According to a PDSA report last year, 12% of owners don’t do any training with their dog! Meaning those dogs aren’t being taught any rules of behaviour and will soon become out of control pestering other people and their dogs
About 1/8 dogs receive no training!
According to a PDSA report last year, 12% of owners don’t do any training with their dog.
Nothing. At all.
Which is crazy. After all, everyone has to live within certain rules. You couldn’t kill your brother no matter how angry you were with them, when they hung your favourite toy dog from a doorframe pretending it had committed suicide. (Yes, it did happen and yes, he did survive. Just.)
You can’t steal that lovely new hand bag your friend has bought, just because you like it. Nor decide to move in with a neighbour because their garden is nicer than yours. Or stab an MP because you disagree with their views on things. (Though I have imagined it once or twice over the last few years. I sent very strongly worded letters instead.)
Knowing the rules helps you to behave considerately as a valuable member of your family and of society.
Dogs need to know how to behave
There’s enough anti-dog feeling and action about without fuelling that fire by having an out of control dog pestering other people and their dogs.
Without training, your puppy or rescue dog doesn’t automatically know how to behave. They will just do what dogs do – chew things, jump up, bark, toilet anywhere, pull on lead, and run off if they see something they want to go and investigate.
They might struggle if they haven’t been socialised properly (which means lots of positive experiences). Without good socialisation, they won’t be so friendly and confident when they grow up.
Why socialisation is so important
Perhaps you allowed your puppy to be jumpy and mouthy because it’s fine when they are small – but now you’re running into problems as your puppy grows up and gets bigger. That jumping and mouthing is no longer cute; now it’s annoying, and potentially dangerous.
Behaviour problems are the most common cause of death in dogs under the age of three. Many, if not most, of these euthanasia decisions could be avoided if all puppies were properly socialised and properly trained.
Solid, successful, long-lasting training is based on building a great relationship with your dog and teaching them the basics of how to live happily with us, have fulfilling lives and be valued members of society. That’s what we focus on in our Perfect Pet course.
Building a great relationship with your dog
We teach you how to build a great relationship, how to teach your dog to walk nicely on lead and come back when called, how to be comfortable being handled, and how to demonstrate good manners with people and other dogs. All taught through fun games, with video support and homework you can fit into short five minute slots throughout your day.
If you’ve been meaning to get round to training your dog, book your spot now.
And if you’re feeling smug because you were a sensible owner and have trained your dog, tell all your dog owning friends.
Especially those who haven’t thought about or got round to training their dog.
Keep training and stay safe,
Carol
