Question 1 – Obedience classes for the young puppy
My mixed breed puppy is twelve weeks old. I would like to have him obedience trained so I want to enroll him in obedience training classes. I am told that the minimum age for dogs to enroll in these types of classes in my city is 6 months and my puppy does not qualify because he is younger. I can’t wait that long because his behavior is sometimes pretty bad and my parents will make sure I get rid of him if his behavior doesn’t improve. This is the reason why I want him to be trained immediately.
Answer 1 – The technique of training puppies in the age range of 12 to 20 weeks is totally different from that of other older dogs. Many of the trainers are not familiar with this method since they do not update their knowledge with the latest in animal behavior research.
Many of the trainers do not specialize in training young puppies. The importance of training dogs at younger ages is recognized by trainers who have up-to-date information on training dogs of various ages. However, these trainers avoid accepting puppies for obedience training in a class because puppy training requires a lot of patience and understanding that the puppy’s owner does not possess.
Question 2 – My Samoyed and his strange desire to chase cows
My dog is a Samoyed who lives with me on a dairy farm; my dog has a habit of chasing cows very often and I am afraid that one of the cows will fall and get hurt; alternatively, the cow could fall on the dog and insult him. I am interested in getting the right advice to break your habit of chasing cows.
Answer 2 – It is possible to give you an answer for all dogs other than Samoyeds; this breed is totally different from all other breeds. The ancestors of the Samoyed dog were given the responsibility of going it alone, rounding up the reindeer and bringing them back to the farm. No human intervention takes place here. You may not be aware of this.
These dogs have not lost their herding instinct even after the passage of several years and, in fact, it is deeply ingrained in their blood.
Your Samoyed is responding to his herding instinct and if you try to break it it could affect the mental stability of the dog. My first recommendation is to enroll your dog in an obedience training class. If the dog is fully trained in basic obedience, then you could entrust the job of controlling your dog’s herding appetite to a specialized instructor.