First thing is teach them to "sit", on command. This one could be a lifesaver.
It will be three years ago the 29th of this month that I was on my way to the store which is about a 20 mile ride one way when out of in the middle of nowhere with no houses around I spotted a big dog sitting along the side of the road where the speed limit was 55 MPH and the fields are full of hungry coyotes.
Here is the thread from back when I found her:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=8371312Someone had dumped this dog and told her to sit and she did. That probably saved her life. If she had been out running around in the road she would have been hit by a car or that night a pack of coyotes would have killed and eaten her. But I am not going to judge the person who dumped her. Might have just been evicted out of their own house for all I know?
Well let me tell you something. This dog has turned out to be just about the best dog I have ever had. Sure glad I got her.
But without learning that command to "sit", she probably wouldn't have made it. And she does sit beautiful. She sits in a way that people can't resist going up to her and rubbing her ears. Everyone in the neighborhood where I live loves her. Hell, I couldn't resist picking her up three years ago. Sure glad I did.
She didn't know English but she knew enough to sit there. Yep, we discovered that she only understood Spanish so we had to retrain her to understand commands in English. And she did. Quickly. Smart dog. Bilingual too. Pretty neat, huh? :)
Just something to think about when getting a new pup.
Don