Thursday, March 29, 2012

Does Dr. Dunbar Hate Adult Dogs?

I don't mean that super seriously, but in his recent Forbes interview, he sure makes the argument for puppies and, by default, against adult dogs.

Like this little gem, "How long did it take to house train it? I would say we’ve just about done it. A year.  A year of constant work with a ten-month-old dog."

Now maybe this is because the dog is a Beauceron or previously an outdoor dog or whatever, but damn! A whole year? I have no training prowess as compared to Dr. Dunbar, but Mina - an outdoor/garage dog for 3 years - was house-trained in two-weeks. 

I don't hold up Mina as the bastion of ideal dog behavior nor do I consider myself all that fabulous when it has come to training her (although we have had three different trainers who all concluded Mina was just a leash-reactive bitch and I should just deal with it). But I do believe each dog is an individual, and I really wish Dr. Dunbar had conveyed that to this audience.

Because when I read the first 3/4 of the article, I feel like no one will want to adopt adult dogs ever ever in a million years.

I like his bit about dog bites and bite inhibition, because people are so in love with dogs but so petrified of them biting. It is such a strange paradox.

More importantly, vintage Celeste shot when she was a PUHPAY!

Celeste and Mina

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