by Jennifer Arthur

Created on: June 01, 2009   Last Updated: June 03, 2009

The sit command .

This l could compare with making a cup of tea. Which is correct - to place the milk in first, or after you have poured the tea.?

Tea bag or pot?

Let's move on with the topic at hand

Yes it is very important to have your dog well trained. I do believe that your dog should be able to be taken anywhere.

Your dog needs to be trained to be socially acceptable You will hear and read from many trainers that the "sit "command is very much on the top of the list to start with .

All commands that make your dog safe and a pleasure to be around are all important.

Well after training dogs for over 30 years, I do believe that it does not matter if your dog will, sit, stay, drop, or heal if your dog will not recall for you .

I have seen people running after their dogs down a busy street causing all sorts of danger - to their dog as well as members of the community because the dog is on the run. This dog will not respond to the basic recall.

Who is in control the dog or the owner? Even today l saw a man and his family out for a walk with their dog . Beautiful thing, as long as the dog is not in charge of the walk . This dog was pulling on the lead, and not healing. There was no safety control over this dog at all.

New dog owners should realize that dogs are pack animals. You do need to establish yourself as the pack leader. Never allow yourself to be part of the dogs pack.

We in Australia have to learn from other countires in the world and be more responsible pet owners. Maybe we need to look at being more like the UK. There they interview new pet owners to see if they are well suited to be a new dog owner.

They look for things as time and effort that can be spent with the dog. They will also look at the home where the dog is to live. This is to make sure that it will be suited to the breed of dog that the new owners are looking at .

Also the needs of the family must be well suited to the breed of dog . For example, someone living in a flat would not be able to buy a " Dogue De Bordeaux".

Also you will find the people wishing to have a dog will have pet walkers and in some cases puppy trainers . This will cover all the basic training commands and also house training for the busy owner .

Myself l would call this group of busy people ( taking responsible ownership to the good level) .

The USA also has far higher levels of animal ownership than we do here in Australia . l see more time and money spent on controlling whether a dog has a tail or not rather than ensuring that the owners of these dogs will be responsible in their care and there training

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