Obedience training - must I?

Well...the reason why I didn't start my blog with puppy care etc is because most books cover this already and really...you do need to write a book on this. Not bloggable. Unless you like reading long posts. Anyway, let's talk about obedience training! The formal kind where you pay $$$ and your pooch gets a cert at the end of it.

I'm sure many of you would've read advice given from obedience trainers and they all say, "Yes, you should send your dog for training." and if you're a cynic like me, you're probably thinking, "Of course you'll say yes. You're blardy earning $ from this." Well, my fellow cynics or just people who are clueless or undecided, below are a couple of questions that you should ask yourself:

1. Can you afford the time and money?
If you are willing to fork out around $300 (or possibly more if you take public transport) and are able to commit 2-3 hours a week, then go for it! You and your dog will enjoy the time together and its a great place/time to socialise - for both you and your dog.

If you don't have the cash but are willing to commit the time, my advice is to borrow loads of books on how to train your dog and do it EVERYDAY. Join forums, trawl the internet as well so that you find out more from other pet owners and trainers on how to train your dog if the instructions in the book do not work. Well, there's also this site. Feel free to twitter/ comment/ email me!

If you have neither....WHAT WERE YOU THINKING when you got your dog? A dog is not a hamster where you can place it in a cage and let it do whatever it wants in there. If you don't step up and train and prove to your dog that you're its leader, its gonna run the house. By then, you'll REALLY need a trainer and that will cost you around $70/ session.

2. Is this your first dog?
If it is, I highly recommend that you send your dog for obedience training so that you learn all the proper skills and commands. Unless, you're like me who had wanted a dog for over 15 years before actually getting one. I've read so many books and read so many websites that I self-trained my Baileys. Even so, I learn new things from talking to trainers and friends. A trainer friend even commented that I am "brave" for training my dog on my own, especially when he's my first pooch.

Even if this isn't your first dog, did your previous dog show any behavioural problems? For example, they think they're the leader of the pack and they bark/bite visitors? If you answered 'yes'...please go for obedience training. I wrote that on purpose. 'Cos seriously, you're the ones who are being trained on how to handle your dog. Dogs just behave like dogs. You need to understand how their brains work to prevent problems.


Point is this: all dogs and their owners need to go through some form of training. Don't think that just because you can't afford it, you don't train your dog. You do. And training is a daily process. If you already are sending your dog for formal training, your trainer would've told you that you need to practise the commands with your dog often. Its a game for them and if food's at the reward, who wouldn't want to play?

Have fun with your poochies!!