How to Train My Dog

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I adopted my dog Rosie from a local shelter. I believe in adopting adult dogs from shelters instead of buying a puppy, but that choice can sometimes be a challenge, to say the least. She had been abused by her previous owners, so she came with some built-in behavior problems that needed to be addressed plus she had not been socialized at all.

First of all, I didn’t want her to be afraid of my family and friends. I wanted her to trust them and love them like I do. So first and foremost she needed to be socialized.

And I had a real challenge ahead of me with the unwanted behaviors. I was really daunted about how to address so many problems.

The constant jumping up on me was a big problem. I am a little older, so every time she accidentally scratched me, she drew blood. Not a pretty picture.

Second, barking at every single noise was a big problem. Everyone knows that dogs bark, but excessive barking is not a good thing. Not only did it annoy me, but my neighbors would start complaining sooner or later.

The whining and howling were a big problem. My dog is really small, but she is very, very loud, especially when she howls. My neighbors really loved it.

Walking on the leash was not a very enjoyable experience for either me or my dog. My little dog weighs about 20 pounds, but she was strong enough to pull me along behind her. I wasn’t walking her — she was walking me.

Although not the only issues, the ones listed above were the most urgent ones to get started on. But I was a little overwhelmed on where exactly to start. It had been so long since I trained my last dog (who died of old age), that my skills were a little rusty, to say the least.

Most of my friends have dogs, so I called them first. They advised all kinds of things from getting a professional dog trainer to checking out available dog-training courses online. After talking to several people, I decided to get the “Do It Yourself Dog Training Program” by Sharda Baker.

I am seeing some progress already. Rosie is already much more socialized, and she also is not as upset when I leave home. She still barks, though, and more work is needed.

Another article will be submitted when I see more progress with Rosie’s training. Until then, I hope you have enjoyed my article.