[nagdu] Owner training
Julie J.
julielj at neb.rr.com
Thu Jan 19 21:50:10 UTC 2012
Robert,
I got all three of my dogs from shelters. Tia was a very young puppy,
about 5 weeks old. Belle and Monty were older puppies 8-9 months old.
I don't remember what the fee for Tia was, both Belle and Monty were
right around $100. I looked a bit at breeders, but wasn't too impressed
with what I found. More recently I've been looking at Boxer breeders.
Puppies from breeders I'd be comfortable purchasing from start around
$500 and go up from there. I will not purchase or adopt a dog from
anyplace that won't let me interact with the dog until I am comfortable
with my decision. I'd be extremely wary of a breeder that won't let you
visit with the puppies. I'd also expect a good breeder to be able to
help you choose a dog with the qualities you are looking for.
When I was looking for a dog this last time, I started by calling and
talking to the current caretaker. I'd ask them a lot of questions about
the sort of temperament their dog had, what training it had had, fears,
any odd behavior etc. If that info sounded promising I'd go look at the
dog. I spent about an hour with Monty before I decided to take him
home. I also had an agreement with the shelter lady that if he didn't
work out I could bring him back within the first month. During that
hour I did several temperament tests, saw how he acted around other
dogs, cats and with strangers. I took him for a short walk and asked a
million more questions.
I think if you work full time and do not have someone at home to help
with a puppy, owner training is probably not the way to go. If your
employer was agreeable you could start with an adult dog that could go
to work with you almost immediately. I've tossed around the idea of
finding someone to be a puppy raiser for me, but I haven't exactly
figured out how to make it work yet.
I work part time, 20 hours per week. My schedule is extremely
flexible. I set my own hours to meet the needs of my clients, my
meeting commitments and my personal life. If I'm in my office I
generally work no more than 4 hours in a row. A few times a year I
attend workshops, training things and a teen leadership camp, each of
those lasts several days away from home. I trained Monty outside of
work time until he was fully trained. I now take him to work with me
and to all my classes, meetings and when I travel for work. Before he
was fully trained my family would take care of him when I had to travel
for work.
I have read some of the articles on the Leerburg web site. I agree with
some of it, but I think he tends to be more punitive than I am
comfortable with. Again to each his own. I read a lot of info from
all sorts of dog trainers. I just finished the book, "Merle's Door".
It's not a training book, but it does have lots and lots of good info in
there. It really made me think about human dog relationships in new and
often uncomfortable ways. I also recently read, "Bones Would Rain from
the Sky" another excellent read about dog and human relationships.
Sorry for the confusion about operant conditioning. I realized when I
reread my message that I made no sense there. I think I was thinking
faster than I was typing and things got cross wired! *smile*
What I'm saying is that I lean toward less punitive training methods.
I do not set the dog up for failure, ever. If a dog I'm harness
training whacks me into an obstacle we rework it. If need be I will
heel the dog around the obstacle to show him what I want. Then I'll
have him work it so he can have success with it. I do not give leash
corrections for behaviors the dog has not learned. I don't think
that's fair. I don't learn like that and I don't want to train like that.
Now if Monty who is fully trained misses stopping at a curb, which he
did this afternoon I will give a leash correction. He was excited about
getting home so he could eat. He chose rushing home over cautious guide
work. I am absolutely certain that he knows to stop at curbs. He has
demonstrated that skill a couple thousand times. His messing up was his
choice not a lack of understanding.
And about the Pet Co obedience classes, avoid them like the plague. I
have heard nothing but horrible things. I'd recommend finding a local
trainer that you like and attending obedience class there. I do think
it's a good thing for dogs to be around other dogs both for free play
and to learn to behave even in the presence of doggie friends. That was
a major hurdle with Monty.
Best of luck with whatever you decide,
Julie
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