I got a call yesterday from a woman who wanted to know how much I charge for training. I asked her to tell me a little about her dog. It turns out that the dog in question is a 1 year old Labradoodle. She told me that she has begun to keep him outside because he is ruining her house.
She works long hours and her child is in school. The dog is not completely house-trained and was also chewing up things when he was left alone all day. As we were talking, she said, “I don't know if I should try to train him or if I should just give him away.”
My heart broke. Why do people wait until they are at the end of their rope with a dog to seek help? All of her problems are workable. Most of her problems could have been avoided if she had called me when the puppy was 3 or 4 months old. Now this dog may end up in the shelter, he will pay for his owner's ignorance.
I spent about 30 minutes of my time talking to her about her dog. Telling her that this is a young, high energy dog and that while I realize that she works all day and her son is in school, that they will need to make some time each day to work with and exercise the dog. They will need to provide some mental stimulation for him during the day when they are not home. I can help them get the dog house-trained and work on manners.
I explained my program and the cost. She told me that she will have to talk to her family and they will decide if they want to work with the dog. Now I am angry. I wish I could call this woman back and read her the riot act! You got a puppy for your kid, you took this dog into your home and you didn't bother to teach it anything. You didn't seek help with house-training him. You didn't seek help in teaching him how to be a good dog. You didn't take him to puppy class. You probably didn't do any research about breeds because you bought a high energy dog knowing that you work full time and nobody is home most of the time. What did you expect this puppy to do all day?
I don't expect to hear back from her. I imagine that the dog may end up in the pound or “on a farm.” I just don't understand why people wait until the last minute.
I am now the proud owner/parent/alpha of a labrador from just such a situation. Blueberry is a little over 2yrs old, a giant love bug, but was "too much dog for their house" and confined/chained to a wall in their GARAGE. Grrrr. He is house trained, and thats about it. I met them and him, and in about a minute taught him to shake paw. He is smart, beautiful, loving and unsocialized, does not know how to play and suffers from seperation anxiety. I was delighted when i went home at lunch today and tossed his wubba in the yard and he ran and got it and brought it sort of to me. That was a first.
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