Cutter's Word

The Dog Days of Winter

Published in The North Raleigh News, November 24, 2006

Click for PDF of full article as published

Honing the habits of holiday hounds can mean happier times for you,  your guests and possibly the Persian rug.

Christmas morning arrives with a floppy-eared puppy beneath the tree. Then he wets the floor- or pounces and the tree comes crashing down. Experts say training can keep the joy of a new pet from turning into a nightmare.

Such training may help new owners keep pets, said Mondy Lamb, marketing director for the SPCA. “Ninety-four percent of people who turn an animal into a shelter said that if they’d had advise or help, they would not have relinquished the animal.” Lamb said.

Even for established dog owners, obedience training can be useful this time of the year, said Sandee Lehto of the Triangle Training Center.

“Around the holidays,” Lehto said, “people spend more time at home, it gets darker earlier so dogs don’t get as much exercise and people have more family and friends over to visit.”

Finding an obedience program can be daunting, however. Each trainer offers slightly different methods and finding the right one to match your dog’s needs may take time.

At obedience classes, owners learn how to correct their dog’s bad habits- and their own. Owner’s bad habits, trainers say, include not excersising or socializing their dogs in different environments and spoiling them.

At Hook’s K9 Training, focus is stressed. “The most important thing for a dog to learn is to ignore distractions because training is for when everything falls apart,” said Nancy Hook Widener, owner of Hook’s, “Every dog is well behaved when nothing else is going on. Training is for when things are scary or exciting. So their job is to focus on the job at hand.”

Canine Country Club uses motivational methods such as treats and praise with correct behavior. Like Hook’s K9 Training, it adds more distractions throughout its classes.

Teamworks Dog Training uses positive reinforcement-based methods that work for the whole family. Similarly, Triangle Training Center evaluates dogs to find out why they are behaving poorly, then corrects the problem with positive reinforcement.

 “The key to successful training is a trusting relationship between the dog and the owner,” said Molly Stone, a local trainer.

When finding a qualified trainer, “The experience and reputation are the most important qualities that dog owners can look for,” comments David Ellis, DMV of Falls Veterinary Hospital.

Of course, you could get lucky, like dog owner Ashley Craig. The 23-year old North Raleigh resident found Hook’s K9 Training by coincidence.

“We saw all these dogs in the parking lot, and we just happened to stop by,” Craig said, “We looked at her Web site, and really liked the method that she talked about.”

This is the second series of classes for Mikey, a boxer and an Argentinean mastiff mix, and the training has worked well, she said.

North Raleigh Obedience Training Schools

Canine Country Club

Companion Animal Hospital of Wakefield

Hook’s K9 Training
www.hooksk9training.com

K9 Solutions by Sylvie
919-779-3813
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www.trianglecaninesolutions.com

Oberlin Animal Hospital

PetSmart

Teamworks Dog Training

Triangle Training Center, Inc.

Molly Stone (Individual Trainer)
919-523-4022
www.communicanine.com