Clever dogs and crazy people with Wendy Graydon The Dog Trainer

My first point of contact with clients is often by email and they tell me about the problems they are having. I often jot down notes beside their words to create a full picture of the dog I will be training.

Here are some of the notes from a client; (names have been changed to maintain confidentiality)

Notes from the owner of the dog ‘Gonzo'

• 10 month old Labrador
• Good on the lead and off when other dogs are not around
• Becoming quite a handful and very strong when he sees other dogs
• He does socialize with my neighbour's dog but is very ‘in your face; I don't like letting him off when other dogs are around
• He tends to have painted on ears

Notes for the owner of the dog ‘Gonzo'

My notes added with the owner comments

• 10 month old Labrador: (Age for asserting for right with in the pack - may not listen to owners command or slow to respond)
• Good on the lead and off when other dogs are not around (Not trained to be polite around other dogs- may pull a lot on the walk and demand to sniff everything/mark territory)
• Becoming quite a handful and very strong when he sees other dogs (Over excited and does not know the rules or there are no rules on the walk/working in crisis mode)
• He does socialize with my neighbour's dog but is very ‘in your face' (Not being taught to behave with other dogs- over excited , puppy behaviour, other dog may put up with it mostly, owners can and should be in charge of play with other dogs)
• I don't like letting him off when other dogs are around (Owner feeling anxious and a little lost as to what to do-owner realises the dog will not respond to any commands once focussed on something else/dogs etc..)
• He tends to have painted on ears (Not trained to recall)

Training must be kept simple or the owner will give up and put up with the behaviour or just NOT walk their dog or avoid all contact with other dogs which will make the dog even more excited by seeing other dogs! Mostly dogs just want to have fun!! While we are trying to get them to behave and ‘be nice'. We tend to think of them as children instead of dogs that do dog type behaviour such as bark, chew, growl and snarl at each other. But yes we forget this bit that they are dogs not child-baby-dog. We humanise and want them to be sweet and nice and not hump the other dog; we want to not be embarrassed by them. Dogs are embarrassing and over the top creatures so hold onto your hat and be ready for a leg lift when you don't want it. The word is dog not a child that is 50% of the problem, start training your dog and will you have more success when you stop humanising.