Non-discipline for rescue dogs?

[AdrianneIsabel]

I almost never walk my dogs. 0_o

[MandyPug]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

I almost never walk my dogs. 0_o

Samsies.

[Laurelin]

Originally Posted by sillysally

I think it's also important to be a little forgiving with people too.

Bingo.

I actually walk my dogs often (but not daily). Just never around the block and not usually on a leash.

[BostonBanker]

I do believe than any rescue OR breeder should take responsibility to make sure that the people they sell or adopt to are reasonably well educated. However, that's just not going to happen in all cases.

Because if they do, people will go on forums and Facebook yelling about how the rescue/breeder turned them down and it would be better for the dog to be in their home than dead and if the rescue let them have this dog they could go save another one and and and....

Maybe I'm more tolerant than some (and every person who knows me in real life is snorting at that statement). Maybe it is because I live in a relatively dog savvy, outdoor oriented area. But really...I don't see much that bothers me with other people and their dogs. Some people probably think my dogs live bad lives. I had someone sort of off-handed, in a way that you could tell they were trying to bring up something that was bothering them, mention a few years ago that they never saw Meg get walked. Well...no. Because she was spending all my working hours outdoors on a farm with me, and came home and crashed. I think of things like that when I consider judging someone and how they choose to live with their dog.

[Danefied]

Originally Posted by StephyMei1112

There should be a strict screening process and handling courses akin to that for nuclear weaponry for any potential dog owner.

Except dogs are not nuclear weapons, and the truth is, *most* dogs make perfectly find family dogs with minimal or even no training. I know, because when you have a few dogs that you work your butt off trying to teach them not to eat people or other pets it does tend to get to you that the neighbor up the road who’s dog has never stepped foot in a training building turned out just great.
Dogs have evolved forever along side of man to be companions, and they really are pretty idiot proof most of the time.

Originally Posted by StephyMei1112

"You can't feed a dog chocolate?? Really?!"

Some dogs do fine eating small amounts of chocolate for life. Dark chocolate is really bad, but milk chocolate? Chocolate ice cream? Pfft... Lunar just licked the leftovers of a bowl of icecream with chocolate syrup.

Originally Posted by StephyMei1112

"You need to walk it HOW many times a DAY?!"

Leash walks rarely happen for our old men, actually never for Biko. Last time he had a leash on was his well-dog vet visit a year ago.

Originally Posted by StephyMei1112

"No I don't wanna do obedience training with her, she's only 4 lbs."

Obedience training or manners training? Honestly, leave it and wait at threshholds are probably more important cues than sit or down and neither are used in obedience competitions.

[StephyMei1112]

It might be the end of summer/back to school, a change in karma, the moon a certain degree in Aquarius - but whatever it is - in the past week or so we have been encountering more and more out of control dogs, off leash disasters, and just straight out idiots in general who have absolutely no business owning a dog. Prior to getting Katalin the amount of research and time I spent on doing homework was massive - and I see other people that get puppies "just because their cute" or whatever; I'm sorry - but I have a very low tolerance for that. Seriously.

[Emily]

Originally Posted by ~Tucker&Me~

When it comes to a strange dog affecting you with unwanted behaviour that I understand, but griping about other people not being as into dogs as we are or doing all the training we do? Meh.

This. Unless it's affecting me, it's none of my business. I used to have a stick up my ass about other peoples' dogs. Funny thing is that getting into performance sports promptly removed it, thank god. I guess I just found better things to worry about, LOL. I was seriously such a PITA.

I work the general public and their dogs all the time. Those who don't want to train won't, and they will come up with any excuse. There may be a small segment who truly believe that training = harsh methods and that their rescue dog will just wilt under such handling, and so can't be trained. I've met a few who were like, "Whoa whoa whoa, are you telling me we can housebreak him without rubbing his nose in it?!?! ...Go on, tell me more of these dark arts." LOL. But mostly, the dogs that go untrained (and unmanaged) do so because their owners don't want to train them. The rescue/small/this breed stuff is an excuse. Now lots of people have rescues so they have lots of excuses.

[Barbara!]

Amazingly enough, some people just don't care that much about dogs. *gasp* LOL.

When talking about my own dogs, I have heard "but it's only a DOG" countless times.

[Emily]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

I almost never walk my dogs. 0_o

.... Same. LOL It's boring and it takes too much out of me and not enough out of them! If I "walk" it's to get to a park where I can do OB work and play fetch.

[BostonBanker]

It's boring and it takes too much out of me and not enough out of them!

I swear a leash walk just gets Gusto pumped up for more.