Are you dreaming of getting a roly poly puppy for your boy or girl to grow up with and ‘ live happily ever after’?

Visions in our parental heads flash back to famous movie and TV dogs like Lassie; Old Yeller; Rin Tin-Tin; Bethoven. Air Bud. But what we don’t realize is that she dogs we fantasize about with our children are exceptionally trained canines.

If you are thinking ” wouldn’t it be fun to have “101 Dalmations”? ARE YOU NUTZ!!!?

Are you having the fantasy of your dog rescueng kids from the well like we watched on Lassie? Then get a reality check before you bring puppy home. Read my thoughts below before you get puppy, please. having a puppy without being prepared is not so dreamy. Puppies do what puppies do so they need to be taught what behavior you want.

What a beutiful image of a boy and his. Before getting a puppy, No Non-cents Nanna says to research first on how much work; best breeds for you; puppy and dog behavior first.

The image about was my son about 35 years ago with Muffin and TB Annie.. Our landlord gaves us the mother dog above after some one had thrown her over a 6 foot fence. It did not take long for her have a litter of pups. I was not prepared for 7 animals in the house along with 2 growing children tho’ I had grown up with farm dogs. ( A farm dog not is not the same as a pet dog. Both are big responcibilities.)

To tell you the truth, our family loved our pets; But, with 2 children , I did not love the expense when reality set in after we adopted Muffin, the beautiful mother dog above. Sadly after 5 years I had no choice but to re-home Muffin. I had become a single mother of 2 then added a new baby I was a statistic of having being able keep our beloved pet.

Recently my 43 year old son, decided to replace his late service dog.

We did not feel that we could afford to pay $18,000 or more for a fully trained 2 year old dog. It was nearly imppossible to transport David in his motorized wheelchair out of town or out of state to meet a dog and train for 6 weeks with the candidtat dog. I know most families just want to love a pet, They don’t need a working dog like dog liek we do.

Besides, we wanted to bond. It was nearly impossible to transport. Trust me, the amount of intence training that goes into training a service dog for some one is still a lobor of love in terms of compensation for trainers.

i contacted:

Dana hand-picked our Amber Service-Dog-in-Training for her breed and her personality. Dana is training me every week to train Amber.

Amber Service-Dog-in-Training is one happy puppy. She loves learning new things. Amber at 12 weeks models her brand new Service-Dog-in-Training Vest. This vest opped off of her at age 14 weeks. Ordered a new vest yesterday.

Of course we are experiencing normal development dog behaviors with Amber even with puppy training. There is nothing warm and fuzzy about

• picking up puppy phoo on the carpet or washing and re-washing mop rags.
• overly full of energy I call “shits and giggles” at 5 AM when I want to sleep.
• having my bills torn to shred in 2 seconds flat. (I have to admit it did look funny for a moment when Amber figured out how to move a chair in order to stand on the dining table. I would have prefed to shred the my self.)
• I spend hours a day working on her training to become a service dog. I wanted to do this Some days are fabulouly rewarding. Then other days when we have set backs or it is cold or raining outside I wonder what I was thinking when we knew she was meant to David’s Service-Dog. Some days I really want a nap instaed of potty training in the cold.
• and still Amber have gotten her puppy teeth stuck in my new sweater

Fortunately we have weekly training sessions.

Still thinking about a cute puppy your tot can rough and tumble with?

Read this Huffington Post article first: 7 Reasons People Dump Their Dog

Did you know that dogs can bite?

There are reasons why a docile dog may bite. Did you know that you can identify a dog’s up-coming behavior by its posture? Humans have a lot to learn about communicating.

Dana Ortiz explains a dog posture in her book.

No Non-cents Nanna knows about training up human children. But she needs lot of help training up Amber to be a Service Dog.

Therefore, recommends Becoming the Trainer by Dana Ortiz.

According to Author and Certified Trainer Dana Ortiz of Becoming the Trainer writes:

 

At least 4.5 – 4.7 mil.lion Americans are bitten by dogs every year and 20 to 30 of these bites result in death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Learning canine psychology and knowing how to read canine body language is how we lower these rates and most importantly give back to our canine community.
“I hope this book helps lowers these rates!” – Dana L. Ortiz

56% of pets that enter shelters are euthanized

Also in Becoming The Trainer: Getting to know your pooch!Kindle Edition Ortiz goes over atributes of different breeds of dogs. This will give you an idea of what kind of characteristic by breed that might suit your family best, before you bring home a puppy and don’t know what to do next when it pees on your expensive comforter or eats more food than you do.

Becoming The Trainer: Getting to know your pooch!Kindle Edition goes into important health issues like getting vacinations.

Did you know that puppies go through developmental stages just like children do?

I find canine developmental periods fasinating!

As a child growth and development specialist, I know that once parents understand wahat to expect with their own child’s growth and develoment, it makes parenting so much more enjoyable. The same is true when we are living with a puppy.

Be an informed dog owner.

while you may not be needing a service-dog, but a family pet, know what you are really getting into before you bring a canine into your life. It is life long commitment.

Check out Becoming The Trainer: Getting to know your pooch!Kindle Edition today if you have a puppy or are thinking about a pet.

Even this old No Non-cents Nanna is learning something new every week. Having the support of a trainer, like Dana, ensures that our Amber will a happy healthy dog in our lives for many years to come. I suggest every family with a puppy start out with Puppy classes 101 from a certified trainer near you.

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