THE TRAINING JOURNEY
(Part 1)
I NEED TO TAKE MY DOG TO TRAINING CLASSES…….. REALLY?
People often ask the question – why do I need to take my dog to a training class? Years ago no one took
their dog to a training class! I don’t want a robot, I want a dog! Dogs are dogs! Times have definitely
changed but wanting a pet vs a dog is really the answer to all of the questions.
We integrate our ‘pets’ into our lives – we take them to the store with us, for car rides, to the doggie park
to play with other pets, to doggie day care. We feed them holistic and all natural foods to prevent
allergies, etc.; we vaccinate them for every disease known; we surgically fix what is ailing them or broken;
we spay and neuter; we groom them regularly and make them smell ‘pretty’; dress them in coats, boots,
and costumes; we buy them Christmas and birthday presents and have their pictures taken with Santa.
The list goes on…………… We truly make them an important part of our lives – they are our pets, an
extension of our family.
Now think back years ago …. Dogs were fed whatever canned food was affordable and available (I
remember those cans of Alpo and Strongheart!) or given table scraps (bones and all), left out on the farm
or in the yard for hours (to dig, bark, chase and catch whatever ran around out there – and usually eat it
too!), not bathed very often because dogs are suppose to smell like dogs (not like lavender fields, vanilla,
etc), rarely vaccinated (money was tight and some of the vaccines we have today weren’t even around
‘back in the day’), if they broke a bone – it healed in time (technology did not exist to fix the luxating
patella), their teeth weren’t cleaned (they usually chewed enough outside to keep their teeth fairly clean
and if they lost a tooth they survived just fine), they slept outside or on the floor near the heater or out on
the porch (never in a human bed!), there were no doggie coats, hats, boots, etc (they had fur to keep them
warm), if the dog got out of the yard they would eventually come home. Dogs used their breed instincts
often – hunting; chasing vermin, badgers, etc.; guarding businesses and homes; herding cattle and sheep;
just to name a few. If a dog bit someone the common thought was “well they probably deserved it”. Most
dogs had a job to do and did it well. They were mentally and physically stimulated and challenged by using
their breed instincts daily. None of this meant that people did not love their dogs – they did….but in the
end they were “just the dog”.
So, why do dogs need training classes, you ask. Our ‘pets’ are now part of our social status, our activities –
our daily lives. We expect certain behaviors out of them. They don’t need their breed instincts to survive
in our lifestyle. You can’t take a smelly pet to see Santa or to someone else’s house for a play date, you
can’t take an unsocialized pet to a doggie park, we monitor our pet’s health like we monitor our own and
we get veterinary care for them regularly (and they are not allowed to bite the vet), our pets get top of the
line foods to prevent certain diseases and ailments; our pets don’t live in our backyards (our neighbors
would not be happy if the dog barked all day), we don’t allow our pets to dig up our yards – we have
landscaping, etc.!; some of our pets sleep in human beds; we hate when our pets jump on our guests and
‘herd’ our children; we don’t necessary want them guarding but want them to be social and accepting of
humans and other pets – biting leads to lawsuits. Everything above takes a certain amount of training so
that our pets exhibit the acceptable behavior to do the things mentioned above without incident. Dogs are
born with their natural instincts, which unfortunately include some of the behaviors that just don’t cut it
in our social world. All of these things we do not want our pets to do require proper correction and
teaching of a new acceptable behavior, along with the praise and reward that comes with it --- hence
positive reinforcement training. Our pets are living in a human world and we need to teach them the
behaviors that are acceptable for our lifestyle. Our pets can be so much more than just creatures that
survive on instinct – they can be agility champions, therapy workers, good mannered guests at events and
other people’s homes, and above all gentle, wonderful and affectionate companions. That does not mean
we are making robots out of them – we are just redirecting some of their breed instincts, making them
more social and offering them rewarding praise for a job well done --- and I have yet to meet a pet that
says “Nope, I don’t want to do any of those things”. All a pet wants to do is please you and they are more
than capable of doing so when we just teach them how and reward them for that job well done. Training is
just another part of loving and caring for our pets enough to want them to be more than “just a dog”.
Next issue --- Part II – How long is this 'training' going to take????
GAYLE COSENTINO, CERTIFIED DOG TRAINER
IT’S A ‘PAWS'-ITIVE THING LLC
7859 S. Cronin
Justice, IL 60458
630.881.4778
(Part 1)
I NEED TO TAKE MY DOG TO TRAINING CLASSES…….. REALLY?
People often ask the question – why do I need to take my dog to a training class? Years ago no one took
their dog to a training class! I don’t want a robot, I want a dog! Dogs are dogs! Times have definitely
changed but wanting a pet vs a dog is really the answer to all of the questions.
We integrate our ‘pets’ into our lives – we take them to the store with us, for car rides, to the doggie park
to play with other pets, to doggie day care. We feed them holistic and all natural foods to prevent
allergies, etc.; we vaccinate them for every disease known; we surgically fix what is ailing them or broken;
we spay and neuter; we groom them regularly and make them smell ‘pretty’; dress them in coats, boots,
and costumes; we buy them Christmas and birthday presents and have their pictures taken with Santa.
The list goes on…………… We truly make them an important part of our lives – they are our pets, an
extension of our family.
Now think back years ago …. Dogs were fed whatever canned food was affordable and available (I
remember those cans of Alpo and Strongheart!) or given table scraps (bones and all), left out on the farm
or in the yard for hours (to dig, bark, chase and catch whatever ran around out there – and usually eat it
too!), not bathed very often because dogs are suppose to smell like dogs (not like lavender fields, vanilla,
etc), rarely vaccinated (money was tight and some of the vaccines we have today weren’t even around
‘back in the day’), if they broke a bone – it healed in time (technology did not exist to fix the luxating
patella), their teeth weren’t cleaned (they usually chewed enough outside to keep their teeth fairly clean
and if they lost a tooth they survived just fine), they slept outside or on the floor near the heater or out on
the porch (never in a human bed!), there were no doggie coats, hats, boots, etc (they had fur to keep them
warm), if the dog got out of the yard they would eventually come home. Dogs used their breed instincts
often – hunting; chasing vermin, badgers, etc.; guarding businesses and homes; herding cattle and sheep;
just to name a few. If a dog bit someone the common thought was “well they probably deserved it”. Most
dogs had a job to do and did it well. They were mentally and physically stimulated and challenged by using
their breed instincts daily. None of this meant that people did not love their dogs – they did….but in the
end they were “just the dog”.
So, why do dogs need training classes, you ask. Our ‘pets’ are now part of our social status, our activities –
our daily lives. We expect certain behaviors out of them. They don’t need their breed instincts to survive
in our lifestyle. You can’t take a smelly pet to see Santa or to someone else’s house for a play date, you
can’t take an unsocialized pet to a doggie park, we monitor our pet’s health like we monitor our own and
we get veterinary care for them regularly (and they are not allowed to bite the vet), our pets get top of the
line foods to prevent certain diseases and ailments; our pets don’t live in our backyards (our neighbors
would not be happy if the dog barked all day), we don’t allow our pets to dig up our yards – we have
landscaping, etc.!; some of our pets sleep in human beds; we hate when our pets jump on our guests and
‘herd’ our children; we don’t necessary want them guarding but want them to be social and accepting of
humans and other pets – biting leads to lawsuits. Everything above takes a certain amount of training so
that our pets exhibit the acceptable behavior to do the things mentioned above without incident. Dogs are
born with their natural instincts, which unfortunately include some of the behaviors that just don’t cut it
in our social world. All of these things we do not want our pets to do require proper correction and
teaching of a new acceptable behavior, along with the praise and reward that comes with it --- hence
positive reinforcement training. Our pets are living in a human world and we need to teach them the
behaviors that are acceptable for our lifestyle. Our pets can be so much more than just creatures that
survive on instinct – they can be agility champions, therapy workers, good mannered guests at events and
other people’s homes, and above all gentle, wonderful and affectionate companions. That does not mean
we are making robots out of them – we are just redirecting some of their breed instincts, making them
more social and offering them rewarding praise for a job well done --- and I have yet to meet a pet that
says “Nope, I don’t want to do any of those things”. All a pet wants to do is please you and they are more
than capable of doing so when we just teach them how and reward them for that job well done. Training is
just another part of loving and caring for our pets enough to want them to be more than “just a dog”.
Next issue --- Part II – How long is this 'training' going to take????
GAYLE COSENTINO, CERTIFIED DOG TRAINER
IT’S A ‘PAWS'-ITIVE THING LLC
7859 S. Cronin
Justice, IL 60458
630.881.4778
IT'S A 'PAWS'-ITIVE THING
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