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Does he need obedience training?

  • 01-05-2011 9:23am
    #1
    Penname
    Registered Users Posts: 219 ✭✭


    He's a one year old terrier x from a shelter and we got him yesterday. He's actually quite a good dog so far: crate trained, seems to be house trained and will sit etc. However, he's a lead puller and I want him to learn to heel as I feel its important in establishing the heirarchy in the house. ie, I'm taking him for a walk, not vice versa.

    Also, as we have cats, we chose him because he didn't seem too bothered by the cats that were hanging around the shelter. However, he keeps chasing our cats around and they are freaked.

    Would obedience training be a good idea, or even someone to come to the house to teach us? If so, any recommendations? Kildare area.


Comments

  • #2
    boomerang
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    You can teach him to walk without pulling for your own comfort and his, but he's not going to pair the two concepts of heeling, and being down the pecking order in your house. That's just cobblers, I'm afraid. He pulls because it gets him places faster, because we all have a natural response to pull against a restraint, and because he hasn't been shown how to walk on a lead without pulling. (Walking beside your heel is not a natural behaviour for dogs.)

    Bit of a trip for you but I think Dog Training Ireland in Blanchardstown have a "Help! My Dog Pulls!" class that you can attend once a week for six weeks.

    Also I think the Kildare Animal Foundation run obedience classes.

    If you're going to obedience classes, they should be fun, family friendly and use positive methods (you'll be told on the phone to bring treats or a favourite toy.) Run a mile from anyone who wants to put a choke collar/slip collar on your dog and corrects it for pulling by yanking its neck.

    Re: the cats - best thing to do here is not give him the opportunity to chase them, as it very quickly becomes habit! Keep him on lead around the cats for now, and reward him for sitting and being calm around them. Make sure if he and the cats are in the same room, that the cats have somewhere they can escape to out of his reach. He may have seen cats in the shelter, but unless they were moving/running it wouldn't have provoked him to chase.


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