I’m so thankful for doggie daycare, especially on those days when I absolutely need to get something done and know I won’t be able to spend much time with Chase. It’s great that he enjoys his time playing with friends and romping the grounds at Greenbelt Kennels in Clive. He gets so excited when I mention daycare, and whimpers when we get within a mile of Greenbelt. Owner Jean Brown knows when Chase arrives, not just because of the big Storm Chase truck dropping him off, but because Chase takes off for the upstairs area of Jean’s house and onto the couch! Of course, he makes his way down to the various rooms for the pups to play.
On my way to Greenbelt the other day, I had an incident that reminded me of a few regrets I have in training(or not training) Chase. I admit, he rides in my truck without a seat belt because I never got around to getting him used to having a ‘dog’ belt wrapped around him. We pulled up to a stoplight, and I happened to put on the brakes at the same time Chase was standing up. He ended up falling off the backseat, up against my seat and onto the floor! He wasn’t hurt, but it instantly made me think of my failure to seat belt train.
Have you had any regrets when it comes to your pet and his behavior, anything you’d like to go back and do over again? How about the cliche, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” Is it still possible to train an older dog some of these behaviors you wish they would observe? I have a few more shoulda, woulda, coulda’s with Chase I’d love to go back and correct.
Besides our seat belt issue, I’d go back and teach Chase that my bed is just that, my bed. He’s a 77 pound dog who takes up most of my sleep zone! I woke up several times last night because he was either stretched out where my feet usually go, or he was on top of the blankets so I couldn’t pull them up over me. Teaching my lab to crash on his own bed ‘woulda’ been best!
Another regret was letting Chase know my food scraps are perfectly fine for him. They ’shoulda’ been off limits from the get-go. My bad! He gets pizza crust, shredded cheese from my tacos, and the occasional strawberry. I know, I know…not good!! At least I’m admitting my failures.
Finally, I wish we ‘woulda’ went to at least one more obedience class at the Animal Rescue League. We made our way through two courses, but never really mastered the sit and stay. Chase sits, but he’ll only stay for a couple seconds. Learning a few more tricks to show off during our morning show ‘woulda’ been an added bonus, and we may still be able to work on a few.
Let’s hear some of your shoulda, woulda, coulda’s!! Open up and be honest, spill your guts, and offer up some support for your fellow bloggers feeling guilty for not teaching your pets certain manners or tricks of the trade.
Until next week- Bryan & Chase ^..^
Bryan, it’s NEVER too late to teach an old dog or young dog a new behavior. We discovered the gentle leader two years ago with Buster when she was 7 and she now walks like a dream. I can walk both a chesapeake bay retriever/lab mix and a golden retriever at the same time now. Before just one dog would pull my arm off and no one had a good walk. BTW Amber was 3 when we started with the gentle leader.
We have taught both Amber and Buster new behaviors in the last year and Buster is now 9 and Amber almost 5. They just need consistancy and the expectation on your part that they will learn. I watch Cesar Millan all the time and have changed many behaviors of both dogs in the last year using his methods. There are many methods out there you just need to be consistant in whatever you use. Hang in there it’s never too late.
Bryan I agree with most of your regrets. We have now changed our ways of feeding the dogs scraps. They will still sit and watch every bite you take but they don’t get those tasty treats anymore. It is not good for them to have all that extra food. I also wish I had never thought it was cute to have a puppy on the bed with you. Now that they are out of the puppy stage they take up a lot of room. Everytime I try and get them to stay on the floor they give me those sad puppy dog eyes and I have to let them come back up. We found out by accident that Sammy was trained to sit and stay when we got him. I was playing one day with him and thought I would try and teach him the sit & stay thing. What a surprise to me when he did it the first time. The one thing we have been working on over and over is not to jump on people. We have been consistent in trying to break this bad habit but Sam gets so excited he doesn’t listen and he forgets all his manners. We are once again going to have to work on the camping manners. Both dogs were doing really well on not barking at everything that moves in the campground and then we put the camper away for the year. It seems like we start over every year because they loose their camping manners over the winter.
hi bryan we wood give or dog scraps but we ask or vat and he sad it was o.k and some of the bast dogs he had was given scraps. jast do give team a lot and some dog food i do not know a a bout regrets. i was a kid .
well there are too many things to list about regrets…we tried the seatbelt w/goldie she chewed through the leash 2 times so i was l wasn’t going to have her chew anything else up. the crate traing w/her was a ferakin nigtmare she refused to be in the kennel having pooped everyday in it laying in it OMG i can still see it.
Autum loves her kennel it took her a few days to get used to it but never did she have an accident #1 or #2..she loves car rides stays in the back (usually) she hates the seatbelt as well. yes Bryan she has hit the floor a couple times as well but she would rather be with us in the car then at home in the kennel.
we have always given scraps of food. usually when we are done they lick the plate if we are having Roast Beef sandwiches they will sit by us and drool!! they get they get the Au Jue and little bits of roast beef. yes my pets are super spoiled and pampered but they know their rank in the house and do well with each other.
~Hillary
Good topic …there are many things we shoudl have done with Cali from the start well from the point we got her since she was 9 months old when we got her ..We should have socialized her ALOT more, Walked her. .many things .. BUT i dont like regreting , i used them as life lessons to know what to do with the next dog .. course that doesnt help with this one and well we arent going to just get rid of her bc of a few flaws that we could have nixed from the begining .. we are learning tho now that even tho she is older she is still extremely smart and can pick up on what we are training her to do now ..She is going thru an in home one on one dog training with Skylar Rathbun/Campluckybones We have only had one actual session but you can deffinatly see a difference is some of her behaviors! ….. We deffinatly know now that its never to late to teach them something!!
Good morning everyone! Blue is ‘assisting’ me this morning! There are alot of ‘coulda shoulds woulldas’ I could list. My biggest regret was in letting Maxzine eat green potato peelings. These are TOXIC! They ruined her gastro-intestinal system and she had issues her entire life as a result. She was a beautiful German Shepard and when my dad passed away, she wasted away when her GI system went out of whack. I will never do that again. You can teach old dogs new tricks since Bo was five when we got him and Duke was year old when we got him. Both dogs learned several tricks when the time was spent with them. I let Mi pretty much get by with alot that I normally wouldn’t let a cat get by with. He is 21 and getting pretty frail, so I just enjoy as much time wtih him as possible. NO REGRETS! Have a great weekend everyone. I don’t have to water my garden today…
Pam
Allourcats ,
Mi is 21 Years Old , what a gift ! I would love to have a furry friend for that long .
We spoil both of our furry friends , they both came from a shelter and we both want to make up for what ever happened to them before . I know I know spoiled brats , most likely , but they do behave fairly well . The dog loves to ride in the truck and will sit on the seat next to you , and yes she has hit the floor a couple of times . She will raise cane if you try to put her in a seatbelt . The cat only goes in the car or truck if he is going to the vet and then he had better be in a carrier because he goes nuts , he does not like the vet.
Stay safe all .
Judy
Three regrets I can think of right off the top of my head.
1) Not having Sadie go through the Therapy Dog and CGC programs. I know I could now, but I probably should have when we were still doing the obedience classes her first year and a half.
2) Not having many visitors to the house. We live in a smallish house and don’t have many guests. So when people do come over she is VERY excited to see them.
3) One thing that we taught her that I wish that we hadn’t. When we got the second cat, we at one point told the dog to “get the kitty”. SIGH. So now if we scold that cat, Sadie feels the need to be part of the disapline committee. Not good. For the record, Sadie doesn’t hurt her. She just chases her downstairs or tries to lick her (especially her ears).
We also found that teaching a dog new tricks does work. As she got older, certain things are easier to teach her. The “wait” trick with a treat on her nose would not have been possible in her puppystage. And we finally got her to walk normal using a Halti/Gentle Lead.
Is there a therapy dog training program in Des Moines? Our one dog I think would be great at it but the only training programs I have found are out of state.
Thanks
My list of what I should have and could have done with Lucca is long, but I can tell you it is possible to start training at three years old. He is slowing learning some things I wish I would have done when he was a puppy.
I would like to share the below even though this has nothing to do with the blog this week. I received this from a fellow pet lover. I don’t mean to make anyone cry, but it is so true.
A Pet’s Ten Commandments:
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don’t be angry with me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can’t bear to watch. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.
Michelle –
Of course that list made me cry. And while #5 may be true to an extent, the more you talk to your animals, the more they understand or can at least try.
It also reminds me of the quote that I have seen several times.
“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. ” –Anon.
Bryan – There are lots of could have and should have things we could all probably relate to. I would like to stress the importance for everyone to have their pets confined when in a vehicle, even if it’s just to go to the store, or doggy daycare. It only takes a slight touch of the brakes or a swerve to send your pet flying. I have dogs and they are always crated, no matter what. The harnesses that attach to the seatbelts are readily available, either at a pet store or numerous on line companies. I cringe when I see people letting their dogs ride with heads hanging out the window. Also, people who let their dogs ride in the front seat. If the air bag goes off, your friend is probably not going to survive. Also, don’t let your pets ride in your laps while driving. The safest way to travel with them is in a crate or seatbelted. If you have an accident and require assistance, police and/or medical personnel don’t have to try and get past your dog to get to you…or your pet won’t take off running in fright. And PLEASE, don’t let your dogs ride in the back of a pickup, ever. Thanks for letting me put in my two cents worth. GoldMom
Michele, the ten commandments made me cry but how true they are. I catch myself talking to the dogs all the time. I also tell them goodbye and I love you every morning when I leave for work and tell them goodnight when we go to bed. They are treated more like kids in our house than dogs. I have had to put dogs to sleep and it is one of the hardest things I have ever done but I could not bear to not be there with them when the time comes.
I loved Chase on the weather yesterday. He was all into the TREATS! Reminded me of our dogs in the morning when we play “find”.
Brian,
I too have some regrets with my dog buster (half Boston terrier and Chihuahua). I wish I would have socialized him more, even though I did take him through two obedience classes. He gets so excited when he meets other dogs that he frightens them. He is not aggressive but too over zealous. I would also have never let him on the couch. I can’t sit down without him wanting on my lap. But I can’t imagine what I would do without him. I wish I carried a camera on me at all times. Pets like kids are full of surprises and too often the best photos are missed!
Carma,
That was a great quote you shared. I have seen the one Michelle shared (and it makes me cry everytime!) but the quote in your note was new to me and says so much in a few sentences.
Bryan,
My regrets with our 3 labs are the same as yours. To add one more, our 87 pound black lab thinks he’s a lap dog and climbs up on my lap occasionally. He stays long enough to get petted and his ears scratched and then he gets down. When he was a puppy, it was cute, but now he’s a lap-full and I can’t move! Hindsight tells me we won’t be allowing this with future dogs, even if it is cute at the puppy stage!
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!