Dog Training in Two Days- A Workshop

I have another workshop this weekend.  It will be held at Ciao Bow Wow at 16 Beaver Street in the Financial District.  You can take the 4 or the 5 to Bowling Green.  Walk one block east on Beaver.  Many people have asked, "How can you train a dog in two days"?  It can be done.  I have done it time and time again.  Here is a link to an article that is the foundation of our workshop.  http://www.dru.org/zenseminar.htm

See you Saturday.

Facebook

This whole facebook.com is crazy, I think.  My first reaction was, "Another MySpace", thinking that it was a bunch of teenagers discussing sex, drugs and rock 'n roll and telling the world way too much about their not so private lives.  However, I see that it is truly an easy way to stay in touch with friends, network for those climbing the corporate ladder and network amongst like minded folks.  So what does this have to do with dogs?  From a dog trainer's standpoint, it is a great way to market oneself.  It helps dog owners to get to know the trainer outside of the usual marketing and bravado that they may find on the trainer.  But like many other websites it helps keep the world a small place.  A place where many dog lovers can discuss their dogs, problems and most importantly, solutions.  And when we dog owners and lovers are wasting our time surfing the net, we can practice a nice, long down stay. Writing that reminds me of  a great book, The Long Good Boy, written by Carol Benjamin.  If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it.

Collars by Captain Haggerty

I was queried on which collar should be used for a Miniature Schnauzer. Good question! I am in favor on using the right equipment on an individualized basis. Of course, we are talking about breed here and not an individual dog. Breed characteristics are very much similar although not absolute. My answer? The safest collar in the world. The metal choke collar. Some will say that you do not "need" that kind of collar for the Miniature Schnauzer and they are right. You do not "need" that kind of collar and you don't even "need" to train the dog. You do want to train the dog as fast as possible. There are others out there that want to take their time training the dog. That is a viable option but not if you are a professional trainer. Dog training is a labor-intensive business and the successful trainers are the ones that get the job done faster. Owners by the way want fast results. Those that oppose choke collars because they "strangle" the dog just do not know how to use the collar properly and they SHOULD NOT use the collar. I do not feel that any trainer should use equipment that they cannot use properly or that they don't believe in. I was asked what collar I would recommend and that is my answer. - February 23, 2005

Prong collars

Someone called the other day and asked if we would put a prong collar on her 12 week old puppy. I asked her why she thought that and she told me that some of our students had them on their full grown dogs. I asked her the names of those studetns. One was not our student. The other had a full grown Lab.Prong collars are like power steeering. They make it easier for the owner to handle a dog PROVIDED that the dog has not become immune to the collar. I personally do not prefer prong collars, at least as my first choice of tools because it does not finesse an owner's handling skills. The owner needs to know how to handle the dog without "power steering". Another disadvantage of the prong collar is that they have been known to come undone.That being said, I am willing to use them when necessary. For example, if an arthritic 100# woman came to us with a 130# Rotttweiler, I would consider it, along with other tools. It is necessary to assess the situation, the dog, the owner and the needs of each before determining which tool of choice to use. As far as a 12 week old Golden Retriever puppy is concerned. I do not see any reason to use the prong collar on the dog. If the woman trains her dog now so that we can stop problems from developing she will probably never need to use much more than a flat buckle collar in the future. However, the longer she waits to train her dog, the more difficult it will become and more problems will develop which will need correcting.Babette Hagerty-Brennan

Howling Poodle

I met someone on a message board who was soliciting help for their howling Poodle. This was my advice:
Sorry to hear that you are having a problem with your neighbor. Unfortunately, this is common. This is what you need to do.1. Buy a voice activated tape recorder.2. Place a 120 minute tape in there.3. When you are leaving the house say: "It is now 8:47 am Wednesday the 2nd" NOT "It is about a quarter to nine." This small difference will make a huge difference should this go further. Then leave the tape on voice activation record. As soon as you walk back into the house, walk straight to the tape and announce the exact time into the tape. Keep a log and the tapes of this and I will bet you a million dollars that in a few short days you will find that your dog's howling, if it exists at all, is much shorter than the ALL DAY the neighbor claims. Once you have this proof the neighbor will lose all credibility. I have seen this happen countless times over the years training dogs and the complaints go away as well

Haggerty's School for Dogs

Having now returned to my roots in NYC, I am back training dogs, like I was 18 years ago working for my dad running his school, Captain Haggerty's School for Dogs. It is good to be home! Carol Benjamin once told me that the best behaved dogs live in NYC and they certainly do. Where else can you live on top of other people and get away with bad manners? Not only are the best behaved dogs in the world here but it is the greatest city in the world and I am so glad to be home.