I got something for you guys

I take my dogs out as often as I can. Be very careful at Petsmart. It is full of complete idiots that don't have any idea how to walk a dog. Most of the time they let the dog pull them all over the store on a 10ft retractable leash. Anytime I go there I treat it like an obstacle course !

 

Colby, do whatever you want. I was not directing my post at you. If you have all the resources to produce a totally socialized dog in your own backyard, more power to you. I on the other hand do not have an encapsulated city on my own property. I need to take my dogs out, let them walk on footbridges, let them see dogs they don't know, work around traffic, screaming children, other races, etc etc etc. It is not "stupid and pointless" for me to make sure my dogs have as much exposure as they can. Some of the things I do involve off-leash work in an open ring, so it is critical that they are not threatened or intimidated by anything.

 

Bahamutt , sorry you took offense to what I typed. When I was saying stupid and pointless I was refering to Petsmart and the like. Just because other folks can bring thier dogs to those places doesn't mean we should even if we have fundametally sound dogs. Too often bad things happen and our breed always gets blamed for it we all know this so what I am saying should not be of a surprise to anyone. Should I risk my dog for the sake of proving a point that my dog can go into Petsmart too ? HELL NO !

I myself did take ofense to this

What does that mean? my dogs behave just fine, sure i've had a few in my day that no matter what, I could not control the DA they displayed but that had nothing to do in my traning that had all to do with the dogs themsleves. Being that my dogs are APBT's I trust the fact that when push comes to shove they are going to do what they were bred to do and that is to fight. So am I really a bad owner to acknowledge this fact or am I being responsible and insuring that I do everything in my power to prevent unwanted accidents from occuring ? And if that means eliminating my dogs public appearances then so be it, I choose to do just that. I just wish others would follow suit and maybe we would have less headlines than what we do.

 

Correct behaviors is a training term. Its something that you want to see repeated, and something you encourage. So if you want your dog to sit at the door before you let him out, then it would be considered a correct behavior when he sits, and you would reward it. That's just one example. Correct behaviors in the context of what we were talking about, to me, means a dog can walk past another dog, and not be too bothered by it. If you train that in your own backyard, then that's fine. Most dogs need to work at it, in situations outside their own home.

When we talk about places like Petsmart, they are not the end-all be-all of socialization. But they do represent a lot of different socialization possibilities in one place, which is why I like them. There will be dogs, sometimes cats in those adoption rooms, gerbils and ferrets behind glass, shopping carts being pushed, kids and old people, slick floors, and other things. Plus I can buy them something to chew later. Obviously its also a matter of knowing your own dog, and what they will tolerate. If any of mine got over-stimulated, or flat-out didn't like doing what we do, I wouldn't make them.

And I understand what you are saying about when push comes to shove, but a dog should know how to handle a non-shoving situation equitably. When I take my dogs out, I take on the responsibility of making sure that push doesn't become shove. There are reasonable risks. For my dogs, I feel like shopping at the pet supply store is one of them. It affords them a rare opportunity to experience a store environment that is dog-friendly.

At any rate, if you are not comfortable having your dogs out in public, I don't think anybody would fault you for that. I do a lot of public things with my dogs, and I feel that it is beneficial for the breed. We all have our own ways of dealing with the problems that are facing these dogs. My personal belief is that if my dogs have a skill -- even something small like when Terra did a down-stay on the scale at the clinic tonight -- then they can do good by showing it off. And its not just the public that takes away a good impression by seeing my dogs; the dogs themselves get fulfillment out of accompanying me out to different places. It makes them well-rounded, IMO.

 

I wish there were a PetSmart around us b/c as Baha stated, IMO it gives a lot of different & various stimuli for the dog to experince. But sadly, the nearest PetSmart to us is an hour away in the town that has banned pit bulls.