THE GOOD DOG POSITIVE OBEDIENCE TRAINING and UP-N-OVER AGILITY SCHOOL

OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

DO YOU KNOW A QUALITY BREEDER?

We, at the GOOD DOG SCHOOL OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, love to train dogs that are purchased from "quality breeders".

Responsible breeders not only strive for a healthy, stable animal, but are also concerned with temperament and a number of other positive characteristics. We have gathered some of the habits of super-breeders. Does your breeder match none, some or all of these fine traits and tendencies?

1. A breeder who believes that no matter how great the pedigree, or how wonderful the parents, the environment during the females pregnancy and 7 weeks after birth has a lasting unalterable effect on how a puppy behaves.

2. A breeder that bottle feeds the pups even when the litter is small and mother has lots of milk. This bonds the puppy to human scent and associates them with human handling, cuddling, nursing and most importantly, security.

3. A breeder that does toe-nail clipping while the puppies nurse, to associate nail-clipping with a pleasant experience.

4. A breeder that starts housebreaking at three (3) weeks of age. What a breeder does from here on and for the next two weeks teaches a puppy to be clean in the house.

5. A breeder who, between 3 to 5 weeks, exposes the puppy to the noises of pots and pans dropping, vacuum cleaners, washer/dryers, televisions etc. This helps alleviate the fears of dogs that are easily spooked.

6. A breeder that constantly picks up, rocks, holds and tries to carry the puppy everywhere.

7. A breeder that starts "bye-bye" at 5 weeks. A breeder that slowly acclimates the puppy to car, van and/or trailering. During this time, they also include loving experiences with children, other dogs, sleeping and eating in strange surroundings, etc. This is a super-step toward prevention of motion sickness.

8. A breeder who, at five weeks, teaches puppies to be separated from mom and littler-mates and be self-confident enough in familiar surroundings not to cry when alone. This practice is repeated through the 7th or 8th week. New puppy owners then find the first night home, puppy doesn't cry and is not unhappy, as being alone has never been an unhappy experience.

9. A breeder that starts leash training by the 5th or 6th week. Who's pups already have a following instinct, because from early on they started by calling "Puppy Come" in a loud and happy voice every time they are fed. Calling your puppy to come and have it come, is difficult for many new owners but not from breeders who exercise the above philosophy.

10. A breeder, that by 7 weeks can hide in the yard or be way out of sight and when they yell "puppy come", all puppies come running.

11. A breeder that at 7 weeks, starts bathing, blow drying, continue toe-nail clipping, working on a table (playing Veterinarian and Judge). Puppies, such as these, are not normally afraid of your Veterinarian or a Judge.

12. A breeder that does intelligent testing, retrieving testing, testing puppies through obstacle courses, and identifies Alpha, Beta and Omega types.

13. A breeder that guarantees their litter, which means your deposit or purchase is returned if the puppy is defective, chronically ill, or does not meet normal standards.

14. A breeder that chronicles every litter with photographs, videos or both [from birth to leaving for your home]....so you have a history of your pup.

15. A breeder that provides a puppy packet. A great breeder will establish a puppy packet so complete that if you never read anything else, you will still have what you need to know to raise a healthy, well trained puppy.

16. A breeder that will also provide photographs or video, [or both] of your pup's parents.

17. A breeder, who above all, wants to keep in touch and hear all about the progress of your pup over the ensuing years.

DOES THIS SEEM TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO BE CONCERNED WITH WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A PUPPY. WE THINK NOT! REMEMBER, YOU MAY SPEND 14 YEARS WITH A GREAT COMPANION OR 14 YEARS WITH A DOG THAT WILL "TURN YOU OFF" TO DOG OWNERSHIP. SADLY, YOU CAN PURCHASE A DOG WHICH BECOMES A GRAVE DISAPPOINTMENT, A MEDICAL CATASTROPHE, AN UNPLEASANT OR AGGRESSIVE DOG, AND/OR A COMBINATION OF THE ABOVE. Even finding a Great Breeder is NO GUARANTEE you'll end up with GREAT DOGS, SUCH AS WE OWN. ....But your chances will improve dramatically. Enjoy your new puppy, and never hesitate to call THE GOOD DOG SCHOOL for information you may need. PHONE AND/OR FAX: (817) 910-2022. Or contact us on the World Wide Web at Email address: K9school@aol.com

THE TRAINING OF A PROTECTION DOG!

We, like so many other obedience schools across the nation, receive approximately 450 calls a month. Most of the calls are seeking free information, as opposed to truly being interested in joining an obedience school or club. We understand that, and we are one of the few schools in our area that incessantly provides that free information. Curiously, even though we are in the yellow pages, we always recommend that the callers also check with their Veterinarian or go to a good Dog Show and ask show competitors where they train. Quality trainers are very hard to come by. Additionally, we, in Fort Worth, put down some 40,000 dogs a year. Most of which are being put down because they are an inconvenience to someone. Times this by every city and you soon become aware of the magnitude of the problem. Most of these poor souls are being put down for five basic reasons… Barking, Biting, Digging, Chewing and Housebreaking. The frustrating part is that's what dogs do. You often wonder what people are thinking when they want a dog for the next 10 to 14 years, and then are not prepared for the above 5 elements that may prove problematic, but elements that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that considers owning a dog.

There are those schools that charge anywhere from $400.00 to $2,000.00 for 10 days to two weeks of training. (Guaranteeing, by the way, that they can train your dog in 10 days to two weeks - no matter the problem. Yea, right, and I'm the tooth-fairy.) One of their claims and/or their forte, is to train for "Home Protection", 'Guard Dog" or "Protection Training."

In our opinion, training a dog for protection is not only very dangerous, but just plain STUPID! The phraseology I use (stupid) may not be politically correct, but it is what we truly believe. To explain our reasoning, consider that the Department of Defense has statistics and studies on the number of adult attack dogs which turn on their masters between the ages of three and five years. Most responsible trainers agree that ALL attack or 'protection' trained dogs constitute a real and serious treat to their owners, families, and innocent bystanders (animal or human). Could you live with yourself if your dog seriously hurt someone or some other animal? Why would you set yourself up that way? If someone thinks they would like to own a 'protection trained' dog, in our opinion, they 1. must really not know what that means, or 2. have not given it much thought or consideration, or 3. have not done their research. Our classic response to telephone inquires about owning or training a Guard Dog, is: "The one time you want your dog to bite and protect, it won't be there and the eight times you don't want it to bite other animals, children or adults….IT WILL! If you decide that you still want one, we hope you have lots of money, or great insurance, or both. If you truly need protection, then don't rely on an animal whose aggressive acts operate on instinct, but instead consider such things as a close-circuit TV system, a home alarm, mace, 911, a weapon, motion detectors etc. A dog bite is no joke. We know people who have had to be on intravenous life support for weeks, due to disastrous bacterial infection received from a bite. Every year people are killed by dogs, …and tragically, in some cases by totally reliable dogs. Because of the bad publicity received by such cases, it invariably makes all our jobs (Obedience trainers) so much more difficult. In addition, to the obvious hazards of your dog biting others, in today's libel-bent society, where people are intent on suing each other, you may be setting yourself up for arduous litigation. In our opinion, to want a protection dog is like wanting to hold dynamite and hoping it won't go off. We are not, however, talking about the sport of Schutzhund. We are talking about home protection in the hands of the un-professional, and un-prepared home owner.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS ABOUT NEEDING A PROTECTION DOG.

But be of good cheer, for it has already been well established that the despicable types in our society that would come into your home to do you harm, or rob you, absolutely HATE to confront a barking dog. Size of dog does not seem to matter. Additionally, if you have a large dog, such as a Rottie or GSD, most people aren't going to mess with you anyway. They are not going to take the time to find out if your dog is a sweetheart. Additionally, teaching your dog not to bite, however, does not mean that it will not protect you if you are in danger. Dogs are wonderful that way, as they seem to sense a treat to the pack, or sense the chemical change in your body or a change in your demeanor, and protect you, sometimes at the cost of their own life. What it does mean, when you teach your dog to be a good citizen, is that the dog will not be a threat to you, your family, friends and innocent people. To continue our validation of our view point, allow me to tell you a recent story involving one of our instructors. As you know, every year, our wonderful companions perform many heroic deeds. In the DFW metroplex, there is at least one good story a month. Yet, so many stories still go unreported. For example: Liz Yoder (one of our lovely instructors) has been with us for years and in fact, just received TEACHER OF THE YEAR. As a school teacher, she uses her mental aptitude to connect with our students on a daily basis. This 'softy' is always trying to help others. Last July, Liz heard of a retired couple from Amarillo (hundreds of miles from Fort Worth) that had to put their Sheltie down, after more than a decade and a half of friendship. Fred and Joy Moore were not doing well, for they truly missed their friend. Fred was especially close to the animal. Liz took it upon herself to go the our local Humane Society (for she heard they had a sable male there.) She wanted to replace the Moore's dog with a similar one. When she arrived, however, the sable male was already gone. She proceeded to look around, and there was a bubbly, female TRI. Liz reluctantly left this happy dog there, and immediately started a campaign to find it a home also. Three weeks went by, with no luck. Liz checked on the dog again and again. The Humane Society mistakenly identified this dog as a mix, thus Sheltie Rescue was not getting the word. Three weeks later, the bubbly sheltie was now zombie like, reticent and withdrawn. The three weeks had taken its toll. Liz knew it would be soon put to death. Frantically, Liz implored the Moore's to take this TRI. Reluctantly, under pressure by Liz, they agreed. This really wasn't the dog Fred wanted. To demonstrate the benevolence of 'dog people', Liz paid for everything out of her own pocket (teachers don't make the kind of money to continue this practice). Adoption cost, long distance telephone costs, along with all other related costs. To make matters worse during those first few months, LADY chewed a few things in the Moore's home, causing a strain between the new owners and the dog. Fred and Joy have a summer home in Brownsville, Texas and Fred would take Lady with him on these long trips. They started going everywhere together, and soon, as dogs often do, they steal you heart. Lady started to bond with Fred and 6 months later they were fast friends. (I wish I could bottle the secret that dogs have to totally captivate us) One night around 2 am, in January of this year, Fred was awakened by Lady's low growl. (Lady ALWAYS slept by Fred's bed). In his sleepy state, Fred started to ignore her, but Lady persisted. Continuing her low growl, she crawled toward the bedroom door, and then bolted toward the kitchen, hackles high, now growling and barking loudly. Fred sprang from the bed and followed the sounds of what was now tumultuous struggle sounds accompanying the vicious growling. He reached the kitchen just in time to see the burglar flying out the front door with Lady in hot pursuit. FRED SWEARS THAT LADY SAVED THEIR LIFE, let alone their property. The next day, in their glee and appreciation of Lady's exploits, they bought her hundreds of dollars of toys and treats. Stories like this happen ALL THE TIME in America. Don't train your dog for Protection, instead BOND WITH YOUR DOG, and the end result helps create life's super memories.