( bear with me, I just need to unload)
One of my closest friends inherited an adult male lab last fall that had been a stray, and thankfully he extremely well-behaved (only two chewing incidents to date - but she doesn't believe in using a kennel during the day, so.....).
Now she has her boy-friend's puppy living with her. Puppy is getting close to 6mo and is lab/spaniel mix. She is cute and from everything I can see, she is trainable. But, that isn't going to happen!
We took our dogs to the lake yesterday, and while my friend was struggling to control and manage both of them on leashes, she was only getting more and more frustrated and angry. Actually, I've run completely out of patience because all I hear is her complaining about the two dogs and how they "do this and do that" or "won't do this and won't do that". Like she thinks they are going to figure out all this on their own! When I am with her I listen and offer encouragement and advice (very carefully).
But yesterday I'd had it! For the first time I actually got abrupt with her and started telling her what she needed to do. She had one dog on a 15' leash, the other on a 4', and both were wearing regular collars. They were going in every different direction, she was tripping over them, they were pulling, they were gagging from the pulling, etc., etc. I even offered to give her extra leashes and training collars I have and can live without.
For months now I've been urging her to leash train them appropriately, and have told her to take them both (especially the puppy) to obedience training. Her adult lab is wonderful and would make an even greater pet with some training. The puppy will be a nuisance at the rate she's going. And I love my friend, but OMG! I used to feel sorry for her, but yesterday, I threw up my hands.
One of my closest friends inherited an adult male lab last fall that had been a stray, and thankfully he extremely well-behaved (only two chewing incidents to date - but she doesn't believe in using a kennel during the day, so.....).
Now she has her boy-friend's puppy living with her. Puppy is getting close to 6mo and is lab/spaniel mix. She is cute and from everything I can see, she is trainable. But, that isn't going to happen!
We took our dogs to the lake yesterday, and while my friend was struggling to control and manage both of them on leashes, she was only getting more and more frustrated and angry. Actually, I've run completely out of patience because all I hear is her complaining about the two dogs and how they "do this and do that" or "won't do this and won't do that". Like she thinks they are going to figure out all this on their own! When I am with her I listen and offer encouragement and advice (very carefully).
But yesterday I'd had it! For the first time I actually got abrupt with her and started telling her what she needed to do. She had one dog on a 15' leash, the other on a 4', and both were wearing regular collars. They were going in every different direction, she was tripping over them, they were pulling, they were gagging from the pulling, etc., etc. I even offered to give her extra leashes and training collars I have and can live without.
For months now I've been urging her to leash train them appropriately, and have told her to take them both (especially the puppy) to obedience training. Her adult lab is wonderful and would make an even greater pet with some training. The puppy will be a nuisance at the rate she's going. And I love my friend, but OMG! I used to feel sorry for her, but yesterday, I threw up my hands.