True confessions

[Maralynn]

Yup.

 

I crate my dogs instead of training some things.

 

I train some things using aversive methods.

 

I train some things using treats.

 

My dogs aren't indoors all the time, but have outdoor kennels that they use 3 or 4 times a week

 

I don't always feed raw

 

I feed raw

 

I vaccinate them.

 

I only vaccinate them on a minimal basis

 

I let them climb in my lap or on my bed.

 

I ignore them for most of the day once and awhile when I have a full work or school schedule.

 

They have gotten yelled at before.

 

I'm not firm enough with them and throw them scraps from my plate some times. Sheesh, sometimes I let them lick my plate after dinner.

 

I make them work for their food.

 

I can't figure out how to train Kipp how to stay out of the trash or the cat food that other people leave out without using an ecollar or something else highly aversive, so I manage it instead of training/proofing.

 

I have a dog reactive/aggressive dog. He must not respect me enough or I must not have trained him right or else it wouldn't be an issue.

 

I have a dog that pulls on the leash on occasion. Once again I must be doing something wrong with her or else I wouldn't have an issue.

 

My dog barks at squirrels sometimes when she's in her outdoor kennel.

 

My dogs bark in their crate on occasion at SAR training.

 

If I leave food on the counter, Kenzi will sometimes try to get it if I'm not present. She actually ate a chocolate chip cookie off of a pan yesterday when I left her inside when I went out to do a couple quick chores.

 

I am a lazy trainer sometimes and don't train some things unless I really need to.

 

Thankfully my dogs haven't yet figured out that I'm such a lousy owner. They appear happy, healthy, listen pretty well and have a decent amount of respect for me. They want to be with me and work for me.

 

Yes, I am being facetious. But these are all things that I've heard being used to critique myself or other dog owners, our care for our dogs and training abilities. I ignore them for the most part because I see a couple pretty well rounded and happy dogs. They're not perfect, but neither am I. I guess we're a pretty good fit.

 

So what are YOUR confessions?

[bcnewe2]

There is a 12 step program for this...have you gone to a meeting yet? I'll meet you there!

[urge to herd]

I ask let Gibbs kiss me on the face.

 

I never was able to get Shoshone to walk with a loose leash. She would pull to the point of choking/wheezing when I first had her and tried a slip lead on her. Whenever she was off leash, even out in the wild, she followed behind me until I gave her a release.

 

We go to the store just so Gibbs can have a ride in the car.

 

We make sure we can take Gibbs when we go away for a few days.

 

Buzz was a love sponge, and we petted him for hours most evenings.

 

Several years I've spent more on dog medicine than on human medicine.

 

I buy waaaayyyy too many dog beds. And treats.

 

I'm sure I'll think of more.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

[G. Festerling]

Sign me up for the 12 step program! I will fit right in!

[Sue R]

Who needs a 12-step program if the dogs are happy and I am happy and DH is happy?

 

I'm flawed, I'm faulty, I lack patience, I easily fall into old habits, I'm lazy, I yell, I cry, and I can't imagine life without my dogs. So sue me.

 

Loved your list!

[bcnewe2]

Sue

The first step is admitting you have a problem.....

[Root Beer]

Fun!! I definitely have some.

 

I manage some things instead of training them with some dogs. Sometimes I simply consider other things more important.

 

I sometimes mix grain free kibble with raw.

 

I reinforce dogs when they are afraid and it ends up making them more confident.

 

I LOVE it when my dogs jump up to greet me when I get home.

 

I train my dogs to put their paws up on me, and on other things, on cue.

 

I consider it an issue if my dog won't go out a door ahead of me.

 

I use lures to introduce the vast majority of behaviors that I train and doing so does not result in dogs who only know how to follow food.

 

I help dogs overcome car chasing without using any verbal or physical corrections and I absolutely care very deeply about their safety.

 

I do not use exercise to tire my dogs out so they will behave. My dogs exercise for enjoyment and overall health, and they behave because they know what is expected.

 

I save tidbits of my food from every meal and share it with my dogs. I've done this since we adopted our first dog because I love to share good things with my dogs. (Except, of course, items that would be harmful to their health, such as onions). Sometimes when I'm not home, I find that I have set food off to the side of my plate for them!

 

I give my dogs free treats whenever I feel like it.

 

I often reinforce my dogs for trying their best even when they don't technically perform correctly.

 

I give my dogs free access to one another, to toys, to the furniture, and to many other things that they enjoy, and doing so does not reduce their enthusiasm for working with me one iota.

 

If one of my fearful dogs is hesitant to do something that is not absolutely necessary at that point in time, I don't "make" the dog do whatever it is. I regard that as legitimate communication, not defiance.

 

I use giving my dog permission to do things that they want to reinforce them for doing what I want. I no longer consider those things to be "self-rewarding" and I love being free of that idea.

 

I no longer use "watch me" to teach a dog to focus on me in the presence of a distraction.

 

I know for a fact that I do not need to be more interesting than anything to have a focused and confident performance dog, so I no longer try to be, and I love being rid of the notion.

 

I don't blame myself for the fact that Speedy is, by nature, fearful of some things. I don't blame myself for the fact that Dean is noise phobic. I don't blame myself for the fact that Tessa is still a little shy of people in some circumstances. I have worked very hard to help each of them overcome those fears to whatever degree is possible (and all three have made incredible progress), but I do not consider myself to be the cause of them.

 

I do not deliberately deprive my dogs of anything so they will want train with treats, and they still want to - very much.

 

I have trained with treats for over 10 years now. Not one of my dogs is fat - all are quite trim with ribs you can feel easily.

 

I like getting kisses from my dogs.

 

I don't expect any of my dogs to tolerate another dog putting his or her face right up against his or her closed crate door.

 

I encourage my dogs to play tug with me, and the dog is certainly allowed to win.

 

Sometimes, when we perform in a sport, I make handling mistakes, and sometimes I am not at my best and I don't handle at my best. Sometimes my dogs make mistakes, and sometimes they are not at their best and they don't perform at their best. I recognize that both of those things happen and I flatly refuse to attribute all errors to either the handler or the dog in every circumstance.

 

I have a bad toe and one of these days I am probably seriously going to hurt myself running Agility, but I run anyway. Some risks are worth taking.

 

I am not a dog and I do not try to simulate one when I train.

 

I am often amused when my dogs get creative during training, and I sometimes laugh right out loud at their ideas, even if I am trying to train something different.

 

I'm sure there are more, but those are the first ones that readily come to my mind. :D

[terrecar]

I do my confessing to my dog. She isn't as judgemental as the average human. This post stands as an exception (IOW irony noted).

[geonni banner]

 

 

I train my dogs to put their paws up on me, and on other things, on cue.

 

I do not use exercise to tire my dogs out so they will behave. My dogs exercise for enjoyment and overall health, and they behave because they know what is expected.

 

I give my dogs free treats whenever I feel like it.

 

I often reinforce my dogs for trying their best even when they don't technically perform correctly.

 

If one of my fearful dogs is hesitant to do something that is not absolutely necessary at that point in time, I don't "make" the dog do whatever it is. I regard that as legitimate communication, not defiance.

 

I use giving my dog permission to do things that they want to reinforce them for doing what I want. I no longer consider those things to be "self-rewarding" and I love being free of that idea.

 

I know for a fact that I do not need to be more interesting than anything to have a focused and confident... ...dog, so I no longer try to be, and I love being rid of the notion.

 

I don't blame myself for the fact that Speedy is, by nature, fearful of some things. I don't blame myself for the fact that Dean is noise phobic. I don't blame myself for the fact that Tessa is still a little shy of people in some circumstances. I have worked very hard to help each of them overcome those fears to whatever degree is possible (and all three have made incredible progress), but I do not consider myself to be the cause of them.

 

I encourage my dogs to play tug with me, and the dog is certainly allowed to win.

 

I am not a dog and I do not try to simulate one when I train.

 

I am often amused when my dogs get creative during training, and I sometimes laugh right out loud at their ideas, even if I am trying to train something different.

 

I'm sure there are more, but those are the first ones that readily come to my mind. :D

Me too, me too!

 

I sometimes feed my dog at the table. (But never the cat.)

 

I sing her a lullaby every night. She actually waits for it - when I start, she curls up, closes her eyes, heaves a sigh of contentment and passes out.

 

I'm not jealous that she gets more excited when the dog-walker comes to the door than she does when I do. (Dog-walker is too tame a word for Chris. He takes her to interesting places so she can run run run with her canine friends, play fetch and other games for an hour or more, 5 or 6 days a week.)

 

I let her pick her own chewies at the pet food store. (She has expensive tastes!)

[TEC]

I'd say you're all in denial Darn, I read the wrong line on the reverse of my wallet size laminated card which states clearly on the front, "Dog Owner/Handler Counselling License". Correct line just below it: "Keep up the good work, seeing your faults is the first step to recovery".

 

Dogs seem to forgive good handlers their flaws (indulgences?), mine included. -- Regards, TEC

[beachdogz]

Well, when I was first reading the original post, I didn't get that it was facetious....I was just happy that someone else was as "flawed" as I was.

 

I can probably concur with all that has been written.

 

My true confession: Sometimes I read these Boards before reading my emails or the news....and way too many times I stay on these Boards reading for long periods of time without doing my housework or other stuff I should be doing. However, if there is a twelve step program for that....I don't wanna go. I'm perfectly happy with my addiction.

 

p.s. I've tried reading other BC "boards"...they're just not the same!

[Journey]

12 steps? Is that all? How many do overs do you get

 

I can't wait to get a dishwasher - the dogs are gonna be pissed though!

 

Bree's allowed on the furniture, she's earned it. Naps allowed on the furniture, cause he's Nap. Tess is allowed on the furniture cause she takes up the least amount of space

 

I only have two crates inside. They're smooshed up in them cause they all want the same one! Even though none are crated....

 

They eat kibble, raw, cooked food, sometimes all in the same day. They rarely eat at the exact same time daily.

 

They can turn me into a prisoner when all are leashed. Off lead...much safer!

 

They don't go through doors ahead of me. Of course then I have to turn around to find them.

 

Bree will climb a tree for a squirrel or cat. Too bad I haven't been able to teach her to discriminate the skunks!

 

Naps scared of bugs, Tess eats them. I vacuum them up

 

After puppy shots I do not vaccinate them. They're so traumatized by the vets office that they demand cookies by jumping on the counter when we walk in! They have no aversion to the scale, I have to make them take turns.

 

They'd be perfect alarm clocks if I could teach them to keep track of what day it is! Poor training on my part.

[urge to herd]

12 steps? Is that all? How many do overs do you get

 

They don't go through doors ahead of me. Of course then I have to turn around to find them.

 

They're so traumatized by the vets office that they demand cookies by jumping on the counter when we walk in! They have no aversion to the scale, I have to make them take turns.

 

They'd be perfect alarm clocks if I could teach them to keep track of what day it is! Poor training on my part.

 

Oh, but you get to DO those 12 steps over and over, until you get it right!

 

Love the second line, about turning around to find them.

 

Ruth

[Maralynn]

Well, when I was first reading the original post, I didn't get that it was facetious....I was just happy that someone else was as "flawed" as I was.

 

 

 

The real facetious part was where I said I was a "bad" dog owner.

 

Other than that, I've done everything that I listed. And have either heard/been told in person those things are bad or that I've failed some in some way because of it...

[juliepoudrier]

I admit that I have to fight for space on the bed at night.

 

I am a lazy trainer.

 

That's enough for now. My dogs love me and I love them. My life is better because of them, my flaws and all.

 

J.

[Journey]

Oh, but you get to DO those 12 steps over and over, until you get it right!

 

Ruth

 

Thank doG! Life would be unimaginable without my dogs. Besides, being perfect is far overrated.

[OurBoys]

My dogs are crated at night when we’re sleeping and during the day if we’re going to be gone for over an hour for a number of reasons. We’ve always done this with these 3. One night Josie acted like she didn’t want to sleep in her crate so I left the door opened. The next morning when we got up, I found her in her crate. She wouldn’t come out until I let the boys out. I wonder if she realized she needed her routine more than she knew.

 

My dogs are not loose leash trained. JJ enjoys walking at the end of the leash however far it will go and the other 2 want/needs to be next to him. Though I will confess DH took some pictures of Jake and I after leaving the round pen a few years ago and Jake was walking next to me loose leashed with his head held high looking proud of himself.

 

With the exception of a turkey neck or a frozen marrow bone every once in a while I don’t feed raw.

 

There have been times I’ve let a temporary foster dog I just pulled from a shelter off lead as soon as we’re in the backyard so I can watch him/her enjoy the freedom of running around before I know if they are a fence jumper. The smile on their face always brings a smile to mine. There were a couple of times a dog ran right into the fence. I did check the dogs out to make sure they were ok before bursting out laughing.

 

My dogs always go through a door before I do. It’s no big deal. They know who the food lady is.

 

The dogs are trained to stay downstairs. When we had cats, the upstairs was the cat’s area so they could have a place to go if/when they wanted to get away from it all. Even though it’s been years since we’ve had a cat, they still won’t go up there with the exception of Jake. If it’s storming, Jake might go up there to find a cubby hole or if I’m upstairs and he needs to use the bathroom, he’ll come and tell me. With that said, if DH gets up before I do, he still hasn’t been able to train him to go upstairs in the morning to wake me up. I guess Jake has his own rules too.

 

My dogs aren’t perfect but then again neither am I. Besides, I don’t want perfect dogs. Life would be so boring if they were.

[geonni banner]

[rushdoggie]

Oh, well I am destined to have man killers, I play tug and even occasionally let the dog win, let my puppies (and adult dogs sometimes) chew on my fingers and feed my dog raw bones.

 

I also vaccinate and neuter but not as much as many people think I do, so I am chastised by the natural people and the mainstream people.

[Root Beer]

. . . I've done everything that I listed. And have either heard/been told in person those things are bad or that I've failed some in some way because of it...

 

Same here.

 

I don't consider any of the things that I listed above to be flaws - although I realize that there are those who would view them that way - but as ways I've done right by my dogs, in spite of the fact that many of them fly in the face of conventional wisdom.

 

 

Now flaws, sure I have plenty of those - the dogs usually don't eat dinner until close to when I go to bed, their outdoor exercise in the winter is super quick because I don't tolerate the cold very well, I take on too many training challenges at once and get bogged down in them, I didn't do a whole lot of training with my oldest dog and I rather regret that now, I had too many and too high expectations of Dean during the first couple of years that he was with us, etc. etc. etc.

 

But I have an arrangement with my dogs. I accept their flaws and they accept mine. It works out very well. I try to improve on mine to the degree that I can, and I help them to improve on theirs to the degree that they can. But ultimately we both accept what we cannot change about one another. And my dogs live better than a lot of people in the world live, and they make my life better than it could ever be without them, so what are a few flaws?

 

One of the things that I love most about sharing my life with dogs is that they do accept my imperfections.

[D'Elle]

I have an arrangement with my dogs. I accept their flaws and they accept mine. It works out very well. I try to improve on mine to the degree that I can, and I help them to improve on theirs to the degree that they can. But ultimately we both accept what we cannot change about one another. And my dogs live better than a lot of people in the world live, and they make my life better than it could ever be without them, so what are a few flaws?

 

One of the things that I love most about sharing my life with dogs is that they do accept my imperfections.

 

 

Hear, Hear!!!

 

I have allowed my Kit dog to get away with disobediences that I never allowed a previous dog to do. I couldn't help it; I just love her in such a way that I couldn't hold her to a certain standard and didn't care. Still don't care and love her to death. Fact is, it has made me a better dog person, realizing that every dog that I have doesn't have to be Perfectly Trained.

 

I have allowed having a large yard 20 miles outside the city to let me be lazy about taking the dogs on hikes. Mea Culpa.

 

I let any dog who wants to sleep in my bed.

 

I play tug with Kit and she usually wins because wearing her out takes a very very long time.

 

I have been known to yell. It is rare. I still feel very badly about it. But it could happen again.

 

I had a No Dogs On Furniture rule that was iron clad (except for my bed) until two Small Dogs came to live with me. Now, what is the use in having a lap dog or two in your house if you don't let the lap dogs be on your lap? Then the border collies figured that if the Small Dogs got on the couch, THEY certainly should, because they have been here longer. Well, how could I argue with that?

 

Sometimes I bark with the dogs. I first did it because I wanted to see if I could figure out why dogs like so much to bark. Well, I found out. It is really fun to bark! No wonder it is what they call a "self-rewarding behavior". So now, when a friend comes over, sometimes all the dogs and I will bark up a storm together.

 

Sometimes I play with the dogs as if I were a dog.

 

They don't get raw food. They don't get the most expensive kibble, either. I just feed them the best I can for what my budget is at the moment.

 

Sometimes I worry that I am not a good enough Dog Mom. But, not so much these days because my best friend said to me one time, "I always like to come to your house because all I see when I come in the door is a whole bunch of happy smiling faces".

 

D'Elle

[Beach BCs]

I have been complaining for five and a half years that Tex pulls terribly on the leash, but I never do anything about it. Other than let him off leash.

 

Every night Tex drinks orange juice from my cup.

 

My dogs prefer red wine.

 

I share ice cream with the dogs, from my spoon.

 

I let Georgia "steal" my socks every night.

 

Georgia has a crappy recall so I keep her on a 75 foot long line when we are in the yard.

 

Every Sunday I buy the dogs their own hamburger.

 

I always let Tex go through the door first.

 

I'm secretly proud that Georgia is such a good huntress.

 

I occasionally travel with the dogs not in their crates, and yes, they've put their faces out the window.

 

I let the dogs clean the dinner plates.

 

I point out squirrels and rabbits to the dogs.

 

I secretly find it hysterical when Georgia redesigns the agility course and gets the zoomies. And I always post the runs on YouTube.

 

I have too many crates and use almost none of them.

 

I don't trim their nails often enough.

 

I let Tex lick my hands while he snuggles with me on the sofa.

 

I've enjoyed bringing Tex to work with me this past month and will try to bring him for another couple weeks. I'm not above fake bandaging his foot.

 

My dogs are probably spoiled. And I don't care. They're good dogs, they don't mess the house up (other than shedding), and are generally very well mannered. My dogs fit my life. So a few extras are ok by me. And I have no intention of going through a 12 step program.

[bcnewe2]

I think the 12 step program includes the dogs. At least mine does!

[geonni banner]

I don't know about a 12-step, but my dog does a mean two-step in front of the door if I forget her pee-break.

 

Bad owner!

[terrecar]

I've enjoyed bringing Tex to work with me this past month and will try to bring him for another couple weeks. I'm not above fake bandaging his foot.

 

 

LOL@ fake bandaging his foot. (and taking notes)