Big dogs are hard to handle
All small fluffy dogs are cute
Rescues are better than pedigrees (or vice versa)
Doodles don't shed
Sighthounds can't recall
Well - you could call them “myths” - but I prefer to call them “excuses”!
Because these things usually come out of the mouths of people whose dogs are in some way challenging them, so they have to produce a reason which doesn’t include the fact that they forgot to train their dog … or they have deluded themselves into getting the wrong dog for their home because of a misconception.
Let’s take a look:
1. Big dogs are hard to handle
Back in my Working Trials days I didn’t do PD (Police Dog), but competed at plenty of trials where PD was being tested, so I got to know a fair few of the top handlers. The dogs are tested for their resilience, their tenacity, their instant responses, and their ability to bring down a criminal (without damaging him).
I learnt a saying there when talking to a trainer whose Champion was quite a small collie, which applies to all animals - including people! Note that ‘fight’ here refers to the conflict or spirit - it’s nothing to do with dogs fighting.
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
People can manage horses. People can manage elephants. People can manage all kinds of large animals. Big dogs can be handled just as easily.
And a lot of people struggle to manage quite small dogs!
It’s all a question of switching things round from the concept of control, of dominance, to the fact that it’s all very easy if the dog wants to do what you ask.
This is the essence of Choice Training, and is what I teach throughout Brilliant Family Dog and all its books and programs.
2. All small fluffy dogs are cute
This is a nonsense put about by the ghastly puppy farms and ‘greeders’ who cater for the desire to have a fashionable fluffy to show off.
These “designer dogs” are … dogs! And if they’ve had a poor start, as suggested in my sentence above, they’re going to be more difficult than they need to be.
Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, temperaments, and characters. It’s essential to work with the dog that’s in front of you, rather than the dog you wish you had.
“Cute is as cute does” as my mother would most certainly have said (if she’d ever used the word ‘cute’!).
And yes, small fluffies can be cute. But so can big smoothcoats. And both have the potential to be less than cute. It’s all in how we teach them.
Back to Choice Training again!
3. Rescues are better than pedigrees (or vice versa)
This one’s just plain silly. A dog is a dog is a dog. He has no idea how he came to be on the planet. He just is!
And all dogs have a right to a good home and a good life.
Choosing a dog of known breeding can certainly help if you want that dog for a specific purpose, and need evidence that the dog will be fit for that purpose both physically and mentally. But there are no guarantees!
And it’s true to say that there is more variation between individuals than between breeds.
In other words - there’s an element of pot luck in choosing any dog! The only thing we can be sure of is how we treat that dog when he arrives.
Choice Training, anyone?
4. Poodle crosses don’t shed
More nonsense, I’m afraid. If you cross two animals, you’re going to get genes from both. Which genes are recessive and which dominant is in the lap of the gods.
You’ve only got to look at children in the same family - blue eyes / brown eyes, blonde hair / dark hair …
So you can get a poodle cross that has no sign of poodle coat, and one which is very poodly. And all dogs lose hairs. So if you have a health reason for not wanting dog hairs in your home, a poodle cross is no guarantee.
5. Sighthounds don’t recall
I’ll let Cricket the Whippet answer this one for you in this brief video.
You can see the moment she clocks the rabbit and takes off - and you can see the enthusiasm with which she hurtles back!
And here’s another for you, where there’s no rabbit, but she really really hoped there would be, as there often are up this path - and she was alert and attentive in the hunt!
Want to learn more about Choice Training?
Check out our free Workshop here, on getting your dog to LISTEN!