What's the worst training advice you ever got? - Page 4

I think the worst training advise I ever got was .. hummmm .. always land on your feet when a horse throws ya off.

I learned quick to NEVER come off the horse !!!!!!

This happened several years ago. 

I went to a PetSmart and was shopping around. I had bi color Tiekerhook line male with me. This dog was totally indifferent to people. He honestly could care less about anyone else but me. He was in no way aggressive. People and kids could walk up and say HI to him and he would be fine. Anyways, I was walking around when one of their so called TRAINERS came up and started talking to me and said that I should join one of their classes. I said "no thanks". Then the so called trainer, with a treat in his hand, told my dog to "down". My dog lookes at him and walked away. The guy grabbed the leash from me and gave my dog a good jerk and said "down" again....well my dog stepped towards him and looked him right in the eye and growled at him. I quickly grapped the leash from the guy and proceded to tell him what an IDIOT he was.  He told me again that I should join the class because it is obvious that the dog hasnt had any obedience training, afterall he wont even down on command. I told the IDIOT so called trainer that my dog knew it pefectly fine. I told my dog "platz" and he did it very fast. I looked at the guy and said "see he knows it perfectly fine. He is trained in German". I then walked away mummbling what an idiot the guy was.

I have been very fortunate not to have gotten the bad advice myself. But, I believe in learning from the mistakes of others as much as possible. I know of a woman who is a very good trainer/handler in her own right. Unfortunately, she was also a victim of "If it's from a German, it must be right." A German judge ( a smarmy, "questionable" individual) purposely gave her some idiot suggestion for training. I don't recall the specifics, but it was not as bad as urinating on brats. :-) She did as he told her for 6 months, with no result. The next time he was in town to judge a trial, she told him about the lack of progress. He laughed at her and told her that he could not believe that she had actually done it, and for 6 months. He then told her it had all been a joke, because Americans will do whatever a German tells them to do. 

Oddly enough, the first time I heard the story, it was from the German judge! He said I was "too full of temperament" for it to work on me. (German judges are always telling me that I am "full of temperament." I don't get it....) :-)

This isn't exactly advise, but I was horrorstruck, nonetheless. I remember my father-in-law when he was alive, had a dog that was giving them problems with housebreaking. One day he brought this up to us and said, "I don't know what's the matter with this dog. I keep beating him and he' still does it!"

I've also been told to do no obedience, only bitework with a puppy until at least a year.  I've also been told to put a shock collar on a puppy of mine.....a puppy who is only 14 weeks.  I've also been told by one guy if my dog tries to jump on a visitor at the house, slam the door in the dogs face if the dog is outside and the guy is inside.  He decided to tell me that, while my 14 week puppy calmly sat there waiting for me to go into the store.....and also not knowing that none of my dogs jump on people, never have, nor do the puppies.   One of my dogs who had fear issues in the past with people (not training advice here) but she came up to me at Pet Smart, she looked like she was in her 70s, talking in this high pitched voice, trying to sweet talk my dog......he gave both me and her that WTF look,  because I had already told her do not pet my dog and then loudly repeated it after that.....she persisted, so I walked inbetween her and my dog and just walked off......and then she gave me a look.   It's amazing how many people do not want to listen when you tell them to not pet the dog, whether you are training at that time, or just do not want them to be pet....and they still persist and approach the dog.  One time I repeated it three times at a store here, and everyone around was looking at the woman like she was an idiot because she was still walking towards us to pet him, so I said it really loud, and walked off.  Thats the only reason I don't like having Huskies, because people think they HAVE to pet them......when I bring Anubis with me, well....they think differently just because of his look and breed.

It was an incident that happened a few years back, apologies in advance that a story comes with it. I had been searching for a border collie for awhile and none seemed to have the temperament I desired (as I had wanted to do protection work). I had run across an ad in the paper for a border pup, drove the few hours to get to the breeders house to find a different scenario then I had initially portrayed in my mind. The woman was a golden retriever and yorkshire terrier breeder. She had stated she knew a border collie breeder who had informed her that they left one puppy of the litter on the road for dead due to its coloration (predominantely white). She had drove around where the breeder lived and eventually found the puppy. My heart went out and I purchased him. A friend of mine at the time was a trainer working at petco (we will call her barb), I had shown her my newest member of the family, kei, and a man had approached him, kei went to bite the man and 'barb' had given me the advancement that kei would be a liability and that I put him down now while I have the chance. Well, needless to say, I went into protection work with kei, he doesnt mind men, and six years later (to date), he is even tempered and 'barb' is out of a job. I later found (approx. 2 years after getting kei) that the border breeder was a man.

"Just ignore her when she acts/screams/jumps around like that. As soon as she settles down, we'll give her the bite."