Hi everyone.
I’m writing this post to share an experience I’ve just had with my puppy at a dog training club, and to chat about it with you and all the other lucky new owners of these little balls of fluff :)
First off, I picked up my American Bulldog puppy on the 13th of February (one day off being the love of my life... though mind you, she probably is anyway!).
I’ve always loved dogs, and I’ve really enjoyed scouring websites, videos and training tutorials about "positive reinforcement".
I gave my little Sana two or three days to settle in and get used to her new home, and then I slowly started the first "commands" using either a bit of kibble or a big cuddle as a reward. Everything is going well; she understands what I want quite quickly. But just for fun, I’d already decided to take her to a dog training club for some proper training and, above all, to have her around plenty of "well-behaved" dogs. To date, I’ve visited two dog clubs in my area and the disappointment has been quite hard to take... "Positive reinforcement" was replaced by shouting, leads being yanked in every direction and constant jerking... The trainer even took it upon himself to explain to a woman with a little Shiba: "You know, this breed bites a lot; if he bites you, do this" (he then grabbed the puppy by the scruff of its neck and shook it, which made it yelp).
I was genuinely shocked to see that—forced "downs" where they’re held on the floor with hand pressure on their backs, accompanied by more shouting if the dog tries to get back up.
Please reassure me, am I just being too soft, or can dog training be done differently? :)
I really have no desire to train my dog through force; I’d much rather have a dog that wants a cuddle than one that’s just trying to avoid a lead jerk.
Anyway, I’m going to keep visiting other clubs in my region. I just wanted to share this experience which has left a really bitter taste in my mouth, especially coming from "dog training professionals".
Have a great day, everyone.
