Raising kids well is much harder than raising dogs well. So why are dogs dumped at shelters?

I've raised puppies and I've trained dogs. I am currently raising my child. I see so many similarities between raising children and dogs well. However, I have recently decided that raising children is WAY harder than raising dogs. So why can't people seem to teach their dogs anything? Are these people raising children who run amock? Do they not teach their children how to behave? I have a hard time believing that all of the people who dump dogs at shelters (considering the millions who end up in shelters every year) are poor parents. Our society would cease to function if that were true! So why do people give up on their dogs? Are they just ignorant of how dogs should be raised? Ignorant of what can be done to increase the likelihood of a dog behaving well? There are plenty of books out there, plenty of websites to tell them what to do. Do they just not think about looking? Or are they too lazy to look for help?

Raising children really is harder than raising dogs.

Raising a dog well means training, exercise, training, love, training, and some more exercise. If you exercise a puppy well, you can give him a chewie bone and expect he'll be content for atleast an hour while you do something else. You can put a puppy in a kennel to keep him out of trouble while you do other things. Give him a stuffed Kong, and he'll be fine.

If you train a puppy well, using love and kindness and rewards (we call this positive reinforcement), you will have a grown dog who is well trained, happy, and able to go most places without issue. Dogs are basically programmed to want to please us. Even the most independent of dogs will respond to good training and to a certain tone of voice. They understand when you are displeased and will do their best to accommodate your wishes, even if they don't often understand what you want.

Children, now, are a completely different matter. Children, it seems, are preprogrammed to constantly try for independence. While this is a good thing when considering that you are raising an independent person, it makes training them somewhat problematic. They don't inherently want to please, as a dog does, and they will continually repeat the same behaviors just to see if they can. Being extremely stubborn is a good trait for a parent since we have to out-stubborn our kids. Explaining to a small child that a behavior is not allowed is not easy. It's infinitely easier to redirect a dog into an appropriate behavior than it is to redirect a kid.

Is it just simply that society expects parents to take care of their kids and not dump them on someone else? Do we as a society accept people dumping their pets? I think so. No one wants to upset anyone so the truth is never told. Shelters should have a sign on the front door giving the statistics of the number of dogs they take in, both strays and owner surrenders, the number of dogs they adopt out, the number of dogs they send to rescue, and the number of dogs they kill. Something has to make people think and atleast the straight facts might make a few people turn around and go back home WITH their pet. Are shelters afraid to share this information? Maybe. Perhaps they are afraid it will reflect on them and the job they are doing. Maybe so, in some cases, but in most cases it is the irresponsible people who are the root cause of the entire problem.

How to Train a Dog: Nuisance Barking

Dogs bark. That's what they do. Sometimes a dog barking is a good thing. Alerting you to danger or strangers on your property is part of the reason for having a dog. However, some dogs turn this alert into a nuisance. Dogs may bark at every leaf blowing by, at someone just walking down the street, or at any sound. Constant barking often leads to relinquishing the dog to a shelter, a terrible outcome for all involved. Rather than giving up and giving away the dog, teach the "quiet" and "watch" commands along with conditioning.

Dogs who are well socialized and confident are not typically as fazed by unusual happenings as dogs who are insecure and/or undersocialized. Conditioning, socialization, and confidence building all help a dog to be calm in new situations and accept changes in their environment. This training should begin as soon as possible. Take the dog out into new environments and use positive reinforcement to address any behavioral issues. Socialize the dog with all types of people and other animals. Use your energy to let the dog know you are confident and in control, and he will follow suit. There are numerous sources of information for this type of training.

While working on this training, two concrete commands to teach are "quiet" and "watch".
Teaching quiet is best done before the dog is excited by something and in a barking frenzy. The simplest way is to actually teach the dog to bark on command. Whenever the dog barks, say "good bark!" and give a treat. After a few rewards, the dog will begin to associate his behavior with your reaction. The dog can also be enticed to bark and then rewarded when he does so. Use body language to act very happy and excited and evoke a barking response in the dog. When he barks, say "good bark" and treat. Once this behavior is established, then begin teaching quiet. Ask the dog to bark. When he does say "good bark now quiet". As soon as he's quiet, treat and praise. Incorporating a different hand signal will aid the training. Continue with the "quiet" training by asking for quiet every time the dog barks. Be quick to reward the second he is quiet.

Teaching the "watch" command is a bit easier than teaching "quiet". Any dog will look to his human if there are yummy treats! Simply ask the dog to sit and hold a treat up to your face, saying "watch". Then give the dog the treat. Repeat. As the dog associates looking at you with a treat, begin to use only your finger to point at your face and say "watch". When he looks at you, treat and praise. This command is useful in many situations where a dog's attention is needed so train with different distractions.

After the dog has mastered these two skills, begin to employ them whenever he barks at an unusual happening. Dog barks, say WATCH. As soon as he pays attention to you, treat and praise. Then follow with the QUIET command. If he's quiet, treat and praise immediately. These commands can be used in various circumstances. For example, if the dog is standing close to his human, the watch command is much more effective since line of sight can be easily established. If the dog is in another room, QUIET may work much better and, if taught well, should have the dog running to his person for a treat, which completely breaks the barking intent.

If the dog barks habitually at the same thing, a certain person and his dog walking down the street for example, the training can be a bit different. In this case, a desensitization may be a better choice. When the person and dog are sighted, go to the dog and ask for a sit, sternly if needed. Then use "watch", treats, and praise to tell the dog that the person is no problem. As long as the dog is sitting and watching his human, he gets treats and praise. Repeat this as often as possible and, eventually, the dog will understand that the desired behavior is sitting and calm whenever this distraction passes.


Disclaimer: If there is any concern for safety, consult a professional behaviorist before attempting to address any behavioral problems with a dog. Locally, there are numerous professional dog trainers that may be consulted. Manners in Motion in Pelham, Al is an excellent training facility. Petsmart stores around Alabama offer obedience training courses as well.

Note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com. All content is owned by the author April Mitchem and may not be reproduced without the author's consent.

Dog attacks, the media, and stupidity

Statistics show that 5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year but only 8% must visit a hospital.  EIGHT PERCENT, that's all.  And for all of those bitten, only 15-20 Americans actually die from dog attacks, 15-20 out of 300,000,000 (yes that's 300 million) people in this country.  So, yes, that's 400,000 injured enough to need medical treatment BUT the statistics for car accidents are much worse.  There were 6.5 million car accidents, 2,900,000 people injured, and 42,000 people killed in 2005 in this country.  These numbers are fairly consistent over the years.  Maybe we should just ban cars.  So why are we banning pit bulls, the reportedly most lethal of all dogs, if only 15 people die each year (and NOT by pit bulls exclusively or even majorly) when 42,000 people die by car each year?  This is the illogic of this country and of the media insanity.  The media reports make it SEEM so much worse than it is, in comparison, but car accidents have become so common that people EXPECT a gruesome accident when traffic is bad.  Perhaps it is because car accidents are so obviously the fault of people driving them, most often?  Then why the nuttiness about guns?  Guns don't jump up and kill people any more than cars drive themselves.  Dogs are animals and they do less damage than "cars" and "guns".  Can no one see it is the PEOPLE at fault here?
Did you know in Denver, pit bulls are banned, and yet they still have plenty of dog bites.  So many that they did a study.  They found that male, un-neutered, chained dogs are most likely to bite.  Well, DUH!
The Marines have banned pit bulls and rottweilers on base UNLESS the dog can pass an AKC temperament test.  Dumb, yes, but they then go on to say it's to motivate people to train their dogs.  Huh?  Why don't they offer dog training courses then?  Wouldn't that make a hell of a lot more sense?  Oh, and this is in effect immediately meaning anyone living on base who owns one of these dogs will either give the dog up or it will pass the temperament test.  Way to go USMC, let's put more dogs in shelters to die.  How about offering dog training courses, allowing for some time for dogs to be better trained, and THEN give the temperament test?  Wouldn't that make more sense?  And, by the way, many of the dog bites and deaths are reportedly the first instance of trouble seen in the particular dog so how is a temperament test going to help?
Why don't people ban chihuahuas?  They are typically nervous, aggressive little dogs.  They bite, they snap, they act crazy.  Just because they are small does not mean they can't cause damage and they can certainly cause a dog fight.  And you people who don't keep your small dogs on a leash, if your small dog causes a problem with my big, leashed dog, you won't have to worry about what my dog will do.  You will have to worry about what I will do.  Leash your damn dog if you can't control it.
Anyway, perhaps better breeding programs would be useful...hmm..except RESPONSIBLE breeders don't breed dogs to eat people.  Oh, wait, let's keep backyard breeders who don't give a damn about the dogs or the breed from making so many dogs that will end up euthanized or worse. There's a start.  Then let's require and offer dog training, which is just as important as low cost spay/neuter and vaccination programs.  Let's not force people to give up their good dogs, which has happened in some communities.  Let's instead force people to be responsible pet owners.  Doesn't that make more sense?  Keep your dog under control, under supervision, and TRAIN IT.