[debbiej]

when I adopted an untrained young adult male from the shelter, he had no manners. none. no training, no idea of how to behave in the house, around other dogs or people. I had no real idea of how to teach him. oh, I'd trained dogs before, but none as strong or nutty as he was. I took him to a number of trainers to get help. some were not at all what we needed. I shudder to think what some of them would have done if I was not there to be the one handling my dog.

really, we go to trainers to learn how to train our dogs ourselves. not all trainers work for all dogs. we need to be present to learn from a good trainer, and protect our dogs from bad ones.

the place I am going for training now is a kennel that actually takes people's dog and trains them for them. they also train service dogs, bomb and drug dogs, work with the army, and border patrol. They are the best trainers I have every come across. I trust them and hang on their words and actions. But I would never leave my dog with them for training, I WANT to be the one working and learning with my dog. the trainers, I know, would be really disappointed if I said I wanted them to keep him and train him for me.

training is an ongoing, everyday, every situation, effort. sending your dog away to be trained by someone else is counterproductive to this effort.