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Post by pitpupmom on Dec 4, 2008 7:52:07 GMT -5
Is it only my kid who wants so badly to train the dogs. My little one is 4 almost 5 and she loves to train our dogs. Yesterday I made the mistake of letting her watch Beverly Hills Chihuahua and now she wants one to have and train. She puts the dogs through the paces of sit,down paw, everything she can think of having them do. Atleast she doesn't want to train the cats.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 4, 2008 8:38:58 GMT -5
Yours isn't the only one.  My daughter is 8 and reminds me so much of myself when I was a kid. She just has "it". So dog savvy but it's even better b/c instead of learning how to train the way I did (traditional/force based) she started out learning positive methods, clicker training, free shaping, Premack, etc. She trained Cajun and Jasmine several behaviors on her own and the dogs respond to her better than they do with me. And she is definitely grilling us for her own dog, specifically a Papillion so that she can do obedience and agility. I made the mistake of taking her to an agility trial to watch some friends of mine run their dogs and she met a Pap fancier who had brought along a litter of puppies...my daughter spent the day in the xpen with the little cuties! |
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 4, 2008 9:09:41 GMT -5
Ohhh, I love it! I was 7 or 8 when I started training my family's Doberman mix. I went on a class trip to The Seeing Eye and learned a little bit about training there, and I was hooked. When I got home I slapped a harness on Pooky and started teaching him 'left, right' commands in the yard.
I went to my first training class when I was a little older. During orientation the woman teaching (who ended up being my first mentor, and her sister later became my second, long-term mentor - sadly traditional trainers, but I still learned a lot just being around the dogs and in classes), said she didn't recommend kids in classes, and had a loose policy in place that said children could not handle dogs in class. She made an exception for me, and after I completed the class, she changed her 'no kids allowed' policy!
I am a great fan of kids training dogs, and I think they can do as good or BETTER than the adults!
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Post by odnarb on Dec 4, 2008 9:23:45 GMT -5
I agree. My best students in group classes have always been children. They have the dedication.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 4, 2008 9:39:39 GMT -5
My obsession with dogs started before I can remember. When I was a preteen, my neighbors would ask me to train their dogs and I would set up really crummy, pathetic "agility" courses in my backyard...before agility was ever conceived, I believe. Looking back, I must have had some amazing dogs, specifically my test rat Brittany and first Rottweiler, for putting up with the caca training methods I made them endure. Even back then it didn't feel right. I absolutely agree that if a kid has the desire they usually have the savvy. My son is the opposite, his dog skills are non-existant. My daughter went to Cajun's puppy classes and he just soaked her up. She's amazing to watch and she has sooo helped me with rescues and fosters, training them manners, default sits, tricks so I can sit back and be lazy.    |
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My daughter is 8 and reminds me so much of myself when I was a kid. She just has "it". So dog savvy but it's even better b/c instead of learning how to train the way I did (traditional/force based) she started out learning positive methods, clicker training, free shaping, Premack, etc.
I look forward to learning much here