Dogs have been a part of my life for well over 35 years, and what a roller coaster it has been! There have been great experiences and some sad ones, but through it all, I remain convinced that dogs are truly “man’s best friend”. That being said, some dogs are just easier to make friends with than others.
My current dog in an eight year old miniature schnauzer who, while a very smart and affectionate little guy, was also a bit challenging in his behavior when he first came to live with us. Not long after his arrival, we discovered that:
1. Jumped and/or growled at every visitor to our house and barked at everything.
2. Completely despised his monthly visit to the groomers to be clipped.
So what could be done to help him…and us? Well we did some research, and spoke with our veterinarian to learn some techniques and strategies to help him become a “good friend”. This article will discuss what we learned.
1. His barking/jumping/growling problem took a little time, because as a schnauzer, he was a bit territorial like many terriers tend to be. While it was important to him to protect his territory, it was important to us to be able to have visitors to our home! So we tried many different ways to improve this: reward systems, squirting water, coins in a can, newspaper, and more. You name it, we tried it, but nothing worked. We finally discussed the situation with our vet who suggested a remote training collar. After more research, we settled on the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer for a couple of reasons. Probably most important for us, we liked that it has 9 stimulation levels so that we could very carefully control the settings to use the least amount of stimulation that would be effective. We also liked the tone-only training option, that gave us even more versatility. We also decided to get the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer, 300 yds., which provided us with a 300 yard range to be able to train from a distance. And I can say that it worked! In a very short period of time, the Innotek Ultrasmart helped our little guy to become the model doggie citizen, and our friends were now happy to visit us.
2. Helping our dog overcome the stress of going to the groomers each month involved not really training him. but training us. We figured that if we could learn to do his monthly clip at home, we would be able to help him feel more comfortable, and be able to get the job done quicker, making him happier as well. So we invested in the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper, and it has made all the difference in the world. We chose these clippers because as an Oster product, we knew they would last forever, so we wouldn’t have to buy new ones each year, and because of the reviews on what a smooth, quiet, and fast job they did. I will say that we have been very pleased with how the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper works: other than it getting warm, which we easily solved with cleaning and changing out the blades and using Oster Kool Lube, it has been so easy to do his clipping. Once we learned how to do home grooming, voila, no more schnauzer trauma! In fact, since our dog gets a treat at the end, I actually think he likes getting clipped each month.
It should be a joy to have a dog, and it can be, but at times it can take a little work to get there. For us, we had the help of the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer, and the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper. Making the investment and taking the time to learn to use these simple tools to make life with and for our dog have been so worthwhile. The rewarding result has been enjoying life with our merry, little schnauzer whose desire to please, intelligence and affectionate nature make him a joyous best friend indeed!
Discover how your dog can learn to become a happy and well-mannered best friend. Read all about about the Innotek Ultrasmart Remote Trainer and the Oster A5 Turbo Clipper, read the reviews of the product from other satisfied pet owners, and see if they are what you and your dog need.