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bad dog: blog

bad dog's blog


debra morgan's blog: the first bad dog

by Debra Morgan
Published Jul. 10, 2008

    Tonight's the night!  During WRAL's 5:30 News for the next three Thursdays, we're going to profile a bad dog and see if we can turn him or her into a good dog!  We had so many great entries, it was tough to pick just three.  But we chose dogs who seemed to represent several other dogs with "issues."  You may see some problems you see in your own dog.  And, as I'm sure you know, training the family is just as important as training the dog.   Our first dog is Albie.  He's a Puggle with multiple bad behaviors such as barking (a lot!), going to the bathroom in the house, acting up in his kennel, chewing, and did I mention barking?!  But, by the end of the story, you can see some obvious improvement.  Once we profile all three dogs, we will revisit them in a fourth story to see if they've really gone from bad dogs to good ones.   This project really interests me since my two children have four legs.  Bailey is the black Lab and Harper is the yellow Lab.  This picture I've attached shows them when we first brought Harper home.  Bailey is now 7 and Harper is just one.  My husband has done an amazing job training them!  In fact, if you watch the Bad Dog! promo running on TV right now, you can spot Harper in the "O" and Bailey runs through the picture carrying a newspaper.  They'll do whatever my husband says so they were great to work with during the photo shoot.  I'm a proud mom!

   By the way, the trainer on this project, Jenny Marconyak with Bark Busters, is willing to answer your questions on this site so ask away!

Debra



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Professor Hopkins has a problem and we need some help. "Hoppy" is a 3 year old Welsh Terrier. Woody our mail man greets him at the backyard gate and gives him two dog biscuits. When Hoppy wasn't outside, Woody would put the dog biscuits through our mail slot with the mail. Only problem is... Woody only works four days a week -- and the mail is delivered six days a week. So now, if there isn't a dog biscuit with the mail, Hoppy tears up the mail searching for the dog biscuit! What are we to do? Hoppy damaged a NetFlix DVD the other day.

Bailey is the black Lab and Harper is the yellow Lab. This picture I've attached shows them when we first brought Harper home. ============================================================ = lee10

[url=http://sambell3rd.com/birddog]Virtual Bird Dog Blueprint[/url]

This project really interests me since my two children have four legs. Bailey is the black Lab and Harper is the yellow Lab. This picture I've attached shows them when we first brought Harper home. ============================================================ = lee1

Virtual Bird Dog Blueprint

First and foremost, look at what your dog's breed or breed mix was meant to do. Your dog may need much more exercise and/or outlets for their individual drives. ============================================================ = lee

Virtual Bird Dog Blueprint

barking can be sometimes painful enuf for someone to feel ill http://sambell3rd.com/birddog

On making a living with dogs:

Bottom line is that you have to really like people. Educating and working with pet parents is the biggest part of my life and I love helping people make the connection and resolve issues with their pets. If you don't genuinely enjoy helping the people, you may want to go another direction.

Look into apdt.com, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, which is like the "BAR Association" for dog trainers. They provide educational opportunities, conferences, etc.

I recommend reading Nicole Wilde's book "So You Want to be a Dog Trainer". This a great read about all the ins and outs of the profession, how to gain experience and education, etc.

And this article is right on the money on dogstardaily.com with practical thoughts on making a business plan, getting liability insurance, etc. by Valerie Boutelle called "Making a Living with the Dogs":

http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/making-living-dogs-veronica-boutelle-ma-ctc

Best of luck!

Hi ninamc65. There are many avenues to becoming a dog trainer. Most people go to a canine behavioral college or take an online training program. I cannot attest to the effectiveness of those avenues myself. Other folks go to work for a trainer and learn on the job. Bark Busters trains all trainers in their own school and conducts all testing for licensing. There are continuing education and other requirement to maintain your license. There is more info on the website. The question of your brother's pit bull terrier is complicated. I would have to know more and meet and evaluate the dog to determine what can be done. Just because a dog bit sommeone does not mean they are vicious and must be euthanized - it depends on the dog's temperment and the circumstances around the bite. I can answer more specifically if he contacts us at 1-877-500-BARK, or via the website.

Jenny at Bark Busters:

I have a couple of questions... 1. How does somebody who is an amateur "dog whisperer" go about becoming a professional dog trainer? I definitely have a way with dogs and can think like them....they all love me! I would love to become a dog trainer as I have to say my two dogs are extremely well-behaved. (everyone says so, especially the people at the vet's office...particularly my rescued Chow-Mastiff mix, who everyone expects to be very aggressive...he's not at all.) 2. My brother has a friend whose pit bull terrier is in danger of being euthanized and I'm scrambling to come up with an alternative. Apparently, he got into a fight with another male dog the other day, and bit my brother's friend. He gets along with the other dog in the home, though..she's female; he's neutered, too, so I think he can be trained to not be dog-aggressive. Ordinarily, he's not people-aggressive. Can you please help? How much are your services?

I hope that everyone will enjoy checking out this week's "Bad Dog" winner Riley on Thursday. He is a cute little dog with a big(and not-so-cute)attitude! Feel free to post your questions about the training sessions to this blog and I will do my best to answer.

Just glad to see you have your own blog.

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