Expert advice? Confused owners…

Advice from, so-called professionals, can be confusing for dog owners.

I was chatting with a chap who had re-homed a dog from a farm.  The first time I met him with his new canine charge, the dog was off-lead and romping around with other dogs.

The next time I met them, things had changed. The dog was now on a long lead and was not being let off, at all. My interest was peaked. He told me that the dog had poor recall.  He had been to a \’trainer\’ who had advised him, because the dog had run free on a farm, to keep the dog, permanently, on the lead and, away from other dogs.

The advice given to this chap astounded me.  Instead of the \’trainer\’ teaching the dog recall, his \’professional\’ opinion was to not socialize this young dog and, to not make any effort to train it properly.

Unfortunately, the dogs\’ owner was, now not interested in an alternative view.  Therefore, this dog was now doomed to being kept on the lead.

The bottom line – take care about who you take advise from.  There are many \’trainers\’ and \’behaviourists\’ that have limited qualifications, and are happy to give out poor advice.  Do not be fooled by the fact that an individual is a member of multiple organisations and, has been involved with dogs for many years.  These are not guarantees for the best advice about what is best for you and your dog.