I don't really think about owning perfect....one because i like a spirit in a dog, not one that performs like a robot, two because i think the more you go over and over a thing with a dog...the dog IMO gets bored.

When i have had an issue, I spin it round to work with it rather than against it, so if one of mine for instance went to run after a squirrel I just say ''wait''.
Wait in thier heads serve as a multipal amount of purposes, ''wait'' by a kerb....Door....to get into the car....to get on a bus etc etc
So wait for them is something that is a ''good thing happening'' they get praised for doing it and that serves them well and they get that as a reward.

By which time the squirrel has gone...

No - just being there! She had an `exclusion zone` which became bigger for things she hadn`t encountered - like people carrying ladders, or using mobile phones, or umbrellas, or skateboards....and so on. Or walking past her, in the early days - that was fun.
As you may gather, she wasn`t socialised then.

Interesting thread

I do think there is immense pressure on dogs and owners in today's society. I don't think dogs are allowed to just be dogs a lot of the time anymore. Many non-dog lovers (and even some other dog owners) are appalled/frightened/disgusted etc just by what used to be considered normal dog behaviour - ie barking, running off lead, meeting other dogs, scuffles, rolling in fox poo etc! This little island of ours is becoming more and more overcrowded and I think the more condensed people become, the less tolerant they become of dog behaviour (as well as lots of other things!).

Knee jerk reaction legislation such as the DDA has put more pressure on to dog owners to have dogs that are totally under control at ALL times and are seen to be perfect.

I like to train my dogs to be well behaved in every day situations, rather than for obedience competitions and the like. If one of them has a specific problem (such as Yogi's barking at other dogs) then I do try to work on the problem to cure it, but have also found some problems are better managed than struggling on to try and cure.

Thurber wrote an amusing tale (retold I believe in a Pryor book) of a woman who, at Christmas, used to send a box of chocolates to everybody that her dog had bitten that year. One year she sent fifty boxes.

'Every dog is allowed one mistake' is an ethos long since gone more's the pity. Nowadays our dogs are expected to be perfect or at least to a standard far higher than, say, a Member of Parliament.

Nicely put.

Hi,

My dogs are quite well train - zne being the best at most things (as he's older) and Yiannis jsut ding his own thing (although he has perfect recall).

I don't want perfect dogs - maybe when they're older and I can catch them if they're naughty but at the moment they're between 17 and 7 months old; so to me they're stil puppies.

Eventualy I'd like to train them all to a high standard in obedience, agility and maybe flyball (not Zane) but it all takes time. Any problems alng the way may be dealt with by furthe training but it depends on what it is and what I feel shuld be achieved by it at the end of the day.

I don't want my dogs to be so well behaved they oerpate like robots. That's no fun. They need to let off steam, play, be a bit naughty and do silly things. Not all the time but occasioanlly it adds fun to my life and they make me laugh.

They're not show dogs but I'd like to train them to the best stadard I can. I'd alsoliek Oscar to handle them (they already do everything he wants them to) but again it has to be fun for all concerned.

I had them all as pets an djust like kids if things don't go according to plan we can't send them back. Even when I've had a few days of complete chaos, I'd never change it.

So I feel I'm a bit more relaxed about things. Yes I like to have thm behave when out in public etc. But it's not the end of the world if they don't.

Laura xx

so often, good management is the cure

I think people (not those on here of course! ) are losing the idea that a dog is an animal, with all that entails. So often now they seem expected to be a cross between furry toddlers (minus the tantrums) and childrens toys.
Why should a dog be expected to put up with being touched by all and sundry? Why should a dog not show behaviours that have been deliberately bred in?
Unfortunately we are so divorced from the natural world that most people rarely interact with animals so they have unrealistic expectations. .

Couldn't agree more Claire.

I think I am under a lot of pressure both from the local representatives of the service dog schools and the public to have very well behaved dogs. The only slack I get is from much of the public that is used to dogs with little or no training.