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Dog training, clicker training, Australian Shepherd, dogs, puppies, pet products, obedience school |
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Who Is Buddy And Why Does He Need Clicker Training?
I brought Buddy home when he was 8 weeks old. I had just moved from a small apartment into a house with a large, fenced-in backyard and I was anxious to have a canine companion once again. Growing up as a child my family had always had at least one dog and it became an affection I would carry into my adult years. Circumstances and situations had not always permitted me to have one but whenever possible there had been a dog in my life. At the risk of sounding anti-social I would have to say that I prefer the company of dogs over a good 70% of the humans I have encountered in my life. |
Buddy is half Irish Setter and half Australian Shepherd. The Irish Setter half of him (his mother) is pure bred. We're not quite so certain about the Australian Shepherd influence. His color is entirely black with a small white streak on his chest. I found him through the free section of the classified ads in our newspaper. The family that was offering him lived appx. 50 miles north of the city I live in and I drove up there one afternoon not entirely certain I'd be taking a puppy home with me but wanting to have a look at them at any rate. There were 4 puppies available, all males, and they had been eating dry dog food for only a week. They looked so small and fragile, little balls of black fluff with fat little bellies and ears that seemed to be bigger than their heads were. I was immediately attracted to them but hesitant about taking one home. 8 weeks seemed too young to me and these puppies seemed so helpless. Boy oh boy would I be proved wrong on that one. I stayed for the better part of an hour or so and finally decided to take one. His parentage, both breeds, are known for their intelligence and this more than anything proved to be the deciding factor. |
During the next few months Buddy grew rapidly. His energy level was phenomenal and he played with a sort of kamikaze style recklessness that was impossible to keep up with. When friends and family came to visit he didn't simply get excited - he went totally over the top, shivering and trembling like he was about to explode. Conversation was impossible, forcing me to put him outside each time someone came over. As the months progressed his intensity, which I had hoped would fade as he grew older, only increased and in time it became apparent that something would have to be done. |
I chose clicker training mainly because it offered a non-punitive, pain-free method of teaching Buddy some basic manners and because it allowed me to take an active role in his education. I wanted a program that would allow me to train Buddy, as opposed to a commercial obedience school where he would be taught by someone else. Basically I was looking for someone to train me to train my dog and clicker training seemed to offer this. |
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