No Such Thing as a Good Dog

People often tell me how lucky I am to have such a good dog but they’re wrong; there is no luck involved. My dog’s good temperament is the product of years of work. And if more people understood this, more people would have had ‘good’ dogs.

I’ve put a lot of effort into exposing him to other dogs, kids, loud motorcycles, noisy power tools, popping fireworks, loud music, and many other disturbances when he was still a puppy; and took him for regular rides in my car. I allowed him to see, hear, smell and feel these influences at his own terms and it paid off. He is comfortable with such disturbances around him and he loves kids.

It is easy to train a puppy. He responds to his name, you give him a treat. He comes when you call him, you give him a treat. He sits when he’s told, you give them a treat. And after a few months, you have a dog that knows simple commands. But this is when many fall off the bus. You have to keep it up as your dog matures. You have to keep your dog stimulated and it also helps him to keep up with you as circumstances change. A dog's training never stops.

A dog needs plenty of love and attention. When given enough of that, he will bend sideways trying to please you. He will protect you with his life… or lose it in an effort to do so.

Regular exercise is another must for your dog. A restless dog is often a sign of not enough exercising. When the weather allows it, I walk instead of driving the 2 km to the supermarket. He knows that he may not go into the shopping center but he also knows where to wait for me. That took a bit of training but eventually, he did learn to wait until I returned. He understands that the word ‘wait’ means that I’ll come back for him.

So, a ‘good’ dog is not the result of some lucky genetic draw; a dog requires a good owner and a lot of work to make him a ‘good’ dog.


So have you taken your dog for his walky, walky today?