So, today I took Augie to his first day of obedience classes. Augie is a bench bred yellow Labrador, and is therefore a bit more solid and blocky than many of the Labs I see running around, many of which look quite skimpy, to my eyes at least. I got there early because I missed the first "no dogs" class, and although I had spoken to the trainer on the phone, I wanted to have a chat with her before getting started. As it happens, the woman who bred my dog used to teach at the same obedience school, so I mentioned that to the trainer and she was really excited to know that one my breeder's dogs was in her class. She then proceeded to tell me that my dog was overweight. I sort of stammered, embarassed, then told her that my dog had been back to vist the breeder just a week before and I was told he was at the perfect weight and looked fantastic. At that, the trainer said, "Oh well, don't listen to me then, listen to Kim, because she's and incredible breeder and knows what she's talking about."
My former right-hand man, Huck, was a benchy looking pet-bred Lab, who was admittedly on the chunky side, but even when he was in top condition, I was constantly told that my dog was a fatso. I was once at an outdoor cafe and some concerned citizen came over to tell me that I was abusing my dog by letting him get so fat. I suppose I could have explained to him that I excercised my dog constantly and monitored his diet like a hawk, but instead I chose words that would not be suitable for a family-friendly forum such as this one. Admittedly, as Huck got older and arthritic and was not able to move around as much, he did get a bit overweight, but still managed a respectable age of 14 before shuffling off this mortal coil. I also remember some horrible vet-tech with furry teeth telling me I didn't love my dog as much as she loved hers, because Huck had an "old looking collar" (HELLO! He was in and out of water 8 times a day, so his nylon collar got a bit faded) and because he was fat.
Now, I don't expect everyone to be an expert on Labradors and what the different types should look like, and god knows I've seen some hideously porky Labradors waddling around. I realize a trainer is not an all-breed expert, but it was bit disheartening to hear this from a dog professional (even though she totally reversed her opinion) and I wonder if this is what I can expect in the future.
I can understand if people don't like the bench style Labs for their looks, and yes, I have seen some extreme ones, but Augie is not like that. Am I going to spend the rest of my new right-hand man's life explaining to ignorant people that he is NOT fat?
Sorry for the long rant, but I just feel a bit disheartened. On the bright side though, Augie did great in his first day of class, and the trainer used him for lots of demos and even relocated a couple of DA German Shepherds next to him because he was so calm and collected. His "sit" still needs a lot of work though :lol-sign: But the trainer is great and very positive with the dogs. I like the class and so does Augie!
My former right-hand man, Huck, was a benchy looking pet-bred Lab, who was admittedly on the chunky side, but even when he was in top condition, I was constantly told that my dog was a fatso. I was once at an outdoor cafe and some concerned citizen came over to tell me that I was abusing my dog by letting him get so fat. I suppose I could have explained to him that I excercised my dog constantly and monitored his diet like a hawk, but instead I chose words that would not be suitable for a family-friendly forum such as this one. Admittedly, as Huck got older and arthritic and was not able to move around as much, he did get a bit overweight, but still managed a respectable age of 14 before shuffling off this mortal coil. I also remember some horrible vet-tech with furry teeth telling me I didn't love my dog as much as she loved hers, because Huck had an "old looking collar" (HELLO! He was in and out of water 8 times a day, so his nylon collar got a bit faded) and because he was fat.
Now, I don't expect everyone to be an expert on Labradors and what the different types should look like, and god knows I've seen some hideously porky Labradors waddling around. I realize a trainer is not an all-breed expert, but it was bit disheartening to hear this from a dog professional (even though she totally reversed her opinion) and I wonder if this is what I can expect in the future.
I can understand if people don't like the bench style Labs for their looks, and yes, I have seen some extreme ones, but Augie is not like that. Am I going to spend the rest of my new right-hand man's life explaining to ignorant people that he is NOT fat?
Sorry for the long rant, but I just feel a bit disheartened. On the bright side though, Augie did great in his first day of class, and the trainer used him for lots of demos and even relocated a couple of DA German Shepherds next to him because he was so calm and collected. His "sit" still needs a lot of work though :lol-sign: But the trainer is great and very positive with the dogs. I like the class and so does Augie!
