News
ENLARGE
Right now I have two dogs: Aspen, a 1-year-old golden retriever and Moses, a 5-month-old puppy.
I’ve owned dogs before and trained them, but they were usually a manageable size, like Aspen. Once Moses came into my household — a Great Dane that could potentially reach a height of 39 inches and weight of 195 pounds — I figured I could use some help with training. As my dad said, “That’s a moose calf you’re dealing with.”
My boyfriend and I enrolled Moses in the Puppy Kindergarten class with Dale Rands, a dog trainer.
In September, the Lake Tahoe Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals started offering dog training classes, said Dawn Armstrong, LTHS executive director. Rands is one of the instructors.
The classes are based on positive reinforcement, so no choke chains, pinch collars or other forms of physical restraint are used. They range in levels from puppy training to advanced training.
Armstrong said classes will be offered year-round, and as popularity grows, new ones could be added.
At our first class Oct. 19, Moses wasn’t there to impress anyone with his best behavior. He was more interested in checking out the other dogs, especially the puppies the size of his paw.
One recommendation Rands had for our large puppy was to use a gentle leader — a head halter that redirects the puppy’s head back to the owner. It doesn’t hurt the dog, and is very effective when it comes to Moses not pulling me all the way down the street.
Another problem most dog owners have is teaching their dogs to come. So often owners call their dogs to come when the pups are running away from them. This makes the dogs associate the command with running away, Rands said. People need to make sure they’re associating the right word with the right action.
Rands also e-mailed a list of what was worked on in class, so owners could practice “homework” with the dogs at home.
After the first class was over, Moses napped the whole way home. My boyfriend said at least Moses was in the running for the Most Improved award.
— Sara Thompson is the Tribune’s business and education reporter.
I’ve owned dogs before and trained them, but they were usually a manageable size, like Aspen. Once Moses came into my household — a Great Dane that could potentially reach a height of 39 inches and weight of 195 pounds — I figured I could use some help with training. As my dad said, “That’s a moose calf you’re dealing with.”
My boyfriend and I enrolled Moses in the Puppy Kindergarten class with Dale Rands, a dog trainer.
In September, the Lake Tahoe Humane Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals started offering dog training classes, said Dawn Armstrong, LTHS executive director. Rands is one of the instructors.
The classes are based on positive reinforcement, so no choke chains, pinch collars or other forms of physical restraint are used. They range in levels from puppy training to advanced training.
Armstrong said classes will be offered year-round, and as popularity grows, new ones could be added.
At our first class Oct. 19, Moses wasn’t there to impress anyone with his best behavior. He was more interested in checking out the other dogs, especially the puppies the size of his paw.
One recommendation Rands had for our large puppy was to use a gentle leader — a head halter that redirects the puppy’s head back to the owner. It doesn’t hurt the dog, and is very effective when it comes to Moses not pulling me all the way down the street.
Another problem most dog owners have is teaching their dogs to come. So often owners call their dogs to come when the pups are running away from them. This makes the dogs associate the command with running away, Rands said. People need to make sure they’re associating the right word with the right action.
Rands also e-mailed a list of what was worked on in class, so owners could practice “homework” with the dogs at home.
After the first class was over, Moses napped the whole way home. My boyfriend said at least Moses was in the running for the Most Improved award.
— Sara Thompson is the Tribune’s business and education reporter.
