I want to write about my dog, but we haven't really done anything new since I wrote about the Rally Trial on Sunday. I'm (very) impatiently waiting for the professional photographer to post photos from this weekend. She must be doing SOMETHING, because I keep getting errors when I try to bring up the site.
The error says Server Error in '/' Application. The resource cannot be found. It's in Red and Brown font, and when we've seen that error during System Testing, it's frequently on a pale yellow background. My coworker calls them "pretty" errors.
So, no pictures, nothing really new... I'll talk about old stuff over the jump.
Through years of owning dogs, years of training my own dogs, and years of teaching other people to train their dogs, I've come up with some thoughts - some original, some borrowed (intentionally or not intentionally.)
Thought 1: Not everyone should own a dog. Someone who cannot control their anger, and must lash out - physically or verbally - should keep away from (everyone, but especially) dogs and kids when in that state.
Thought 2: But, dogs are calming, and good for you physically and emotionally. So, if being around dogs keeps you from getting to that state, ignore Thought 1.
Thought 3: Dogs hear tone more than vocabulary. I can say, "I'm going to get a whacking stick now," or "Your next collar is going to be a taser" so sweetly that you would not believe it.
Thought 4: Lots of guys who own Big, Tough Dogs do that because of their own ego issues. (Most of the 'teams' I'm referring to have untrained dogs; if the guy owned a little dog, they wouldn't be able to train it, either.)
Thought 5: There shouldn't be breed specific laws, but it would be cool if there could be some kind of testing-requirement for permission to own some dogs. No idea how to arrange that (or how to keep it from being breed specific), but it would be cool.
Thought 6: All dogs should be trained. All dogs which are physically able (that is, they can walk) should be able to walk on a leash and collar by the time they are 10 weeks old. All dogs should have basic obedience training for sit, down, stay, come and walking politely without pulling too much on the lead.
Thought 7: Obedience classes are good. Try to find one with a balance - one that isn't all food and flowers (where you get frowns for making any corrections), and one that isn't all corrections, or uses rough corrections.
Thought 8: Get appropriate equipment:
Any collar works; any collar has issues. So, figure out what you and your dog can best use.
- Gentle leader halters seem sweet, but they actually force your dog's head into a pretty unnatural position, and force submission.
- Flat buckle collars hold tags nicely, but if your dog isn't trained not to pull, that's quite a bit of force against his trachea/wind pipe.
- Chain correction collars used to be called choke collars because, if put on upside down, they don't release correctly - and, if left on a dog all the time, they can get snagged and choke the dog.
- Regular style prong collars can easily fall apart, releasing your dog at inopportune times.
- Newer prong collars don't fall apart- but if you don't know how to use them, they can inflict pain.
- I really don't want to get into electronic collars - I'll just say, "I wouldn't use one, unless I was training a hunting dog from a very long distance, and he had a tendency to 'not hear me' when I needed him to pay attention - like when he was running toward a road."
Leads/Leashes - A leash should be 4-6 feet, made of natural stuff- Flexis are fine for standing on your porch and letting your dog walk out 18 feet to relieve itself. Or for practicing really quick recall/come exercises. Other than that... no, not really so good.
- By natural stuff, I mean leather or cotton. If a dog pulls a nylon lead through your clenched hands, you smell the burning flesh before you feel it. And good luck with chain leads.
Thought 9: (Depending on its breed) Your dog may live 10, 12 or more years. Every minute that you work on creating a team between you and your dog right now is going to pay dividends in the future.
Thought 10: Once you've completed an obedience class, find another. When you finish that, try Agility or Rally or Flyball. Your dog will love you for it.
Thought 11: The worst thing you can do with your dog is nothing.
Thought 12: Even if you do nothing with your dog, your dog will love you.
Thought 13: But, Rally Obedience is really, Really fun.
That's my baker's dozen for today.