Owner stunned when told pet is 'unredeemable'
ASK DOG LADY | Trainer's advice: Take your dog back to shelter
Dear Dog Lady: I adopted a high-strung 2-year-old rescue dog, Molly, from a shelter. I wanted some training and took her to a dog behaviorist I found through the Internet. After one session, I was aghast when the trainer pronounced her "unredeemable" and told me to return the dog to the shelter. This seems beyond lazy. I cannot imagine any responsible trainer writing off a dog so callously or quickly. It is unconscionable. Molly is, at worst, a bit nervous and jittery. She is still acclimating to being re-homed. I grabbed her leash and got away quickly. I want to encourage your readers to avoid pathetically lazy dog trainers who may give them bad advice.
Frank, Chicago
Dear Frank: You were right to flee this flake. An irresponsible teacher gives up the ghost quickly. This charlatan took the easiest path.
Dog Lady hopes you learned another lesson: There is no substitute for you when training your dog. Oh sure, you can hire surrogates to do the dirty work, but, in the end, no one will care for your dog the way you do. The best dog trainers teach the people. Dogs in classes only get high marks when their biped handlers make all the right moves.
A dog learns through constant interaction with its human keeper. Your calm demeanor will cause Molly to chill out. Your daily walks will assure her you're in charge. The daily training you provide her -- to sit and stay, to lie down -- will pay off more than money thrown at canine coaches.
Dear Dog Lady: I've got a problem with a neighbor who seems to think that I'm not doing my duty picking up after my pup. On more than a few occasions, I've noticed this woman standing at her front door as my dog Blue and I have approached her house. I thought maybe it was just coincidence, but yesterday as Blue and I were standing across the street from her house, I heard a male voice call out accusingly, "I hope you have something to pick up after your dog." I turned and saw a younger guy (probably her son) poking his head out the front door. I indignantly replied, "Of course!" He replied "Good."
I was more than a little offended and had to resist the urge to stop by the house at the end of our walk to show them the evidence I carried.
Blue does tend to sniff around a lot near this woman's house because she lives at the end of a dead end street where lots of garbage, leaves and dead critters build up against the fence, presenting all sorts of intoxicating aromas. Should I try to set the record straight or am I better off just ignoring this woman?
My concern is that she's going to tell her tales to other neighbors and Blue and I are going to get a bad reputation.
Spike, Bolingbrook
Dear Spike: Don't ignore her. Pretend you're a mutt missionary and you must convert her. The next time you spy this woman, remark on the lovely spring weather and say something chatty to the effect: "Blue and I wish everybody did their part to clean up."
Maybe she needs to vent, which your entree will allow her. Everybody does not like dogs and some dog people can be so reckless by leaving stuff behind for others to step in.
You should be a shining example of good breeding, a doggy diplomat beyond reproach. Be nice to her so she will have no choice but return the favor.
Dog dilemmas? People/dog indelicacies? Write doglady @askdoglady.com.
