How important is training your new rescue dog? VERY!

We all ooohhh and aaahhh over those lovely dogs out walking with their owners who can stop and visit people along the way.... or even visit other canine companions. This may be an unrealistic goal for some dogs.... and just because they are not going to play well with other dogs does not mean your new rescue dog will not make a good family pet. When we see people with dogs that clearly respect and enjoy each other, these are the dogs we turn to and say "I want a dog just like that" and often that is why many people will select specific breeds to bring into their home. But that dog didn't come trained and walking nicely on lead and well socialized.... it takes training and commitment.

Most rescue dogs come from shelters and they didn't end up in shelters because they were given a lot of training. That alone is probably the number one reason dogs end up in shelters, even the purebred dogs. It doesn't mean they are bad dogs but just no one has ever shown them what is acceptable and expected.

As a rescue, we are most concerned that any dog we place in a home will stay there for the rest of his/her life and to ensure the best results, we do require that each adopter take their dog to a basic obedience class. Even dogs that have some previous obedience training can benefit from the review and focus on building the new relationship rather than teaching formal behaviors.

Like anything, there are good and bad trainers and some use negative reinforcement (punishment based techniques) and others use positive reinforcement (food and praise techniques). As you can already imagine, we want only the positive type of training done with our rescue dogs.

The classes are usually a few weeks long and maybe 45 minutes to 1 hr a week in class, but the dogs love it as it's great socialization for them and most owners enjoy it as well. So make the start of this new relationship a good one and get into an obedience class right away.

According to Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a well-known behaviorist, training should not involve any negative or punishment-based components.

There should be no yelling, no hitting, no chain jerking, no hanging, and absolutely no electric shock. Each session should be upbeat and positive with rewards for jobs well done.

We believe in positive training. We do NOT recommend Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer). 

Also, stay away from trainers who use prong and electric shock collars. They will injure your dog, and they are painful. 

Looking for some basics? Check-out our "5 Minute-a-Day Dog Training" page!