What level of training does your dog have? (basic obedience, advanced obedience, property protection, personal protection on a family or executive level, sentry dog, tracking, naurcotics) Who did the training? How far would you be willing to take the training or how much further would you want to go? When you bought your dog, what was your intention for him/her? (companion, family dog, personal protection dog, property protection, service dog) Tell me your stories. I want to know what your opinions on the training you received.
I bought Zoey, my lab for just a companion. I soon relizied that she could be MUCH more. Much more. So I began teaching her basic obed. commands. She learned them all and is now advanced. Seeing how well she was doing, I taught her shake by the way, I began entering her in obedience contest. She began winning. After about 10 shows I decided to stop. Oneday I get home to see she is fecthing balls for my neice’s.
I began teaching her the proper way to fecth and then I found her love for water. You know those contest where you throw a ball in the water and the dog get’s it? She loved it and began winning. Comming in 2nd in her first contest. I had never been prouder. But I soon found out that it was alot of work for both me and Zoey and though she enjoyed it I stopped. She was young, a rough age of 2 or three years old and had already been called a true champion. She is 4 now, but we still work with her in obed. water works, fecthing, things like that. I showed her in our local festible and she won to my suprise since she is not well manered in the show ring. I considered showing her but now she is just a “Gaurd Dog,” I spayed her so I can’t countinue her bloodlines but I have enough trophies to last me the rest of my life for her. We work hard to keep her in shape and keep those commands in her head. But she may seem well mannered but she is still our goofy little Zoey 🙂 Oh, bye the way I trained her my self.
My other dog, now I can’t let Zoey have all the glory is trained for search/rescue. Zeus, Zoey’s brother is a yellow lab and I trained him to find people. We started when he was a puppy. He is trained to find people lost in storms, and most of the time snow storms. He also was shipped to help sniff out people in other places. Including New York, and Mima. He has retired. He is older than ZOey and is 14. He has won over 16 awards for bravery and has found so many people I can’t keep cound :). He is just a house dog know, and a great friend 🙂
I purchased my Border Collie as a companion dog, he is much beyond the advanced obedience training stage, however, he isn’t much into herding (strange?). He is a great dog, and alittle protective of his environment. As far as the training, in the begining when he was 4 mos. I had a private trainer come to my home, and then I worked with him from their.
I bought my 2 Maltese puppies (3months old now) for companionship and they have me in the advanced training mode. I sit, heel, stay, and roll over on command.
I’ve been training and handling my own dogs for over 15 years and won’t let anyone else train them. In fact, I often have to teach my friends how to handle my dog because the dog knows more about proper handling than they do. 😀 Most of the “trainers” that I have met fall into one of two categories: 1) The Clueless Coddler or, 2) The Testorerone-Poisoned Idiot.
The Coddlers use treats as training aids, don’t use a slip choker collar properly (if at all), and try to “reason” with the dog. Whatever. Try that crap in an AKC ring and see how long it takes before you are laughed back out.
The Idiots are the ones who are all pumped up about how big, bad, tough, mean, etc. that their dog is. These are the people who teach “personal protection” by backing the owner and the dog into a corner and then making lots of noise. Guess what? If you stick a RABBIT into a corner and threaten it, it will attack. Duh. They are also the people who use a German choker (pinch choker) on a short haired dog like a doberman. Again, duh.
My current dog is an English Springer Spaniel who was evacuated from the gulf coast during Katrina. He came with NO training whatsoever other than a few “tricks” like shake, which is useless but cute. I’ve trained him to what you would consider “advanced obedience”, but to me it’s just the bare essentials. He’s as devoted a companion as I have ever seen; I can’t go anywhere in the house without him being right beside me. He lets us know when there is something wrong, but generally stays pretty quiet. If the situation changes and I feel that he needs to be trained up to do more, then we will go back “on the trail”.
I have, in the past, competed in AKC trials (never lost a leg :D) and done area/personal protection training with my beloved rotties. I used to be the head of training at a security firm which used dogs on post. 9 times out of 10 just having a dog making a LOT of noise and looking scary at the appropriate time is all you need to handle a situation.
Training a dog to “attack on command”, is like hanging a sign around your neck saying “SUE ME! I’m too stupid to have anything in life!” Training your dog to make LOTS of noise and look scary but NOT bite requires a whole lot more work, but it will keep you from going to the poorhouse or to jail.
I got my English Mastiff as a conpainon mostly, but he’s a natural guard dog, so he needs no training for that whatsoever. I trained him myself thusfar as far as sit, come…not charging after other people or animals. I would like to get a professional to help with habbits I am haveing a hard time with, such as him jumping on the bed, constantly walking in my way and being hyper. But He’s only 6 months right now, so it’s normal for him to want attention and play
My (AKC conformation Champion) Boxer dog has completed a basic obedience class. My sister, on the other hand, is a member of an obedience club & has her Labrador Retriever in on-going classes & has tried agility, also. She has competed a little, no titles as of yet. But they are having fun & enjoying the ‘bonding’ time.
I know of someone who has several Boxers from the breeder mine is from that have agility & obedience titles. I think my dog has the ability, but I don’t have the time or the knees to do it. Sigh. But, he is my buddy, walking companion, fierce-looking but lovable ‘protector’, etc.
both of my dogs are obedience trained…i trained them myself. i’ve never paid for a dog in my entire life…i always end up with a stray, or someone gives me a puppy. i’ve never been without at least one dog. and i’ve had as many as 10 dogs when i was still living in the wilderness on the rez.
my dogs are pretty well trained. if they bark too much, i tell them, “no barking,” and they stop. they’re protective while on the property. but they both love people and LOVE attention from people. the mail lady, ups man, and pg&e man all bring them treats whenever they come to the house.
they pick almonds and walnuts, by jumping up and pulling them off the trees…it’s hillarious to watch.
maggie is an anatolian shepard and is 65 lbs. chloe is 1/2 blk lab, 1/2 blk chow. she is small…only 24 lbs, and was born with a nubby tail. she is def. the alpha of all the 6 dogs on the ranch, even though she’s the smallest. lol. my landords call her “little bit.”
My Italian Greyhound has some basic training-not come or heel. I’m hoping to give her some agility training. We originally were looking for a companion dog, but I think we’re going to show her now.
My dog I guess has advanced obedience training, but I did the training myself. I would be willing teach my dog to attack on command. When I adopted my dog it was my intention for her to be my companion and exercise partner. Right now I am focused on beefing her up. I buy the best food, and I take her running, skating, and biking. I also give her plenty of play with other dogs (particularly the ones much bigger than her). In one year of having her I have taken her from 30lbs to 55lbs in weight, and she is very lean. I have also successfully trained her to come, sit,lay,and stay with hand signs or a snap. She knows really one trick right now, but I hope to broaden that within time. As read above I have also trained her to behave on while running beside me on my bike or skates. My dog is a beautiful pit bull mix.
I have two dogs who are trained for search and rescue; a Bloodhound and a Black Lab/Golden Retriever. The Bloodhound tracks specific people, and the retriever is trained to find human remains and people who are lost/trapped. I trained them both myself working with a voluntary search and rescue group.
My retriever was a present from my old roommates when my last dog got run over, and they got her from the humane society. I had just planned on her being a pet or a bird dog, but she is very smart and loves to work. I took my Bloodhound in two weeks later, she was in the pound my old dog had come from, and I missed having a hound. I just planned on her being a pet too, but we met another Bloodhound owner whose dog was trained to track, and now meet with him to train.
I’d like to train my retriever to find human remains in water too, as she is a keen swimmer, and perhaps to be a hunting dog for my boyfriend.