I called him the same night told him that i dont want to work with them anymore. The only thing was he made me sign the contract the same day so i couldnt get my money back...
I have a feeling we'd still pay a hefty premium if we canceled on them now - they would maybe even try for the full amount. What I do know is that I actually made an honest effort to use their methods last night (other than locking him in the bathroom) and I made it nowhere. I really did try. He tore open one of the "training pillows" though, and I had a moment of panic where I thought he may have swallowed the chain from inside. He didn't, but for that second...
Silver, you sound like a great dog owner!
(And hi from a lawyer's daughter!)
Don't worry about "messing up" in the first part of his training, most of us do, unless we're the rare percentage that either A) does entirely "too much" research before hand or B) has had multiple dogs before. I've got an Aussie and a Black Lab myself, count myself as a dog trainer and trust me, I've messed up some areas with my own dogs. Live and learn...
Hey Zoom! Thanks! Yep, it's definitely a learning experience. I know that I don't know enough to make Angus right out of the gates, but I will do my best to get him there - I don't care about the money (although it's a factor), I just want the best dog I can have.
Silver,
Actually, I am from Vancouver
.
Nice to see some people from around the area!
~Tucker
Nice Tuck - any favourite parks in town? I'm temporarily living out by VGH and have been exploring a bit. Angus loves loves LOVES Spanish Banks - but goes a bit crazy when we get there. He's a bit "excitable" to say the least.
That is such a cute lab! I love the picture of him peering into his toy!
I've never had any experience with BarkBusters (Vermont is always about 10 years behind in getting any big chain businesses in), but from the quiz on their site, I'm unimpressed. Meg is a dog who I think could succeed in almost ANY home, and would be a fantastic pet for a family...and she is on the very low end of a B - 49. Apparently they don't take into account that there are some things people just don't care about to train. Meg walks in front of me on a leash, but never pulls, and so I don't care! Why in the world would I want to make her walk behind me?
All my favorite books have already been suggested, but I'll put in another vote for The Other End of the Leash.
I was thinking about the quiz last night - and I decided that I don't really hold THAT against them. I mean, it's designed to provide generalities in general situations. Anyone who isn't an idiot
should realize that not everything applies to everyone or every dog. If it's a simple method for the general public who doesn't know dogs to get
some gauge on their dog's behaviour, it's a starting point for further exploration. That's just a side opinion on that, though.
Wow, a lawyer with good psych instincts, I bet you'll be awesome. My little sister wants to be a lawyer, she's in undergrad now majoring in poli sci, I just couldn't convince her to do psychology.
Thanks liz! Psych's not for everyone; although my old boss, a criminal/immigration lawyer, swore that if he could do it again, he'd go into forensic psych. A noble field!
I used Barkbusters once, and I was also unimpressed. I was told that the BAH and the chains was supposed to simulate the growling and snapping of an alpha dog correcting another dog.
Your pup sure is cute.
Thanks Sweet! Well, Angus thanks you. I was told the same thing. I can vaguely appreciate how the BAH can be taken to be an expression in "dog language" of some sort; however, the chains? I don't buy it.