Dumbest reasons for not training dogs

[qwertyasu]

What are some silly excuses you have heard dog owners use to not train their dogs? I have heard:

He is to little.
You can't train this breed.
I might mess up. who doesn't, lol

What are some silly ones people have told you?

[KennelMom]

It might be dumb, but here's my reason: I don't enjoy dog training.

That said, my dogs are well behaved and polite. I just don't have an overwhelming need to make them sit, beg, roll over, shake or whatever on command.

[roman]

he is too rowdy
its called exercise!

[Beryl]

Kennelmom, I think you've trained your dogs to be well-behaved and polite. If you didn't do it directly, you did it by training the first of the pack and they trained subsequent dogs. No?

Until my current dogs, I never used formal training but all of my dogs learned how to sit and stay. I liked teaching the "leave it" command and only learned of it after going through training.

I've only heard two dumb reasons:

1. I don't have time.
If you don't have sufficient resources (time, money), you should not have a dog.

2. My dog is not trainable.
There are likely dogs in this category but they are few -- kind of like severely mentally challenged people. I firmly believe that some dogs will learn more commands than others but most dogs can learn enough to manage.

[Ritz459]

I think the one that I really remember is, "I can't afford it." You can train your dog on your own, you don't need to enter them into a 300$ training course (although in some cases, that would help).
If you can't afford the training, then why did you get a dog?

Another one that I've heard was, "I don't know how." Fairly decent excuse, but, um, there are these things called books. That is just laziness on the owners part if they aren't willing to learn how to train a dog.

[Cassiepeia]

The most frequent excuse I hear is "He/She's too dumb". When I hear that I think "It ain't the dog who's lacking intelligence".

Cass.

[trainingrixie]

yeah, i've heard the "i don't have time" excuse. in all honesty...it doesn't take THAT much time...just wake up a little earlier, eat a little quicker, and drive a little faster but then again...most responsible owners prefer to spend time with their mangy mutts (i like dogs better than people tho, so i'm fine being a hermit and only associating with my pupper and like 2 friends)

[roman]

oh one more is: It's messy to clean up. well you wouldnt have to clean it up everytime if you walked the dog (as long as you clean up outside) and got him used to going outside for his waste removal

[Punkygirl0101]

I have the same reason as Kennelmom, I don't enjoy it at all!! My dog's can't sit, stay, rollover, bark on command, etc..but they are well behaved. They potty outside, they don't disrespect me and listen to me when I tell them to come, they are good on leashes, and MOST are good when we go to the dog park... But they did get the absolute necessity in training, housebreaking!

[DahliaBelle526]

I don't have a car. it's hard for me get to the vet, training center, and what not. I think I may just take a cab though. I don't really care. I'm starting with Belle, but she needs to be spayed first and all that jazz. So when that is done i'll be going to an official training class. So.. No real excuses here. I guess there are ways to make it work.

[Cassiepeia]

Originally Posted by DahliaBelle526

I don't have a car. it's hard for me get to the vet, training center, and what not. I think I may just take a cab though. I don't really care. I'm starting with Belle, but she needs to be spayed first and all that jazz. So when that is done i'll be going to an official training class. So.. No real excuses here. I guess there are ways to make it work.

If you're dedicated and make sure you listen to good advice, have support and can get your hands on some good books, there's no reason why you can't train at home. If it's something you'd enjoy doing, you can absolutely do it on your own (well, with your dog ).

And I think it actually takes training, even if you don't realise you're doing it, to get a dog to a point where it's well behaved. Could be that the neccessary training (ie: 'manners' training) just comes naturally to some people whether they enjoy training or not.

Cass.

[DahliaBelle526]

Originally Posted by Cassiepeia

If you're dedicated and make sure you listen to good advice, have support and can get your hands on some good books, there's no reason why you can't train at home. If it's something you'd enjoy doing, you can absolutely do it on your own (well, with your dog ).

And I think it actually takes training, even if you don't realise you're doing it, to get a dog to a point where it's well behaved. Could be that the neccessary training (ie: 'manners' training) just comes naturally to some people whether they enjoy training or not.

Cass.

I'd really like to take Belle to training. I think I need the help of an expert really. Chihuahuas are very hard to train-well for me. I do try my best on my own, but I think Belle would also enjoy being in a group setting with other dogs. She does like them. I would also like it as well. We'll see. I have many puppy books and online sites I read through. it isn't like I haven't trained dogs to do things but she's really stubborn-even for a treat. Dahlia will do anything for one. They are both very different pups.

We'll see..

[Cassiepeia]

Have you tried clicker training? My Chi, Jesse, only just started clicker training a few months before he passed away and it only took him a couple of days to understand what the clicker meant and he learned three commands.
You may need to find a higher value treat to use in training. I used anything from commercial treats to bacon, cooked chicken and carrot. What ever Jesse was in the mood for.
I don't know if anyone's already pointed you in the direction of clicker training but you can do a search on google for it if they haven't. It's very simple, although it takes patience and practice.
I agree that being around other dogs is a great idea, so don't think I'm discouraging you from doing classes. It's just an idea of something you can try at home.
It worked for my little guy who was very old and had dementia. It'll certainly work for a healthy little pup.

Cass.

[Rivsky]

That "he/she's too small" excuse is used a lot where I live - many of the trainers at my club were actually surprised that River and I kept going to classes - apparently many people get small dogs because they think they don't need to train them

But I agree with the others - training doesn't have to equal classes - if you find a great book or website it can also be done at home probably sometimes more successfully than in a group environment - depending how focused your dog is on wanting to play with the other dogs!

[trainingrixie]

i agree too that you can have a AWESOME dog by just training at home and doing the basic manners. but i personally LOVE training, and LOVE going to classes. but i am a freak!!! i'd go every day if i could afford it, but i can only afford on night/week. so i hold my own "class for trixie. I'm not that into teaching the "parlor tricks" but she seems to like to show off, so i might teach her some silly tricks...after all her name is TRIXIE!!