Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip  If you don't have enough time to be with your dog for the training, then you don't have enough time to raise a dog properly. |
I couldn't agree more Skip!
And the comment about police dogs...even once these dogs get out of the system if they don't fail out for other reasons (do you know how many are rejected from police dog programs?) these dogs lead a very structured life with a trainer/handler and ongoing training. When you send your dog away sure you get certain behaviours but YOU need to maintain them for the duration of the dog's life or you've wasted your $$.
I have had a conversation with a friend about how we train our dogs to adapt to our own lifestyles. And I acknowledge that what is acceptable in one house is not in another however, I strive to give my dog the skills he needs to function in the outside world or in the case that I could not look after him and someone else had to. This is no different from teaching a child what it means to be polite and to respect others. I am one of those people that believes that dogs (and children) thrive on structure and rules/boundaries.