Reliable vocal control over your dog is generally the ultimate goal for owners when dog training. However, vocal control can only go so far to protect your dog! it’s important to understand that your dog is an individual, living being who is making their own decisions. Training is what we do as owners to encourage the right decisions but there is always, always, always a possiblity a situation could arise that causes your friend to choose to listen to themself, rather than you. Consider these common occurances:
In many of these cases a well trained dog may listen to your command, overting a potential disaster. Although, it only takes a brief distraction to you or a sufficiently intense stimulation for these situations to escalate out of control.
Many jurisdictions have leash laws or rules but even in places without such rules it’s always a good decision to keep your dog leashed.
Not only are you doing the right thing for your dog and yourself, you’re also respecting the people, dogs, nature, and wildlife around you.
Here in Colorado we have many plants and animals that can be harmful to your pet. Things to look out for:
Rattle Snakes; rattle snakes are common in many areas of Colorado. Here in Longmont, they can be found in open spaces and BLM land. In particular, Rabbit Mountain
Foxtails; foxtails is a lesser known danger to dogs and other pets. They are a class of grasses that can produce hard, barbed seed dispersal mechanisms that can become lodged in dogs ears, noses, and other sensitive areas. These seed spikes act like porcupine quills, they have tiny, often microscopic barbs that cause the spike to bury deeper and lock into flesh as it is perturbed. To identify dangerous foxtails when you find dried grasses that resemble a foxtail, pick the seed spikes and run your finger up and down the edge of a spike. If it feels rough or like your finger is sticking to the spike, make a note of how the grass looks and avoid it in the future.
Many poisonous plants you should consider learning to identify, such as Lupine, Death Camas, Larkspur, Water Hemlock, Milkweed, Foxglove, Oleander, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and Poison Hemlock.
Muzzles can be a useful tool to have access to! They can prevent dangerous escalation when your dog is meeting other animals, can make vet appointments smoother, and provide a more relaxed environment when meeting people who are less accustom to dogs.
Muzzle training introduces you dog to the muzzle gradually so they associate the muzzle with positive experiences. This makes the times that you need you dog to wear their muzzle less stressful for your furry friend.
I use muzzles from The Muzzle Movement (unaffiliated) for my own dogs and can highly recommend them. Remember, good dogs wear muzzles too!