Question for the experienced dog owner or dog trainer:
Which exercise should you never ever teach a dog:
a. Down near a stranger, beside or in front of a stranger
b. Shake a paw
c. Teach a puppy to go over agility jumps
Answer: None of the above exercises should ever be taught
Hmm, that actually sort of makes sense.
a. If you ask your dog to lie down near a stranger and the stranger doesn't notice or doesn't know your dog is there, he may step on the dog. This is actually something we have to be aware of when we're working service dogs in busy areas.
b. At work, our staff and volunteers are all forbidden to teach service dogs to shake!
Seriously, once you reinforce them a lot for pawing, it becomes their default, and then they're going to want to do EVERY behavior by pawing! - closing/opening doors, hitting lightswitches, etc. Which is a really good way to get your furniture and walls all scratched up, and a huge problem if you live in an apartment (as at least half of our clients do).
I MIGHT teach Keegan shake one day.... probably when he's about six.
c. Too much jumping at the wrong height is bad for puppy joints. Doesn't mean you shouldn't do it AT ALL, but it is something puppy owners need to think about.
But yeah, that breeder's a little too paranoid. I wonder if she provides all of her puppy buyers with their own foil hats.