Aahhtt!! Choose the right temperament for your new canine
Published: March 2, 2010
Editor's Note: When Susan Overfield, a dog (and people) trainer and author of Saturday's Dogs, offered to write a monthly column for dog owners, Lively Times quickly agreed. After all, we tally nine dogs between us, and many of them show up at the office every day.
Hopefully, our readers will find her tips as useful as we do. The column's title "Aahhtt!!" is inspired by the corrective sound Susan uses to capture a dog's attention.
By Susan Overfield © 2010
Q.: We had a wonderful Scottie. We got another of the same breed and she is awful. Why?
A.: When people bring dogs to me I see good dogs suffering people problems. Their pet is usually the wrong temperament for them.
People are frustrated when their new dog, same breed as their old dog, isn’t as “good.”
Owners pick pups/dogs in this order: 1) breed, 2) emotionally (what the dog needs or gives to them emotionally at that moment,) then, if even seen, 3) temperament.
Owners are shocked as behavioral problems, small and large, grow and multiply – a direct result of poor-to-bad temperament choice, coupled with unintended, mishandled rearing and training.
I often play “matchmaker” for people who want the right dog with the right temperament.
The correct temperament is the foundation to the long-term relationship between you and the dog. Picking the right temperament requires you to be brutally honest about your and your family’s temperament in order to choose a dog that will best emotionally fit into your life.
Discover the right temperament, then find the dog that has it and fall in love for a lifetime.
Susan Overfield is a Montana dog behavior expert and author of Saturday Dogs…and the owners they trained. She trains, conducts clinics, consults with owners, and speaks about dog behavior across the country. She can be reached through her website, www.aahhtt.com, or by email at .
