Dog Training Choices-10 Considerations

In dog training, there is no one size fits all.   How you go about training your dog should be based on many factors and judgements.   Here are just a few things to think about:

1. Your dog's general temperament which will encompass many things.   Think of whether you have learned that your dog is fearful, confident, shy, bold, friendly, leery, reactive, mellow, and so on.   Think of the specific situations (or general situations) you may see these things play out.
2. Do you or your dog have any food allergies or other allergies that may interfere with some forms of training?
3. Is your dog pretty easy in most everyday situations or are there some situations that are cause for concern?
4. How old is your dog or puppy?   Puppy training is almost always much different than training a more mature adult dog.
5. How healthy is your dog?  Do they have any physical disabilities or problems that may interfere with some methods of training?
6. How healthy are you, the dog owner?   Do you have any physical disabilities or other problems that may interfere with some methods of training?
7. What are your goals with your dog?  Think of such things like if you want an obedient companion, a sports dog (obedience, agility, protection sports), an outdoor adventure companion, a companion your whole family can enjoy, stopping your dog from aggression issues, and so on.
8. Are your goals with your dog realistic as far as matching their temperament or where they are today?  In other words, are there things that need to be done first? 
9. Think about budget, but also realize that you get what you pay for.   It may be more to your advantage to really invest in your dog training if you have the money or the need to get something under control.  Or maybe, you just really want to understand a lot about training going forward.
10. What kind of time can you really invest in the training?   It may be easier on you to have a trainer start your dog off first, and then train the dog owner later, depending on the situation.

Analyzing these things before starting to pick out a training program can really help you whittle down your choices and options.   Every dog and owner team is different and has different needs and lifestyles.  While some dog training may be similar somewhat across the board, generally there are tweaks and accommodations for the different needs of the individual team.   There may be one trainer that can customize their training to your needs, or there may be a trainer who trains in a special niche that speaks to you and your needs.

What are the answers to the above items for you and your dog?   In order to get the best training for your team, it takes more work than just selecting the dog trainer closest to you that is the cheapest.   Remember, this is going to be your cherished canine companion for the rest of their lives.   Invest in making that the most enjoyable and fulfilling relationship for the both of you that it can be.

Mannerly Mutts is a dog training company in York Maine.   Call or e-mail us with your dog training needs.

  

Shana's First Snow Day!

 Do you need dog training help?   Feel free to sign up for our monthly news letter and resources page.   We also have a form for an appointment.   Or simply call us at 207-361-4395.

Okay, officially Shana saw snow falling a few days ago at 1 AM in the morning.   She did not want to step in the strange white stuff at first, and then thankfully went about her business.   We were both pretty groggy, and I was not about to go and run for my camera.

Then today's snow came!  This start off with exclamations of surprise at the front window in the family/dog room.  

Then Shana hurriedly went to investigate the rest of the windows.   She found this was going on everywhere!

I figured this was a great time to snap some shots of her outside in her first play session in the snow with her Golden Retriever buddy, Odin.

And a good time was had by all:)   THE END

Turkeys in the yard, just one of the things dogs here are regularly trained around

Just one example of the wildlife that we regularly have around us while training dogs.   You can never predict when they may walk through, so you always want to be prepared.   At this point, most of the dogs here just ignore them LOL.

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Spencer Pyrenes X Old Training Footage of Day 2 and 3 Electronic Collar

This was taken in the beginning of December 2011.   Where is Spencer now?   Enjoying a full life with his family, not attacking dogs that come near his family, and being able to enjoy expanded and freedom due to this:)


It is important to train dogs in different areas.  This is why Day 2 is on the beach, and day 3 is in the woods off lead with other dogs.  The beach was a particularly calm day with no one else around, so it was a bit easier for Spencer.   The woods was full of new smells and friends, so it's not that it was really harder for Spencer so much as his adrenaline levels were elevated so he did not feel what was the working stim the day before.   When the dogs do feel it, they are usually trying to figure out what kind of bug is on them at first that is pestering them LOL.   Sometimes being in a different environment makes generalizing harder for a dog as well.  

Someday I am going to go on a walk with Spencer and family and show you all the finished product.   However, I do like to keep the beginning steps visible for clients and the interested parties.   So many times if you are showing the finished product, or training with an already trained dog as an example, a future dog trainer/owner (who will train) will think that they are experiencing something unusual when it does not go the same as the demo with the already trained dog .

I like to show where the learning begins, happens, and ends.   The full story if you will.  Spencer's owner reports that he is doing well, and it is much easier to walk him in public with their growing (human babies) family.

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Misc Old Training Clips Spencer the Yorkie

These are some older training clips of Spencer the Yorkie. This is not the very beginning of anything, as Spencer was taught the stationary and stay commands by tabling. I will need to do a video and explanation of that for later. Very helpful when training small dogs with older human knees in the way.

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Fun, Games, and Training for this Week (Video Summary)

This is a little summary of snippets of our week this week.  I forgot poor Ollie (Plott Hound X of 1 and 1/2 years) in my credits.   My apologies to Ollie and his owners .  

Here are some of the good times and a little work we have and do:



More of our training video backlog to follow.

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