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Man’s Best Friend . . . The Dog

Who can resist the velvet brown eyes of the Beagle hound, the boundless energy of the Spaniel, the tenacity of the terrier or the limitless enthusiasm of the “tail wagger”? It’s difficult to believe that the hundreds of different breeds of dogs around the world are all distant relations and can trace their ancestry back to the wolf. I mean, it doesn’t take too much imagination to relate the German Shepherd to its distant cousin, but a Yorkshire Terrier . . . come on, you gotta’ be pulling my leg! Welcome to the University of Dog

Man / Dog Relationships

Man and dog have been working together for centuries, and although these days many people like to keep a dog simply as a pet and to give them a good excuse to get out and about for a walk once in a while, there are still plenty of working dogs which are trained to do some pretty remarkable things. These are obviously the A+ students from the University of Dog!

• Guide dogs are trained to be the “eyes” or “ears” of visually or hearing impaired people
• Sniffer dogs can be trained to track down drugs, explosives, people who are trapped or in difficulty . . . some can even detect cancer and other diseases
• Police dogs are trained to hold or bring down suspects or those fleeing from the scene of the crime
• Farm dogs are trained to herd sheep, cattle and other livestock
• Gun dogs are trained to retrieve
• Guard dogs are great at guarding things

Hold on a minute . . . what's in here?

 

Choosing the Right Dog

Unfortunately there are also thousands of dogs abandoned each year which end up in pounds around the country. That’s often because the dog owner didn’t look closely about the University of Dog and think the situation through properly and simply bought the wrong type of dog. A cute little puppy might seem perfect to live in a second floor apartment, but once that puppy becomes an energetic chewing machine with boundless energy then it’s obvious that it needs somewhere more suitable with a large back yard and plenty of room to play. Different dogs do grow into very different sizes, and different breeds of dog each have characteristic traits which need to be studied before your playful pup ends up being just another number at the pound waiting for a new home.

Training Your Dog

When we think about dog training we’re not generally thinking about training our pet dogs and companions to be accomplished at any of the tasks listed above, but a well trained dog does make a happy dog (and a happy dog owner) so some simple training really is essential. You need to train your dog to;

• wait until he gets outside to use the bathroom, an absolutely essential part of puppy training which starts immediately, although some dogs find it more difficult to master than others.

He does, however, get the hang of it eventually . . . . with a little help from above.

• Train your dog to walk obediently on the leash
• Train your dog to be obedient off the leash . . . to sit, stay and come to you
• Train your dog to be sociable (but not too sociable) around other dogs and people