This is the season for animal abandonment at shelters and rescues countywide. Owners are getting busy with summer activities and don’t have time for their four-legged responsibilities. Dogs, especially, begin needing behavior training and owners are at a loss for quality help that lasts.

The main problem with general dog training is that most “sessions” teach the dog what not to do: jump, dig, bark, chew, etc. and can be quite successful for awhile, but the dog gets frustrated and reverts back to his prior behavior. Without identifying the cause, and more importantly, replacing the behavior, your dog will always revert back. Not only must we replace the behavior, we must insure that the dog be able to get and initiate attention on his own, no by the owner or passerby. This will ensure that the dog gets his basic needs met, while pleasing his owner.

The secondary problem with most training, is that is does not involve “real world” scenarios. Private training is difficult because of the lack of distraction. Inside training is unrealistic and does not translate well to outside situations, like walking on a leash.

A third, but still very important factor is that a dog cannot think and react unless they are well exercised and on a decent diet. Your trainer must be able to offer an outlet for energy prior to training as well as nutritional information unique to each dog and his needs.

During this “abandonment season”, we encourage you to find a dog training group class that

• Addresses both problem behaviors and replacement behaviors

• Offers group classes both inside and outside with “real world” distractions

• Trains with positive reinforcement for a well-motivated pooch.

Contact Kelley@BeaufortDog.com for more information.