Wednesday, April 27, 2011

What is dog training?

This week I am set out to find out more about how our society views dog training classes, and what their expectations for their dogs are once completing classes.

I would love for all of you to help me with this short study, whether you have dogs, have ever had dogs, I would love to hear your response.

Are you a dog owner?

Have you ever owned a dog?

Have you put any of your dog(s)s through classes?

What do you expect from a dog training class?

What do you expect from your dog after completion of a dog training class?

What do you expect from the human family members after completion of a dog training class?

What kinds of things do you expect to learn by enrolling your dog in class?

I want to conduct a brief study on a pet owner's perception of dog training, and dog training classes. Even if you are not a pet owner, I would love to hear your side of it.

I hope this sparks a great discussion. I will collect all the responses for an analysis of how our society views "dog training." We will elaborate more on this next week.

2 comments:

Michele said...

I have lived with dogs almost all my life and the dog that I share my life with now is the first dog that I have ever taken a class with.

Why is that? I think it has to do with my age/generation. I am in my late 40's. In my youth and as a young adult (pre internet) before the atrocities of puppy mills became well known, people went to a pet store, bought a cute little puppy and "the book" to go along with it, maybe taught the dog a few tricks and that was about it. With the advent of the internet and TV such as "It's Me or the Dog" and "The Dog Whisperer" responsible pet owners are realizing what their dogs need to be happy, healthy, well balanced family members.

Facebook led me to Teena Patel and the University of Doglando. I have been so impressed with Teena and the facility that I don't mind driving nearly an hour each way to attend classes. My expectations for what I will learn from different classes are completely based on the curriculum which is what would have led me to the class in the first place. I do expect that my dog and I will learn everything that is being offered in a particular class. I expect that I will be able to teach all the skills learned to other family members so that we will be able to continue "training" as a cohesive family unit to avoid confusing the dog.

I love my dog so very much and she gives me such joy everyday that I look forward to any type of bonding activity that is going to enhance our relationship. Having a well trained, happy, balanced dog is going to mean that we will be able to share so much more together.

I know my dog can do it....Sometimes I question myself a lil ;-)

Ima Hogg said...

Are you a dog owner?
Yes!

Have you ever owned a dog?
Before Chloe? Yes!

Have you put any of your dog(s)s through classes?
Yes. Chloe was in puppy PreK and BS and now in dock dogs.

What do you expect from a dog training class?
I guess I expect to be taught how to communicate with my dog on a level that perhaps I would not be able to get to by myself.

What do you expect from your dog after completion of a dog training class?
I'm not sure if I expect something from Chloe; I think I expect something from me--consistency and dedication in continuing that training. I expect to be able to communicate with my dog clearly and better than I was before.

What do you expect from the human family members after completion of a dog training class?
See above--consistency, dedication, and communication.

What kinds of things do you expect to learn by enrolling your dog in class?
I expect to learn communication, particularly in terms of tone of voice and body language. From obedience, I expect to learn basics: sit, down, basic behavioral stuff.