill that it takes to use a shock collar with proper timing and undertstanding of how dogs learn is far beyond most average dog owner's capability and to be honest it is beyond most professional trainer's abilities. Most people assume that their dog understands when they are doing something wrong and feel that using a shock collar is justified. As a professional trainer I can tell you that a lot of dogs are very confused when they are punished by their owners, because a lot of owners have no clue how dogs learn. With so many ways to train man's best friend, a shock collar should not even have a place on the list. If your dog or puppy is displaying inappropriate behaviours, be fair, teach him/her with patience, understanding and professional guidance.
Shannon Spooner
Shannoncourt Family Dog Training
Certified Canine Specialist
www.shannoncourtdogtraining.com
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CANINE KING OF THE CASTLE
Whoosh, Billy dives past me. He is being chased by three other athletic dogs...and they aren't slowing down. Billy is a pit bull who comes to doggie daycare regularly, he knows all the ins and outs of our play yards and can easily fool a newcomer. The 6400 square ft. "side play yard" is where this game is taking place. It consists of a cedar log tree house made just for dogs and five backhoe tires strategically placed and dug into the ground, standing up on end, all of this is surrounded by eight foot fencing. Billy does a couple of laps around the park with the newcomers on his heels. I would bet money that Billy is laughing as he launches himself up the ramp to the top of the treehouse. It is as if he knows it is their first day here. The game shifts, the newcomers had no idea they could climb that thing. Billy stares down at them, catching his breath, he takes a moment to enjoy the confused look on his playmates faces, suckers. One by one the whole group races up the doggie treehouse. Now that the others know how to get up the treehouse, Billy will have to lose them another way, that is the point of the game. He turns around and speeds down the steps of the treehouse. He heads towards a perpendicular tire and shoots through the center, the newcomers right behind. His next move is the game winner. He soars to another tire and jumps right on top of it. All of the newcomers bark and run around him completely amazed. In that moment, Billy is the king of the castle and everybody knows it. When he tires of being the king, the whole game will begin again with a new leader.
Billy isn't the only dog to play this game, in fact we see it in every playgroup, from border collies to beagles. It turns out, dogs love to be up high. We do, however, take precautions to make sure that the dogs jump off from a safe height by placing fencing along the ramp and back down the steps of our treehouse.
Interestingly we have observed that dogs not only like to play up high, they also prefer to sleep on an elevated surface. We offer the dogs in our pet hotel an elevated bed and eighty percent of them use it. Dogs just like to be off the ground a lot more than we realized and they love to play king of the castle!
Shannon Spooner
Shannoncourt Family Dog Training
Certified Canine Specialist
www.shannoncourtdogtraining.com
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