Training your own dog!!!

gypsygirl

Why in the last couple of years do people suddenly need DOG TRAINERS???? FFS. TRAIN YOUR OWN BLOODY DOGS.
Dogs are like kids, they need to learn from their owners/parents.
In my family we've always trained our own dogs, We've had Gun dogs that were also excellent family dogs while still guarding the home. I only ever sent one of my dogs to be trained by a "Professional Dog Trainer" and the poor lad came back with his spirit broken, I'd Never let anyone else train My dog again!!!
Its like getting a nanny for your child. Dogs respond best to the person who trains them, training your dog teaches them to respect you and also the training process builds a fantastic bond between you and your dog and its so rewarding too.
My 12 yr old Shepherd/Doberman Molly will sit on the other side of a busy road from me until I tell her to come to me, no "Trainer" could teach her that for me, my 7 month old Rottie Ella will lay down even if theres a strange dog in her path, its all basic training folks, WHY DO YOU NEED TRAINERS FOR YOUR DOGS????

star-pants

Some people don't know how to train their dogs - and need the help of someone who does. It's a bit unfair to brush all dog trainers with the same brush just because you had a bad experience.
People bring their dogs to classes - whereby both they and the dogs learn, people get a trainer to come into their house to show them where they're going wrong and thus both the dog and owner learn. What's wrong with that?

tk123

gypsygirl wrote: »

In my family we've always trained our own dogs

There's your answer there then - you have the experience needed. Some of us never had a dog before so why wouldn't we go to classes etc to learn how to train our dogs!?

andreac

Sorry but not everyone has the experience and expertise to train their dogs so need some professional guidance.

Some people think they know best and even come on here and say how to house train their dogs by sticking their noses in it, would you recommend those people train their dogs?? i very much doubt it.

So yes, some people need trainers and guidance.

I would never send my dog away to be trained, i would always be with the dog as its as much training the handler as the dog and you need to work with your dog to train him/her.

Whispered

You sent your dog off to be trained. Most people wouldn't send their dog off to be trained. Most people know that training starts with the owner and unless it's for a very serious problem, a trainer usually works on what you are doing wrong as opposed to what the dog is doing wrong. Sending your dog off for basic training is a terrible idea in most cases. So why come on here telling everyone who has ever used to advice of a trainer that they are wrong, insuniate they are terrible owners for a mistake you made with your dog?

Would you prefer people to deal with problems in an incorrect way, or get rid of a dog because a problem arose which they couldn't deal with?

I'd imagine you wont be looking for advice considering you are such an expert? If I ever need training tips or advice I'll be sure to come to you first. :rolleyes:

gypsygirl

People have kids and don't seek professional advice on how to rear them, (Parents use their intuition,) yet the same people get a pup and get professionals in to train them, all I'm saying is "Use common sense". Rearing a pup is pretty much like rearing a child, you've got to teach them yourself.
I wouldn't have a child and expect family or friends to rear it for me. I understand that not everyone has lots of experience with dogs, but I still recommend training them yourself.

Hogzy

I think people who get a trainer are very considerate owners who know the risks of an untrained dog.

Id rather see a trainer go into someones house to show people how to train and control their dogs rather than that owner not having a clue how to deal with the dog which would probably lead to the dog being terminated...

fatmammycat

We're being condesecnding about people who care enough about their animals to train them now? Whatever, I'd rather an owner who was prepared to learn how to train their animal than one who did not. A well trained dog is a pleasure for everyone and it's a shame more people don't realise that.

EDIT, also GypsyGirl aren't you the person who thought white german shepherds were of lesser intelligence? I would question your expertise on animal training based on that whopper alone.

star-pants

Yes a pup is like a child, and whilst I agree that dogs are very intelligent they don't work the same as children, as they (children) get older they grow more independent/self aware. (some dogs do grow more independent etc, but not to this extent)
Not all dogs are street savvy or know how to behave around other dogs, you can't just sit the dog down and explain that they can't run out into the road because it's dangerous and they might get hurt, or that it's rude to bark at / go for other dogs. You have to train them, and if you've never had a dog or never been around one you may not know how to do this.

People grow up in families, have relations / cousins / next door neighbours etc, and we have paternal instincts which help us at certain points in life. For people who've never grown up with a dog, never hung around with a neighbours dog, they won't know automatically how to handle/train one.

People get help when rearing children - are they wrong to do so? No, it's never a bad thing to get help. New parents may seek advice from their parents or friends who've had kids, nothing wrong with that.
It's the same with dogs, someone who's never had a dog - they get a pup - how do you train it? not the same as training a baby, babies are extremely dependent in their first year, pups 'potty' training happens from the moment you get the pup.

Some people *Do* get 'trainers' in to help them with their children - ever watched that SuperNanny show? some parents just don't know how, and let their children get to the point where they do what they like.
This can happen with dogs, if people don't know how to train them correctly they can end up ruling the house and so forth. And if you get a dog (that had a previous owner) you've no idea what way they were trained/treated and you have to try and undo any damage/wrong teaching that was done, not always easy to do.

The best way forward for anyone is to learn, and reading up on books doesn't always mean you'll be the best at being able to train your dog, seeing it in practise works better. That's why people get trainers in, to show them how to do it right, and so they can take the lessons they've learned and put them into action, and teach their own dog.

I've trained my own dogs, they could do with better training granted, but it's difficult in a full house where everyone acts differently with them. Would I get a trainer into the house? Yes if there was an issue that I couldn't fix, that was becoming a problem. And I don't think there's anything whatsoever wrong with seeking help.

Magenta

I don't mind people who get help to train their dogs, it's better than leaving them untrained and doing what they like. Or worse, bringing them to the pound.
I have far more of a problem with the "oohh I bought a Labrador but it got too big" brigade, followed closely by the "ooh i'm having a baby, bye bye doggy!" set.

Whispered

star-pants wrote: »

. Would I get a trainer into the house? Yes if there was an issue that I couldn't fix, that was becoming a problem. And I don't think there's anything whatsoever wrong with seeking help.

This is very true. I grew up with dogs, but they were outdoor hunting dogs and had other dogs to learn from. I had no idea how to teach a dog to live with cats, beyond what would have been suggested from more old school owners. That of "give him a kick and he wont do it again". I wanted my dog to live with the cats, not be terrified to look at them.

Unlike Gypsygirl, I didn't ship him off to be trained. We got someone to come here and it worked perfectly. We could see what the trainer was doing, and the trainer then got us to do it and told us what we were doing wrong.

Besides this, we trained him ourselves, he's bouncy and excited and sometimes ignores us, but he's slowly growing out of it. And we had great fun last night showing his tricks off to the family in law. He's a real little show off.

Also as magenta said, people should be encouraging others to get trainers if they feel the need. Condescening attitudes like yours could cause people to get rid of a dog sooner than get help with it.



Why would your dog be off lead next to a busy road?

My 12 yr old Shepherd/Doberman Molly will sit on the other side of a busy road from me until I tell her to come to me

Thats not a very good idea, no matter how well trained you think your dog is, it would take something to pique its interests or give it a scare and all the training in the world wont stop the dog being killed should it dart across the road for some reason.

I think your attitude towards responsible owers is terrible tbh. Maybe you're not the best person to be giving unasked for dog ownership advice?

AbigailE

Simple reply ..
Some people feel they need help to train their dogs while others are confident enough to try on their own

As for you though, leaving your dog off lead is not being a good owner IMO. It doesnt matter how well you think they are trained it only takes one time for them to go out on the road and get knocked down , or kill someones cat, bite someone etc etc etc

Green Hornet

I assume some of this is in response to my open thread asking for a dog trainers contact number?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055779240t

In my case, the dog lives with my folks and is fantastic 99% of the time (although a bit boisterous as all Boxers are!). They live in the country and essentially have always had sheepdogs until recently.

Unfortunately this dog is very strong willed and protective and they do not have the expertise to train her properly. She follows a few commands and loves kids etc normally but they need a little help to train her properly.

I dont see anything wrong with getting a little help doing that. If we are willing to pay a few quid to train her whats the big problem? The folks at home benefit and the dog benefits too.

If you want to train your own dog thats even better of course but not everybody is able to do it and some need a little hand .

Sigma Force

Before anyone gets a dog I agree that people should know the basics of dog training and puppy toilet training etc. same as they should do their research when getting any pet.

However one joe soaps way of training can differ from another, some people still think it's ok to stick a dogs nose in their own wee, slap a dog on the nose etc. that's not how to train a dog.

Sadly there are some very dodgy trainers out there and some who are almost ok but then some of their methods are very harsh.

There are however some excellent ones, and although I know my dogs and have had dogs and puppies before I used a trainer for out most recent pup and because every pup and dog is different taking the dog to a trainer was the best thing I did. Our last pup was very different, not too much trouble with toilet training, wasn't a chewer or nipper but this little guy was so it helped hugely.

There's another side to taking your dog training and that is the socialisation part, not everyone can meet up with other dogs, some people have to walk their dogs at odd hours so may not come across many dog owners and some dog owners won't allow your dog to even greet theirs.

So training classes are a great way to have dog socialising with dogs of all shapes and sizes.

Sending a dog away to be trained is a huge no no.

I know of plenty of people who train their own dogs ie gun dogs but they don't know the first thing about dog behaviour, not saying that the OP doesn't I'm just saying I know people who train their dogs to do certain things but haven't the first clue about basic dog behaviour.

lrushe

I've had dogs for 22 years and trained every one myself but when I got my Rottie pup 3 and half months ago I brought her to classes. I brought her because I wanted her to be exceptionally well socialised (mostly because of people's misconceptions of the breed) plus I'd never had the breed before but I knew they could be strong willed when training. Before I brought her to the classes I would have said I knew pretty much all there was to know about training dogs, my dad had his own security business when I was growing up and trained dogs for this purpose so I was always around well trained dogs however some of the tips and guidance I got in the classes were brilliant. Having someone elses insight spotting where you were going wrong or mistakes you were making was great. Could I have trained my dog alone? Yes of course I could, but this way she was trained in half the time and I've picked up great information that I can use in the future, there's no way I'd put anyone down for seeking help, at the end of the day no one knows everything about everything we can all stand to learn something new, I know I certainly did.