‘Is He Trained Yet?’ Why I Don’t compare My Puppy to Others
I’ve had my puppy for about three months now, and a common question I hear from mostly pals and family goes like, “Is he trained yet?” Or, “Is he trained?”
Trained at 5 months? A weimaraner?!
I’m not entirely sure what they indicate by the question, so I mean I must ask next time.
Is he potty trained? Yes. Can he walk without pulling? No. Does he jump on people? You bet!
While out and about on walks, random strangers will stop to admire Remy and then say things like, “Have you taken him to training classes?”
They undoubtedly think he needs a lot more training! (Which he undoubtedly does! He’s only 5 months old!)
So I wanted to write this post because I feel like a lot of people have unrealistic expectations for puppies and dogs.
If you’re a new puppy owner you might be feeling a little frustrated because of other people’s unrealistic expectations.
Training takes a long, long, long time. Like, years. and it’s never over.
Let me repeat. training a pet dog takes years!
Some puppies learn faster than others. Some puppies are a lot more challenging. Some mature very slowly. Some have the attention span of a flea. Some are distracted by everything and have a drive to chase or follow their nose.
[quote_right]Some puppies learn faster than others. Some puppies are a lot more challenging. Some mature very slowly.[/quote_right]Some puppy owners don’t have as much time as others, and that’s ok as long as you’re doing what you can or getting the help you need.
Sure, you can swiftly show some puppies to shake or sit in one or two training sessions, but getting him to walk on a loose-leash? Not gonna happen so quickly! Stopping him from bolting when you call him? Not so easy.
Take my puppy, for example.
Remy seems like a very smart dog, and weimaraners are known to be intelligent.
But “smart” doesn’t translate to “easy to train.”
My puppy has a short attention span, he blows me off, gets bored and distracted and he has a strong drive to chase. Oh, someone threw a ball? guess who’s going to neglect me and chase the ball? Oh, there’s a lizard? That’s a lot more crucial than anything else at the moment.
Not only that, but Remy has a lot more energy than a lot of puppies. He has to run and his body is always wiggling.
So needless to say, training a puppy or pet dog is a work in progress. It takes a long, long time and you might not think you’re getting anywhere.
Don’t give up.
If you need some help from a trainer or a group class, get it.
Don’t compare your pup to others.
Make a list of things your puppy does really well (loves all people and dogs, waits patiently for his food, takes treats gently).
Love your puppy, and keep on training.
What training challenges are you facing at the moment?
Related posts:
How long does it take to potty train a puppy?
I feel like I’m doing everything wrong with my puppy!
What do you want your puppy to do?
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