No Fun At The Beach

I am constantly amazed by the advice given to prospective clients who have contacted me after disastrous sessions with other dog trainers. Last night I spoke to a woman with an eight month old French Bulldog. The dog is essentially untrained. While she spend a great deal of time with the dog in the house, allowing it on the furniture and generally over-loving it, she rarely takes the dog out. Other family members walk the dog and have experienced the dog being aggressive towards other dogs.

The owner had contacted a dog trainer who recommended they meet on the beach. Once there, the trainer told her to let the dog off the lead and turn her back. Apparently this was some kind of trust building exercise to help her relax with the dog. Of course the Frenchie went running up to every dog it could see. This had the potential for the dog to do some real damage – if your dog is out of control, it should never be off the lead.

Dog Training Facilities

If you are using a trainer, always check their dog training facilities. Do they have the space and environment to safely train your dog? Are they using public spaces with all the risks that involves? Do they have their own dogs to recreate scenarios where other dogs are around? Check their testimonials – can they offer the level of training you need for your dog?

This owner was set up to fail by her trainer. The problems outside the house emanate from what’s going on at home – a complete reset is needed with the dog’s behaviour. Releasing the dog on the beach only exhibited how badly behaved the dog is.  It’s only through an appropriate training programme that this behaviour can be rectified.

Posted: March 31, 2021