Why Don't More People Train Their Dogs?

[RPM]

I have known many, many people and their dogs. Too many to count. Yet I have only known one dog that was trained – and he went way beyond “Sit” and “Heel.”

I don’t understand why people don’t train their dogs. When I was a kid a friend and I trained her dog and his son. Nothing advanced, but we were just kids. It was fun.

A well-trained dog is a pleasure to be around, and dogs seem to enjoy being taught things, because they have the pack mentality that wants to please (or at least obey) the pack leader.

What is the fun of walking a dog that is constantly pulling on the leash and coughing/choking on the collar? Where is the pleasure in having to constantly tell people “It’s Ok, he’s friendly?” as they back away from the dog, trying politely to keep him from jumping up on them, sniffing their crotches, and pawing at them? Where is the pleasure for the dog in constantly pulling, choking, panting, and being pushed or pulled down off people?

For that matter, what is the fun in always walking on a leash because the owner never runs, so the dog doesn’t ever get to run either?

Why bother to have a dog and not train it? What is the point?

[ElisLove]

There are lots of people that don’t train their dogs, but there are also people who train their dogs, but maybe not in the way that ‘you’ feel makes them trained.
For some people a well trained dog is a dog that walks on a loose lead, politely wags it’s tail in greeting people, can sit/stay/beg and be a good ‘pet’ dog.
My dog is a Grand Champion conformation show dog, and in training for Competition Obedience, and agility. But a lot of people might think he’s an untrained ass. He’s high energy, he jumps up to greet people, he can pull pretty gosh darn strong on the leash when he’s excited, but I’m fine with that. For both conformation and competition obedience he needs to think that he is the absolute bees knees, so he’s allowed to express himself exuberantly more than ‘pet’ dogs. A lot of show/comp ob dogs if you saw them outside of that, you might think ‘wow she should train those dogs’ When really those dogs have had a LOT more training put into them than any ‘pet’ person puts into their dogs. We don’t go on a lot of ‘leashed’ walks in the neighbourhood. Instead I go to private off leash areas so he can run full speed and play fetch and explore, so he doesn’t need a ton of leash manners. (of course I can take him for a nice leash walk, but I’m not upset if he sometimes pulls or gets excited. We can also go for leashed bike rides) Yet in the show ring, he knows what’s expected and he stands for exam like a statue and goes around the ring correctly without pulling on the lead. If people don’t want him jumping on them to greet I just hold him back. As long as my dog isn’t interfering with other people or dogs, and I’m happy with his behaviour, to me he’s a ‘trained’ dog.

[Simkie]

People can’t even put manners on their kids, and you’re expecting that their dogs are trained? :lol:

I 100% believe that most people don’t have any clue how to even BEGIN training their out of control dogs.

[vxf111]

Because the one thing training takes above all else is CONSISTENCY and very few people have the time/attention span. My dogs have never been perfect (I am in awe of those amazing shepherds with police dog type training who can do literally everything to perfection from a major distance) but they have always been trained. But for me, training a dog is a lot of the fun of having one. Most people just want something to sit on the couch with them or something to throw out in the yard. Expecting them to spend 15-20 minutes EVERY DAY is more than they’ll ever be willing to do.

[RPM]

@Simkie

People can’t even put manners on their kids, and you’re expecting that their dogs are trained? :lol:

I 100% believe that most people don’t have any clue how to even BEGIN training their out of control dogs.

Libraries and bookstores have about as many books on dog training as they have on toilet training. Most people manage to find time to do that, and teach their kids how to hold a knife, fork, and spoon. Or at least tie shoelaces and do up buttons.

I’d think that people who spend $100-plus on a dog would want to get their money’s worth, if nothing else.

[vxf111]

@RPM

Libraries and bookstores have about as many books on dog training as they have on toilet training. Most people manage to find time to do that, and teach their kids how to hold a knife, fork, and spoon. Or at least tie shoelaces and do up buttons.

I’d think that people who spend $100-plus on a dog would want to get their money’s worth, if nothing else.

Yeah but where do you think the priorities lie when there are only so many hours in a day…

-Work
-Family
-Shuttling the kids to activities
-Social media
-Watching TV

Pets get the short end of the stick

[S1969]

@ElisLove

My dog is a Grand Champion conformation show dog, and in training for Competition Obedience, and agility. But a lot of people might think he’s an untrained ass. He’s high energy, he jumps up to greet people, he can pull pretty gosh darn strong on the leash when he’s excited, but I’m fine with that.

LOL are you talking about my dogs?

I agree with this - if you saw my dog on a leash you might think he’d never been been trained before. He can heel, but that’s not the same as just going for a walk on a leash (which we don’t do often.)

If you saw him at a hunt test, you might think he’d never been out of the house before.

But if you saw him at a dog show, you’d be trying to wake him up.

I had my younger dog at a handling class last night and told the instructor “sorry he’s not trained. I thought the other dogs would teach him more, but I guess it didn’t rub off.” LOL.

[fordtraktor]

I agree it depends on what you mean by “trained.” My dog is very mannerly. He always walks next to me, can be off leash wherever and sticks by my side, but he only knows a couple of commands. And he does one trick. But he isn’t trained for obedience-type obstacles.

I want my dogs to follow the basic rules (like not taking the kids’ food, don’t pee in the house, don’t shred things, don’t go in the horse fields). But I mostly enjoy snuggling on the couch with them. If I am going to train something more extensively, I’m going to spend that time on my horses.

I must say that large rambunctious dogs intimidate me so I wish people would train them better if they are going to take them out in public. I don’t mind dogs out and about – I love dogs! – but the ones that are barely under control…frightening.

I definitely get my money’s worth from my dog in snuggles and love…

[PDDT]

I worked for a bit at a shelter in an affluent community - the few dogs we did get in were by and large surrendered because they had no manners (training). That made them very difficult to rehome. Who wants a 90 lb. dog that isn’t house trained or can’t be walked on a leash?

People buy a dog not realizing the amount of work and cost of ownership. Then, when the dog is unmanageable it is either ignored in a back yard or surrendered.

People who have pet dogs do their selves and their dogs a huge favour by training them in the basics - how to walk nicely on a leash, no jumping, etc.

I have really enjoyed training my dog - and if she is bored we have her do sit, stay, lie - all things she knows but she just loves the attention.

[S1969]

@PDDT

People buy a dog not realizing the amount of work and cost of ownership. Then, when the dog is unmanageable it is either ignored in a back yard or surrendered.

I agree with this. Even though I don’t consider my dogs highly “trained” I suppose compared to the type of dog that sits in a back yard…they are. They have manners and have been socialized in the world, and most have some real obedience “training” (some more than others). Dogs with none of the above are in big trouble in the event their owners fall on hard times.

[GraceLikeRain]

The best trained house dogs I’ve ever met have been labs and goldens that frat guys got during college. They universally were very good “bro” dogs. They had a few fun tricks, great leash manners, and were all around solid citizens. I think there are a few things at play (a) both breeds are intelligent, people-oriented, and tend to be pleasers by nature (b) they got tons of exercise and socialization © teaching a few neat tricks was a way to show off to cute girls.

I got my guy in college so he got a “frat life” start to things. He’s a GCH and has trained in multiple sports but he’s 100% bro. He wouldn’t dream of pulling on a leash, is therapy-certified, and is phenomenal in public. I’m not much of a trainer and my guys not the quickest but he knows sit, down, sit pretty, up, stand, back, roll over, speak, play dead, spin, go around, up, off, leave it, bring it, wait, etc. I agree that youtube and a little bit of time is all that’s needed.

In general, I don’t think daily life incentivizes a lot of training. Dogs are not allowed in many places and increasingly people live in areas that are not walking friendly. If your dog mostly lives in the house/backyard and goes on a leash to go to the vet, then it is easy to forget how much training your dog is really missing.

My running hypothesis on performance people definitely mirrors posters above. The mentality seems to be a lot like the owner of FEI jumpers or top dressage horses “I don’t want to ruin his brilliance so it’s fine that he’s rearing while being hand walked”. Most performance dogs I know can give you a heel so beautiful it’ll make you want to cry and the second they are “off” they are lunging out of excitement and scream barking at strangers. Given the option I will go hiking off leash with my performance friends and meet up with the dogs for coffee with my pet owners!

[Minxitbabe]

I agree with the posters that say it depends on what you mean by trained. My brothers dog is dumber than a box of rocks. Seriously took the dog two years to learn to sit semi consistently and they did work with her. She is terrified of anything new and sit is literally all she knows other than come. But she has been an absolute doll with my now 18 month old nephew since day one. He can do whatever he wants with her and she just loves him! My two older dogs on the other hand know a whole bag of tricks and as long as I don’t make visits to far apart they do have manners greeting people at family gatherings. My pup is 9 months old now has no idea what manners are and other than sit, down and a short lived stay he has no training. His mind just isn’t ready yet for serious training so we will see where he is this winter when I have more time. Until then he will just be another typical pet that is a rude but loving menace.

[Foxtrot_s]

I think it depends on the breed, the age, it’s background, and more than anything the owner. I belong to a dog group
and we are pretty dedicated, but some of those dogs are damaged, some have checked out, some have difficult personalities, but over time all have improved. Two came from Taiwan and are terrified of life and those two owners have done such a good job with improving their confidence. My own Boxer came as a teeny puppy and is only two, and she’s a live wire with such a power packed personality and so much vigour, but she will take some time before she can be the therapy dog I have in the plans. However, she is fairy well trained but not super reliable yet. She is the one in the group that can help out these dogs with her friendliness that does not emit any aggressiveness.

But, yes, all dogs should be trained. Few people like a jumping up dog, even dog lovers.

[CanadianTrotter]

@PDDT

I worked for a bit at a shelter in an affluent community - the few dogs we did get in were by and large surrendered because they had no manners (training). That made them very difficult to rehome. Who wants a 90 lb. dog that isn’t house trained or can’t be walked on a leash?

People buy a dog not realizing the amount of work and cost of ownership. Then, when the dog is unmanageable it is either ignored in a back yard or surrendered.

People who have pet dogs do their selves and their dogs a huge favour by training them in the basics - how to walk nicely on a leash, no jumping, etc.

I have really enjoyed training my dog - and if she is bored we have her do sit, stay, lie - all things she knows but she just loves the attention.

Sadly, you are very right about this.

[Marshfield]

@GraceLikeRain

My running hypothesis on performance people definitely mirrors posters above. The mentality seems to be a lot like the owner of FEI jumpers or top dressage horses “I don’t want to ruin his brilliance so it’s fine that he’s rearing while being hand walked”. Most performance dogs I know can give you a heel so beautiful it’ll make you want to cry and the second they are “off” they are lunging out of excitement and scream barking at strangers. Given the option I will go hiking off leash with my performance friends and meet up with the dogs for coffee with my pet owners!

I beg to differ. They may be allowed to scream in anticipation while waiting their turn on course, but outside of the competition ring area, all of the agility dogs I know are expected to walk politely on leash and otherwise be good citizens. I know many who are therapy dogs in their downtime. I don’t even know how many dogs I know heading to the invitational. Dogs I bred will be at Westminster.

I recommend training classes to every new pet I see. I even have a couple of trainers come in and teach at my hospital. Very, very few people bother. They seem to expect age to fix the issues caused by lack of training. I spend a maximum of 15 minutes a day training unless I have a session with our trainer. This is enough that I have two solid competition dogs and one in the wings. I explain to clients that two three minute sessions a day is enough to make a huge difference in creating the dog everyone wants at soccer games and family events.

[Casey09]

This is one of those complex questions, and I agree so much with what some of the performance people have posted. I love dogs and training is a huge part of bonding with my own dogs. I go to training classes and love them, but it can be expensive and time consuming.
Then we move to a definition of a trained dog. To some people, socialized means “nice to any other dog all of the time.” I am of the mindset that if you want a dog that gets along with all other dogs, then choose a breed known for that. Don’t choose a breed known for, say, same sex aggression. I’d include terriers and many working breeds in that.
Similarly, many people assume that a trained dog should be able to come when called and be off leash. I’ve trained with a number of competition obedience people and done a lot of recalls off leash, but literally NONE of the dog people I know will allow their dog off leash in an uncontrolled area. Most of my horse friends do that, but none of my dog friends do. I’ve seen the highest level of obedience dogs blow a recall, and so I’m not willing to risk that either. Secondly, there is a HUGE breed component to this. Some dogs are known to be runners, escape artists and prey driven. They are never going to be like dogs of different breeding.
Then we come to the hyper, jumping dogs. I take agility and know serious competitors. They love a high energy, hyper dog. Most of the agility dogs that I know are not therapy dogs. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist or cannot happen, but they have a lot of energy and a lot of agility training. A lazy porch dog wouldn’t work, but better for those that don’t want to compete.
As far as jumping on people, etc., my dogs have never done that … but I have more of a 1 person breed. Many people would much rather have that excessively friendly dog than the more suspicious one. Many books by behaviorists advocate not breeding the more suspicious types of dogs. I enjoy mine because they’re more of a snoozing at my feet gazing at me types, but they require more socialization than a hyper lab and I will never be able to have a pet sitter let herself in.
In general, I think dogs have better lives now than in the past. They’re inside more around people, and as long as they’re family is happy with them so am I. Truly a lot of the highly trained dogs I know are high maintenance.

[hosspuller]

To the OP question… It depends. A small toy breed can get away with aggressive behavior… growling snapping, pulling. and some people will think it cute. A dog like mine, a Dobermann, the same behavior will have people reacting in fear. So he’s trained to be quiet and calm. heel and not pull. I can walk him with a 26 foot flexi-leash meant for a 44 pound dog, not the 95 pounds he is. A word is enough to quickly have him by my side. That takes constant practice, time many people aren’t willing to spend with their dog. The dog world is a continuum from one extreme to the other in training.

[GoodTimes]

There are so many variables in play.
If a dog makes their owner happy and doesn’t bother anyone then who cares. If the dog jumps up on you and you don’t like it then say something.

Our dog growing up was as close to the “perfect” dog as you can come IMO. But that’s due to the amount of work that was put in. She was an obedience champion, a field trial champion, an actual hunting dog, etc. She didn’t go on the carpet or on the furniture, never jumped on anyone, quietly laid on her bed or in her crate when people visited. But my mom didn’t work so she had the time to work with her. My Dad was a marathon runner and she usually ran with him which tired her out. However, in a regular house she would have probably ended up a huge pain. She was bred to be a performance dog, not a pet. She went non stop when she was younger.

I think my dog is a good balance. She’s 3 now so she’s starting to slow down a little. She has a touch of separation anxiety which means that I can take her anywhere off leash without worrying about her taking off. A couple good reprimands stopped her from jumping up on people. Our morning runs are to tire her out before work, but after work or after the barn is for mental stimulation (obedience and trick training). She can sit, stay, stand, down, come, leave it, drop it, wait, off, out, spin, play dead, shake, high five, back up, etc. from a distance. Saying that she’s not good with kids and no amount of “training” will make me comfortable having her off leash with kids around. She would rather avoid them but if she ever got cornered I don’t know what she would do.
My mom would say this dog isn’t trained, the average person comments that she’s so well behaved.

My BIL and SIL have two husky crosses who I consider not well trained. They can’t ever be off leash, they pull like crazy on the leash. They don’t ever get walked, they just get tied up or put in their run. They jump on people. They take food from the counter. You can’t sit on the couch without them crowding you and they don’t listen when you try to get them off. They only sit or stay in the house if you have a treat. The owners are lazy. They wanted a dog, got convinced that two was better so they could tire each other out, didn’t research breeds or anything so chose a cross that wanders so the dogs can’t even enjoy the 20acres that they own, and now they have two large out of control dogs. Like another poster said the dogs are not the priority. The house is constantly under renovations, they live 40 minutes from town, they’re getting married, they want to have kids soon, etc. The excuses and lack of time will never end. I’ve made it clear I’m not a fan of their dogs but they don’t care. 95% of the time it’s just the owners and the dogs and they’re happy together.

[MR_MAC]

@S1969

LOL are you talking about my dogs?

I agree with this - if you saw my dog on a leash you might think he’d never been been trained before. He can heel, but that’s not the same as just going for a walk on a leash (which we don’t do often.)

If you saw him at a hunt test, you might think he’d never been out of the house before.

But if you saw him at a dog show, you’d be trying to wake him up.

I had my younger dog at a handling class last night and told the instructor “sorry he’s not trained. I thought the other dogs would teach him more, but I guess it didn’t rub off.” LOL.

Boy, that all sounds so familiar and I’m laughing remembering all the wonderful times I had w/my obedience dog. When I got her, it was my intention only to have a well behaved pet. Well, it went a lot further than that and took many, many hours, consistency and MUCH patience. I ended up being an assistant trainer for a local obedience school. It was a blast, as was the movie tricks class we took.

PS - I’d do it all again, too.

[knightrider922]

I think most people don’t want to take the time to train their dogs … or even walk them sufficiently depending on the breed they have. But they also don’t realize that training the dogs may be only a few minutes at a time a couple times a day. I do agility with my dogs and I have two high energy breeds - border collie and a standard poodle. I take them everywhere i go, but for real training sometimes it is just 2-3 min outside in the backyard… if i really want to work them, it might be 15 min. We go to classes 2-3 days a week which is longer, but even then we are not training the whole time. and I do have one of those trained agility dogs that jumps on people. Its her worst habit and I work on it all the time, but she likes being on two legs alot… I just prepare for it now and work on it every time someone is near me. As trained as she is, someone might think she’s untrained if they saw that.