Great information here from 'All Dogs Go To Kevin' ...
http://www.dogstokevin.com/blog Something about dogs... Maybe it's because most people have one, or have had one, makes most people a self proclaimed expert. Also, there has been dog training on tv over the past decade resulting in even more experts. Let's play a game. Post in your Facebook status any dog training question and see how many different answers you get. Most of you will get a lot of different answers. I do understand that once someone has done something and it has worked for them they do feel comfortable giving advice to others about how they did it. I get that. But teaching dogs is different than fixing a leaky faucet. If you do something accidentally to mess up a faucet it isn't the end of the world. It's just a faucet. But if we take incorrect advice in regards to teaching our dogs it can go horribly wrong. If you view dogs like I do then you don't look at them as leaky faucets that can just be replaced. Where Should I Get Advice? Should you ask your friends? Check the internet? Hire a trainer? Go to the library? Does anyone go to the library anymore? As you can see there are a lot of potential sources out there. The internet is probably the main way people look up information these days. This is equally as troubling. To be honest, it can be just as bad as taking advice from a friend or a stranger. The internet is full of self proclaimed experts. You can even find incorrect information on big companies websites. Recently I saw a big pet food company that was still talking about ways to train your dog that were discovered decades ago and were proven to be incorrect decades ago... It's bad. My advice is to be careful. Look for an author of the article you're reading. If you see an author, do a little research of who they are. How long have they been working with dogs for? Do they have any formal education? Are they giving advice that is telling you to be "alpha" or "pack leader." (If they are they need more education.) If they are also giving advice telling you that your dog needs a strong hand or are giving any advice that you need to physically correct your dog. Should I Hire A Trainer? If you're having difficulty accomplishing something with your dog then my answer would be yes. Hiring a qualified trainer can be very beneficial and make your job easier. But once again, how do you know your potential trainer is a good fit? How do you know that trainer knows what s/he is doing? Click here to read more on this topic and to help you find the right trainer. Ultimately though hiring "the right" trainer can make life with your dog much easier. If you click those orange letters there is a lot of advice on what to look for and where to locate your help. Why Is Taking Random Advice A Bad Idea? As I mentioned above, dogs are not leaky faucets. They are living, breathing creatures that have a brain. They are smart, social, and easily impressionable. This means that if we do something incorrectly it can have side effects. If my dog is doing something wrong and I decide to resort to doing something physical to stop it, this may result in my dog now fearing me. I mention "something physical" because most of the advice you will receive from random people is going to come in the form of physically punishing your dog. While I'm not saying that it definitely won't work, what I am saying is that there will more than likely be side effects. For example; If my dog is play biting my arm and I decide to whack him on the nose for doing so, it may stop the play biting, but it could also result in a dog that now views human hands as a source of pain and could ultimately result in my dog biting someone who is just innocently reaching out to pet him. It's things like this that a lot of people don't take into consideration. Most random advice is going to give you an answer that will fix the problem immediately. I am here to tell you that in most cases, something that fixes the problem immediately will have side effects. These side effects will be way worse than the initial problem. You will then decide to call a trainer and it will take a heck of a lot longer to modify. In Conclusion: I'm not saying you need to be a professional trainer to give advice. But I also kind of am. If you are seriously having a behavioral issue with your dog I recommend contacting a certified trainer. They can give you the correct answers you need for curbing the unwanted behavior. Please do not take free advice from random friends. While it won't always come back to bite you in the butt, there will be times where it will. (And I mean literally your dog biting you in the butt.) If any of this sounds harsh or offensive please understand that it isn't my intention. You and your dog's well being is why I am writing this. The amended Dangerous Dogs Act came into effect in England and Wales on 13 May 2014. This law applies to all dog owners no matter what size or breed, whether your pet is a Chihuahua, a Cockapoo or a Collie cross. Advice sheet from the National Animal Welfare Trust is copied below & also in the link here: Which elements of the existing Dangerous Dogs Act should dog owners be aware of?Section 3 of the Act applies to every single dog owner in England and Wales. Under this section, it is a criminal offence for the person in charge of the dog to allow it to be ‘dangerously out of control’ in a public place.
A dog doesn't have to bite to be deemed dangerous in the eyes of the law Generally if a dog bites a person, it will be presumed to have been ‘dangerously out of control’, however even if the dog does not bite, but gives the person grounds to feel that the dog may injure them, the law still applies. Not many dog owners are aware of this, and it is important to hold that thought when looking at the changes. What’s changed?While owners need to be fully aware of all the changes, the biggest difference from now on is the Act also covers incidents on private property in addition to public spaces. This includes your own house and both front and back gardens. In addition:
The most important point to consider is how to keep unexpected visitors or delivery drivers safe on your property. The requirement for the law to cover private places as well as public ones has long been campaigned for by the Communication Workers Union. Numerous Royal Mail and other delivery services employees are injured by dog bites each year and up until now there has not been the legislation to enable action to be taken to ensure their future safety. You need to make sure that any visitor can safely access your front door without encountering your dog. There is a slight grey area in these changes in that if the person attacked is a burglar or trespasser your dog may not be considered dangerously out of control if it is in a building that is your private dwelling at the time of the attack. However, this does not cover incidents in your back or front garden so while the law is yet to be tested, all dog owners should ensure that all areas of their gardens where their dogs could encounter unexpected visitors are secure. If necessary it is also worth talking to your neighbours and asking them not to let their children climb your fences to retrieve balls etc to be on the safe side. Manage your dog when someone knocks We all know that fewer letters are being sent through the post, but the rise in internet shopping means that more parcels and especially signed for parcels are being delivered, which requires the delivery person to knock at the door. This change in legislation should be a wake up call to all dog owners to ensure their dogs are under control when they open the door otherwise they risk committing a criminal offence. It is not unusual for a dog to be reactive to any visitor to your door, so you need to decide now how you are going to manage that situation. The easiest thing to do is to shut your dog in another room or in the garden, provided of course the dog cannot access the front door from the garden. If that is not an option, then you will need to seek the services of an experienced or qualified dog trainer or behaviourist to teach your dog some new behaviours around the door. You also need to consider how your dog greets people. What you view as a dog being friendly by jumping up at visitors may be seen as threatening behaviour by a stranger. Owning a dog is a huge responsibility and should not be taken lightly, however by taking some time to think about what these changes mean to you and your dog, you will be taking steps to keep everyone safe and avoid ending up in a position that no one wants to find themselves in. Results - Jumping Jacks - BAA Show - 16th June, 2012
Saturday 16th June, 2012 Primary + Agility = Gill & Hovva = 3rd Primary + Jumping = Gill & Hovva = 4th Primary + Jump & Touch = Gill & Hovva = 2nd Primary + Tunnel Torment = Gill & Hovva = 6th Sunday 17th June, 2012 Primary + Agility = Gill & Hovva = 2nd Primary + Agility 2 = Gill & Hovva = 1st *** YEAY - congratulations *** Primary + Jumping = Gill & Hovva = 1st *** YEAY - congratulations *** Primary + Steeplechase = Gill & Hovva = 3rd Primary + Tunnel Torment = Gill & Hovva = 6th Results - Jumping Jacks - BAA Show - 3rd & 4th September, 2011
Saturday 3rd September, 2011 Primary + Jump & Touch = Gill & Tilly = 2nd Sunday 4th September, 2011 Primary + Agility = Gill & Tilly = 4th Primary + Jumping = Gill & Tilly = 3rd Primary + Triple A = Gill & Tilly = 5th Primary + Steeplechase = Gill & Tilly = 3rd |
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