Another Lakeland Terrier

This is Joie. She is a Lakeland Terrier who started training Monday.

About two weeks ago I got an e mail from a rescue group asking for help. I replied with our standard offer. We will give a discount to rescue dogs from recognized organizations for dog’s that come in within thirty days of adoption. I also added that we will donate a free training package to any rescue Lakeland Terrier as part of our commitment to our breed.

Now Lakeland’s are rare so I was surprised to learn they had a mill rescue Lakeland. She got adopted this weekend and Jan called me on Saturday. Joie came in yesterday even though Jan had to come down from the Denver area.

Jan has a sister who lives here in Colorado Springs. Her sister, Debbie has shown Lakelands so Jan was familiar with the breed.

These rescue dogs are breeding dogs that are no longer used and are useless to the puppy mill. If they are not rescued they are put down.

The conditions for most of these puppy mill breeding dogs are horrid. Most are confined to a small cage or crate almost their entire lives. As a result they have never been socialized to people or dogs.

Usually working with this kind of a dog is a long and drawn out process. Some dogs come in to the center three or four times where all we do is let them get comfortable. There is no training, just desensitization to the environment. They not only have trouble making decisions, some of them literally do not know how to be dogs. So it can be months before we start. And sadly not all of them will make much progress.

So when Joie came in I was amazed at how confident she was. It was pretty close to a typical lesson I routinely give to dogs that have normal backgrounds. Joie and her new mom did well.

I think the reason she was so trainable so soon was one of the attributes of this breed. When they worked in England, they sometimes would get trapped and would have to wait days to be rescued. There are even stories of owners having to use explosives to get to them. To be able to lie in the cold and the dark is bred into them.

She will be back in a couple of weeks for her next lesson. She is a Lakeland, and they are the most challenging dog to train. So I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all she is still in the “honeymoon” phase of her relationship with her owner.

But whatever happens I’m pretty sure this dog will make it.

Doug

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I dont like shock collars

Last weekend we went to a home and garden show. The last time we went I was surprised to see one of our local dog trainers had a booth. As he has a lousy reputation and is known as a hustler, I wasnt surprised to see him there.

This show had a local trainer of one of the chains. I haven’t paid much attention to them other than to note that two of my customers had “thrown them out” of their homes when they came to do a presentation. They do advertise extensively and have a great logo.

I saw the trainer with a dog that I would describe as way too worried. But we had flooring to look for so we walked past. Later when they walked by I was amazed to see the dog wearing a shock collar.

A little bit of research found that this chain does train with shock collars. I just cannot find a way to rationalize that. I could see, in an extreme case, where you might use a shock collar. I have never had to use one, but I was a cop too long to say that I would never use it. But if I did, I guarantee that when the dog left my center, it would never wear it again. To send people out with a permanently attached shock collar is just beyond belief.

It is one thing to correct a dog. But it is another to punish it. To send someone home and rely on their experience, which is limited if they are using a dog trainer, to be firm, fair and consistent isn’t realistic. We have all seen those college psychology experiments where the student is allowed to shock the test subject.

And the bottom line: I barely understand electricity. I don’t think I ever meet a dog that did. Why would you subject a dog to discomfort at best, and outright cruelty in some situations?

I’m not sure what I would call this, but it definitely isn’t dog training.

Doug

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