YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post

BethPurk · 07-12-2008, 07:39 AM

I live in such a small town that we only have one trainer for dogs in our area. She has lots of awards and seems to have a thriving business. She also boards dogs. She has a very sturn way of talking to people and she doesnt seem to care if she might upset you with her words. She is very upfront and forward.

To give a little background, about 3 months ago we put to sleep our 6 year old American Bulldog. We've had him since he was 10 weeks old. (American Bulldogs have the build and appearance of a Boxer to give you an idea of what sort of dog he was, not that it matters) We were ignorant about alot of things with this breed and we were negligent with his training, etc. We should have had him in obedience training but never did. After the birth of our son last August, he slowly started to become more and more aggressive towards everybody that came over to our home or even to strangers if we took him for walks. Eventually he bit me on the hand and nipped at a couple of kids that came over to play with my kids and we had to put him down. It was the single most hardest thing I think we've ever had to do in our lives. We cried for days and I still swear I hear him crying around the house sometimes. Anyway, this trainer had told us about a year ago that he was a dead dog walking and would get worse and worse and she was right. Her training rates were so high and my husband had just gotten a new job working for the state so we had taken a huge pay decrease that year and couldnt afford the training we knew the dog needed. I know its an excuse but its what was real for us. When I spoke with her yesterday about Sadie and how I wanted to put her in obedience training, she agreed that all dogs needed training. She asked about our other dog and I told her and I told her how we cried and cried and she said that my husband should not have been allowed to cry because he killed that dog by not getting him the training he should have had when he needed it. I did put alot of that on my husband because he is the one that wanted that dog and that breed and I had children to raise and told him to take care of the training, etc and he failed to do so. But I dont blame him entirely on his death. I live here too and I could have stepped up more and I didnt. I felt that she was harsh with her words to me though. She also asked me how long it would be before we put Sadie down too if we didnt get her training. That was hurtful to me, but I dismissed it. I told her that that is why I was there with Sadie. I wasnt going to let our other dog die in vain. We should have trained him and we didnt and I wasnt going to make that mistake with Sadie because then we havent learned anything by the death of our dog. She agreed with me and was glad to see me there.

She recommended a few websites to me. She is very helpful to me. I want to do the right thing with Sadie because of what happened to our last dog. Whether we are entitled to cry about our dog or not, it still hurts us that he is not here now. I will do with Sadie all the things I should have done with our other dog. I want to learn and be a good pet owner and I just felt hurt by how she talked to me. Knowing I am going to be dealing with her alot during the training of my puppy, should I say something to her about how she made me feel or just go on and hope she doesnt say anything again? And what if she does say things? I guess I need to hear them, even if its not always good. I dont know. Maybe Im just venting here. I guess the truth DOES hurt sometimes.

07-12-2008, 07:39 AM	#1
BethPurk Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Susanville, Ca, USA Posts: 160	Trainer behavior questions I live in such a small town that we only have one trainer for dogs in our area. She has lots of awards and seems to have a thriving business. She also boards dogs. She has a very sturn way of talking to people and she doesnt seem to care if she might upset you with her words. She is very upfront and forward. To give a little background, about 3 months ago we put to sleep our 6 year old American Bulldog. We've had him since he was 10 weeks old. (American Bulldogs have the build and appearance of a Boxer to give you an idea of what sort of dog he was, not that it matters) We were ignorant about alot of things with this breed and we were negligent with his training, etc. We should have had him in obedience training but never did. After the birth of our son last August, he slowly started to become more and more aggressive towards everybody that came over to our home or even to strangers if we took him for walks. Eventually he bit me on the hand and nipped at a couple of kids that came over to play with my kids and we had to put him down. It was the single most hardest thing I think we've ever had to do in our lives. We cried for days and I still swear I hear him crying around the house sometimes. Anyway, this trainer had told us about a year ago that he was a dead dog walking and would get worse and worse and she was right. Her training rates were so high and my husband had just gotten a new job working for the state so we had taken a huge pay decrease that year and couldnt afford the training we knew the dog needed. I know its an excuse but its what was real for us. When I spoke with her yesterday about Sadie and how I wanted to put her in obedience training, she agreed that all dogs needed training. She asked about our other dog and I told her and I told her how we cried and cried and she said that my husband should not have been allowed to cry because he killed that dog by not getting him the training he should have had when he needed it. I did put alot of that on my husband because he is the one that wanted that dog and that breed and I had children to raise and told him to take care of the training, etc and he failed to do so. But I dont blame him entirely on his death. I live here too and I could have stepped up more and I didnt. I felt that she was harsh with her words to me though. She also asked me how long it would be before we put Sadie down too if we didnt get her training. That was hurtful to me, but I dismissed it. I told her that that is why I was there with Sadie. I wasnt going to let our other dog die in vain. We should have trained him and we didnt and I wasnt going to make that mistake with Sadie because then we havent learned anything by the death of our dog. She agreed with me and was glad to see me there. She recommended a few websites to me. She is very helpful to me. I want to do the right thing with Sadie because of what happened to our last dog. Whether we are entitled to cry about our dog or not, it still hurts us that he is not here now. I will do with Sadie all the things I should have done with our other dog. I want to learn and be a good pet owner and I just felt hurt by how she talked to me. Knowing I am going to be dealing with her alot during the training of my puppy, should I say something to her about how she made me feel or just go on and hope she doesnt say anything again? And what if she does say things? I guess I need to hear them, even if its not always good. I dont know. Maybe Im just venting here. I guess the truth DOES hurt sometimes.