Sould all dogs be trained?

[RetrieverBabe419]

Hello,
Hi my friend has a sheltie. Do you have pictures of your sheltie?? Please email me if you do.

[SheltieLover234]

Well Retriever,

I dont have a Sheltie but if you don`t know what they look like just imagine what a Collie looks like minaturized.

[Margrete]

Every dog needs to be trained. How far you go with it depends on you and your dog. Our first dog was shown for obedience - winning a Companion Dog certificate from the AKC. The last 3 all went to dog training classes until they knew the basics like sit, stay, down, come and heel. Not that most of them heeled very well because we were pretty content just having them walking beside us without pulling!! They all thrived on the training because basically they wanted to please us. We never started formal training classes until they were six months old. However, with our new puppy Molly - who we got at 7 weeks - the Vet said to start teaching her at home immediately using small treats and lots of praise. He said that pups that young are like little sponges and absorb everything very quickly. Was he ever right!! She already had learned sit, down, and most importantly come by the time she started her first puppy obedience class at 3 1/2 months. She then learned to walk on a leash without pulling. Unfortunately she was afraid of other dogs - and wouldn't play with the other puppies so we enrolled her in a second puppy class at a different school just for the socialization (she was too young to start beginner's training). She has since learned stay, is working on heel and plays joyfully with our neighbor's 120 lb Rottweiler. Molly is a 13 lb Miniature Schnauzer and loves her training. We've even taught her to do fun things like chase a ball or frisbee, bring it back and drop it. We find this a great plus as she gets a lot of exercise - and we are getting too old to chase her!! The more she learns the happier she is - as are we. Enjoy!!