The Price of Ignorance
This blog just might offend some people. As a trainer, I am often not called until whatever issue an owner is having with their dog(s) reaches the point of crisis. I realize that this is often also the case with human therapists, doctors, mechanics and other helping/service professionals. People try to help themselves, live in denial or simply can’t see the problem clearly until they are shown some glaring, undeniable and often terrible evidence that something is wrong.
I have two simultaneous and conflicting reactions to this. One is that I want to help if I can. I am empathetic, often hopeful and in many situations I can see that the issue is not what the owner thinks it is and is often quite normal. On the other hand, I am sometimes angry and frustrated that something wasn’t done to prevent the problem or that the issue wasn’t addressed earlier when it would have been much easier to resolve.
My trainer friends tell me repeatedly that I must go easy on the “average dog owner” because most of them don’t know about the advances in dog behavior knowledge over the past 20 years. I want to know why that is. I want to know why dog owners so quickly and vehemently gobbled up all of the out dated, dangerous and misleading information espoused by Cesar Milan, but somehow can’t find the information that is readily available from true and credentialed experts in the field. How is it that owners are willing to take advice from a former dog bather and dog walker, but they are reluctant to read the plethora of books written by people with several degrees and many years of experience working with dog behavior?
If ignorance is the cause, then I want at least those who read this blog to relieve themselves of that defense. I am telling you now that the information is and has been readily available to you for quite some time. You can go to DogWise.com and find a list of the APDT’s Top Ten Books for Pet Dog Owners and the APDT’s Top Ten Videos for Pet Dog Owners. These two lists alone will give you enough information to avoid mistakes, fix minor problems and tell the difference between good and bad advice.
The other lament for a lack of early training is money. I’m told that owners don’t want to spend money on training unless the “have to”. The truth is it’s more cost effective to hire a trainer to help you make the early decisions than it is to hire a trainer to fix a problem. You don’t have to wait for a crisis! Trainers are nearly ecstatic when dog owners come to them BEFORE there’s a problem. Yes, it’s less profitable for a trainer on the prevention end, but it’s such a joy!
A lot of issues are created simply by choosing the wrong dog for your family and/or lifestyle. To choose wisely would require that your decision be based on something other than pure emotion, but it will save you, your family and your dog a lot of future heartache. Compare the cost here. To have a trainer help you choose a dog would probably cost you less than $100 in any part of the U.S. To have a trainer help you fix issues with a poorly chosen dog will cost you at least three times that.
Once the dog has been chosen, why not hire a trainer or take classes right away so that you can teach the dog immediately how to live within your home and learn from the get-go how to be the best dog owner? Basic manners classes are usually much cheaper than private training. Even private training for basic manners will often come out cheaper than for behavioral issues because you’ll need fewer sessions.
Simply put, I’m wishing that dog owners would see that training is an effort, responsibility and expense that they would do well to invest in up front. Education on dog behavior, training and breed types should come BEFORE one gets a dog. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "If I'd read about the breed before I got her, I never would have chosen this breed!" Additionally, a well-educated owner is less likely to be misled by a poorly educated trainer. Instead, the well-educated owner will be capable of finding a quality trainer who can guide them down the path of pre-planning and prevention.
All of this said, it's the trainer's job to meet the owner where they are. I'm honored to help those who are in crisis, I really am. I just hope that the number of people and dogs in crisis will begin to decrease through the education of pet dog owners and the early training of their dogs.
