I don’t want my dog to be an Obedience Champion!

I think many times people think since I have a lot of working “titles” on my own dogs from AKC, UKC, and the SV, that I expect my clients to work towards that goal as well with their dogs.  That simply is not the case.  Originally, the AKC title called a “CD” or “Companion Dog” was developed because the skills needed in that were basic for a good companion.  I do think that these skills to accomplish titles are very helpful in terms of teaching a dog how to be a nice dog to live with.  But, getting a “title” is not the end all.

Recently, someone asked me what I expected from my own dogs.  I thought this was a GREAT question!  It’s one we should all think about. I do NOT expect them to be obedience champions; however, I do expect them to have manners.  There are several skills that are very important to me for my dogs to have so that I can live a peaceful life with them and they can be safe from everyday dangers. 

This is my response:

I want nice manners. No jumping on anything – the counters or people or other dogs. Imagine a dog that jumps on the counter and grabs a knife with meat juice on it? The results could be devastating.  

I want my dogs to be aware of my space and move so they don’t knock me over or that I trip on them. They should never knock anyone over!  I want them to bark at the door, but stop when my hand reaches the door knob. I want them to sit and wait before going through doors or coming out of the van. What if one of them jumped from the van into the street!

I want them to come when they are called on walks. I do want a dog that can stay no matter what because sometimes that’s a life and death thing. I want them to allow being handled by anyone – the veterinarian or tech without fuss or aggression even if my dog is in pain. 

I want to be able to put food on the coffee table and know that I can walk back into the kitchen and no dog will touch my food. I want my dogs to be invited on the bed and understand that it is MY bed not theirs. It is a privilege to sleep on the bed, not their right. 

And I expect them to be well mannered about eating with each other. They can all eat together without any possession aggression and they wait nicely for their food before they eat. Whining, spinning, barking is not acceptable while I make their dinner or mine. I expect them to have good manners and speak well to other dogs.  I expect them to not wreck my house when I am gone because of separation anxiety.

The other thing to remember is that when you have multiple dogs, the dogs that are in your home will teach the newcomer.  If the existing dogs have bad manners, bad manners will go on and on and on.  If your existing dog is well mannered, it will help you tremendously.

Manners are taught.  It is not the result of a “mellow” dog, although that helps.  It takes time and effort to have a dog with good manners!

And I want a dog that can look at the camera when I take photos!

Caption for photo:  “Kalidor is a joy to live with because he learned manners at an early age.  It also allows him to have more freedom, responsibly.”