Training at 23 Weeks – Educating “Generation Arff”

Teddy and I just completed two weeks of intense practice, and it paid off. I couldn’t wait for his trainer, Nobu Endo, My Puppy Rocks! Dog Training, to arrive so he could see Teddy’s progress for himself. Nobu Endo did notice Teddy’s improvement! I was a very proud doggie-mom! We are beginning to think about the next step in his Training. What are we going to work on next? We discussed the next logical steps in Basic Training and possibly Agility Training in the future.

When Candy and Brandy were six months old like Teddy is now, I read an article, Dog Crazy by Meeta Agrawal. It appeared in a publication of Life magazine titled Meet Generation Arff!, February 24, 2006. Agrawal was documenting the growing trend of increased spending on dogs. In the article, the author also referenced a book, Teach Your Dog To Read, by Bonnie Bergen Ed. D.. Since dogs seem to understand the human voice, its inflections, and verbalized commands, perhaps they could be taught to read. The concept was to train your dog to recognize the written word corresponding with commands or words that the dog is already familiar with. I put considerable effort into creating flashcards and working with both Candy and Brandy to see if they could learn to read, but I wasn’t wholly successful. Brandy seemed to grasp it and looked intently at the flashcard, but not Candy. Perhaps Brandy was looking at the curves and shapes of the letters as I repeated the word over and over, but I’ll never know. Keeping Candy and Brandy’s attention was also a challenge, so ultimately, I gave up. Now I think I’ll try again with Teddy. That would be fun and challenging for both Teddy and me, and it would undoubtedly challenge Teddy’s mind in a new and different way.

Training a dog is a lot of work, and attention to details is needed! My husband and I have the time to devote to Teddy’s Training and the desire to do so, but that is not the case for all dogs. Far too many dogs end up in shelters or abandoned. The humans in their lives were either unable to care for them, or clueless concerning the level of commitment needed, or didn’t want to put in the effort.

Dogs are intelligent beings that seem to have a high level of social and emotional intelligence. Something which a lot of humans lack! Puppies grow into adult dogs and need guidance and care to be able to fit into our human world. Training is a lot of work, and it takes time, dedication, and love and patience.