How did you learn?

I owe 40% of what I know from Glenda and Amstaff here on the i-dog! They have been kind enough to answer many of my puppy, behavior, and techique questions!  Growing up my aunt bred and raised Rottweilers so I learned early to view and understand dog behavior and body language form those strong type of dogs. My uncle was always a pit bull owner so I learned VERY quickly about dog nature from his dogs too. I think the most important lesson I learned was repsect of theses animals and their nature. My uncle believed not in taming your dog but letting it join your family and live in harmony. He taught me that a lot of people try to "break" their dogs into submission ( the old school way) and that is a poor way to train, instead learn their specific nature appeal to that!

Interesting question.  I don't know when I learned about puppy mills, but I have just always kinda known they were bad.  I've also known for a really long time that pet store puppies were bad, but I was never really sure why.  When I started doing research for a purebred dog, that's when I learned all about BYBs, responsible breeding, etc.
 
When we got Scout, we just picked her up from the Humane Society and had a bag of Friskies and cans of Fancy Feast ready for her.  Then she had terrible diarrhea and stomach upsets. So we took her to the vet, who told us she had IBS.  He prescribed prescription food for her.  That helped a little bit, but she had to be kept on a strictly regimented feeding routine to keep the diarrhea from coming back.  I got on the Internet and started a google search of "feline IBS" and that led me to the wonderful world of pet nutrition.  We put Scout on Wellness; she improved almost immediately; today she is the picture of health. 
 
So when we got Roscoe, I stumbled upon idog while looking for "canine nutrition" information.  So about 80% of what I know about dogs comes from idog either giving me the info or prompting me to do more research on a subject. 
 
I learned about clicker training vs correction training on, of all places, a newlywed board. Dozens of people were posting, "I just started clicker-training, and it is amazing!"  So I did more research into it. []
 
 

Actually I still consider myself to be learning how to be a "good" dog owner.  I'm learning more and more about nutrition everyday and I know I'll never learn enough.  Dog behavior I had to learn when we had our Akita, without the trainer that came in and trained us humans, I'd still be ignorant as to what "dog language" is and what it means.  I'm still learning everyday though just by watching various interactions.  It's a fascinating world and I wish I could spend my days interacting rather than working.
 
-X

Growing up we always had outside dogs who were fed x brand of food, they only came inside if they were sick or getting old. I thought this was the norm. So my boyfriend and I had two dogs and they were indoor dogs, fed beneful and treated like dogs. Then we got Tootsie, a pembroke welsh corgi, I did tons of research on her breed and that led me to i-dog. I noiw feed EP Holistic, give rmb's, exercise them regularly and overall am a much more conscientious owner.Thank goodness for i-dog and Glenda!

Well first, I learned by watching my family. Only I used their actions as an example of what NOT to do, EVER. My family SUCKS at pet ownership, and I had to watch countless pets neglected and couldn't do anything about it because I was a kid and "didn't know anything."

After that, I learned from trainers, and from vets, and from nutritionists, from books and by my own trial and error lmao...

Warning: long saga below [&:]

I've always been an extreme animal lover since I can remember, 2 years old. [] My mom is NOT a dog person, she's scared of them/doesn't like them so I grew up with cats.

I lobbied for YEARS before I convinced my parents to let me have a dog. When I was 10 years old they got me the breed my dad wanted (Golden Retriever), a female (I wanted a male) and made her live outdoors. Oh joy. *sarcasm* She was a good dog, but extremely hyper because she was a people loving dog that had to live outside alone. But anyway, I tried to do the best I could for her and that was tough with a capital "t". My food choices were limited to the grocery store brands, so she grew up eating puppy chow and later Pedigree and Cycle. Is it any wonder that she always had hot spots?

I had been pouring over dog books since I could read so I already had a pretty good headstart on responsible pet ownership. When I was 12 I convinced my dad to get her spayed at the vet clinic where I volunteered. I actually assisted with the spay and it was nice to be able to be there.

But as far as training, not so good in that department.... I took Lacey to obedience classes with a choke collar and the "old school" methods. I think there are a lot better ways to train dogs now.

When I was 16 and spending more time out and about, my parents gave Lacey away. That was hard. But she went to live indoors at a nursing home. She had almost constant access to people, plus a fenced yard. It really was the perfect situation for her.

Other areas of dog knowledge, let's see, I started learning about different breeds when I could read. I had more dog books than the local library and a subscription to Dog Fancy. (I had about 10 years worth of those magazines!) I also taped Westminster every year and went to dog shows whenever I could. Looking back, I was a complete nerd. lol My hobby was reading about dogs and one of my favorite things to do was try to pick the perfect breed. I made lists on top of lists and had several breed choosing books. This was before the internet, so all of my knowledge and entertainment came from books/magazines/videos.

Years later I worked as a vet assistant/receptionist at a vet hospital. There I learned A LOT more. Every single day I learned new things. I sometimes helped with surgeries, did bathing, started learning about grooming, learned how to draw blood, setting up fecal samples (eww lol), holds for exams, etc.

From there I went to work at the SPCA, I learned a lot about behavior there. Mostly from firsthand experience of working with the dogs, but also videos and classes. I got more practice there with the medical aspects too, drawing blood and running heartworm tests for dogs and fe-leuk/FIV tests for the cats.

Then I went to work at a county animal shelter. Both there and the SPCA was hard work. Basically physically and emotionally draining manual labor. I got my Shar Pei there and that's when I learned TONS about the different health issues that Shar Pei can have.... my Pei had episodes of FSF, swollen hock syndrome, allergies, ear infections, a luxating patella, mucinosis, and eventually died of kidney failure around age 3.  It was with him that I learned about better nutrition also. Before that I had worked at vets that recommended Science Diet, so I thought Nutro Natural Choice was a good food for him. That's when I started learning a lot online and switched him over to Canidae.

Finally went to work at two different grooming shops. I learned tons about bathing grooming different breeds, scissoring, dremeling, etc. And at that point I was completely burned out from working with animals. I LOVE animals more than anything, but it's dirty, hard work and very frustrating.

So now I'm 28, a housewife and STILL learning! One thing I've found is that no matter how much you already know, there is still a ton of stuff that you don't know! []

Before I-dog forum..........
 
I spend 3-4 weeks doing research into taking care of a dog, health issues, training and etc before bring JJ home.  It was when she arrived, that's when I learn how it's like to have a dog around.  I did the hard work, training, taking JJ to the vet and everything myself.  JJ is my first dog and I think I am a pretty good dog owner.  Every puppy situation that could come up, I had deal with it and took great care of JJ.  JJ turn out fine and because of her, I am better at dealing with dogs.
 
After I-dog forum..........
 
It's a support group for me, whenever I had questions, that's where I go to.  It wasn't until this year that I actively check out the forum everyday.  I owe 50% of my doggie knowledge to this lovely forum and it's very important members.  (hehe)  Without you gals/guys, this forum would be empty and boring.  Thanks everyone!!  []

I learned about how to be a better dog owner right here. My first dog ate Nutro because my friend worked at Petsmart, and they told her it was the best, so I bought that. Then I worked there as well. We always used positive reinforcement training, because that's what they did at Petsmart where we took the dog for training. I learned about clicker training when I had a bird through a bird forum. I wanted to know how people got their birds to do tricks. Mine never could really do any tricks, but when I got her, she hated me, and I at least accomplished getting her to allow me to hold her. I've done better on clicker training my dogs. 

I was lucky enough to be raised by a dad who was so loving to all of God's creatures that he wouldn't squash an insect in the house, he'd instead carry it outside to an appropriate tree or piece of ground.  He treated all creatures, great and small, as if they were the most important beings on the planet. 

Because of my mom's dislike of dogs, we didn't have one when I was small, but my dad raised parakeets, and they were the luckiest and smartest birds on earth.  When ever some were born, and people would want one of his birds, he just couldn't give any away, not knowing if they'd be treated properly.  Because of that, at one time, we had about 10 parakeets, all free in the house, all hand tamed and with fantastic language skills.  It was a zoo.  My uncle had a farm, and there he kept horses and dogs and chickens and geese and cats and any other critter he could fit in.  Every summer each cousin spent a two week stint working on the farm.  There I learned alot. 

When I was in high school and was then the only child left at home, he bought me a beagle puppy, and that's where I started to learn.  He had owned a Boston Terrier as a child and always spoke so fondly of that dog, and although he had bought the beagle for me, it became apparent it was really his dog.  I learned by watching him.  And, of course, that dog was fed purina, which was what was fed then.  That beagle, Tobey, lived to be 16 years old and my father loved that dog like I've never seen a person love a dog before--it was then that I learned the possibilities of a truly remarkable connection to a canine companion. 

When it came time for me to get a dog when we got married, we adopted a poodle/cocker/something mix and did the best we could and continued to learn.  She was a wonderful dog and we loved her and taught her and enjoyed every moment we had her.  When she died and I got my little Misty, that's when I really got the time to start learning about training and feeding and alot I learned here and alot I learned at a farm I work at with Great Danes. With Misty, I have found the connection that I saw between my dad and his beagle.  Since my children are older now, I had the time to really, truly connect with this dog.  I'm continuing my education as I rehabilitate our new adoptee, 6 year old Ted.  This board has been a great resource for both dogs, and especially helpful as I learn to live with and love an adopted older dog. 

I grew up with two bichons.    I learned a lot from their successes and even  more from my family's shortcomings, especially with training.    Recently I lived with two of my friends who have a fantastic dog (a miniature poodle) and just seeing them with her taught  me a lot.   In the months before getting Louise I read a million articles and books about behaviour, training, socialization, etc.   Then came her puppy class, which was so helpful.   I've also been lucky enough to meet some great people in my neighbourhood who have given me advice and taught me by example when socializing our dogs.  (thank god I read so much, though, because there is *so* much bad advice out there - one man told me I wasn't supposed to let Louise meet any other dogs until she was 6 months old!)   And, of course, this forum has been amazingly helpful, especially in terms of learning about nutrition and health.

I was lucky enough to be born into the world of responsible dog breeding, so I guess it's always been there.  I started training the dogs to do tricks (jumps, sit up, shake) by the time I was 5 yrs old, and was training for competition by the age of 8 yrs old.  At 14, I got my first job as a vet assistant, so I'd say I started my whole dog education very early in life.

ORIGINAL: jensw
I learned about clicker training vs correction training on, of all places, a newlywed board. Dozens of people were posting, "I just started clicker-training, and it is amazing!" So I did more research into it. []

I didn't know that worked on husbands, too!! [sm=eek.gif]

My uncle bred dobes when I was growing up, so I learned a lot about dog behavior and respect for dogs from him and the dogs we had at pets at our house.
 
I hadn't had a dog for a lot of years before getting Boss as a last minute rescue effort. Boss' choices if not coming to live with me were to go live with a guy who had 3 other dogs and wanted Boss cuz he "looks cool", or Boss' former owner had a cousin who
wanted him.. and we all knew him to be a dog fighter... so,  with 4 cats already in a 600 square foot apartment I brought the maniac home. I found i-dog that first day looking for advice about making him and the cats live at peace. I thought I was doing something wonderful when I bought him Purina ProPlan, then Nutro at the insistence on the pushy lady at Petco. I found myself devouring everything I could read on i-dog and made improvements over time and I can proudly say that both of my dogs are well fed and exploring the world of homecooked and raw and have never looked better. I still have things to learn, and I keep on learning them right here and through every day experiences with Boss and Gracie.
 
 
 
  

I have had dogs since I was a young kid.  Always inside and tied out during the day for short periods.  Did ok and I know what you mean about Purina, my transition dog (kid house to adult house) lived to be 17-9 eating it.  Bought my first pure bred and started competitive obedience in formal training club because that is what the dobe books said I had to do to have a good one.  Boy was she, a bit sharp but a great first dog for dog sport.  Followed by pure breds ever since. 
 
The first four dogs came essentially from backyard breeders ( I really didnt get it then).  But they all went through obedience classes.  When I made my conversion to the breed I had been looking for all my life and did not realize it (belgians).  I switched to responsible breeders with all the bells and whistles attached (contracts, edigrees, etc).
 
My training has been evolving for years.  My work in grad school (training in applied behavior analysis), reading The Horse Whisperer ,  Patty Russo seminars, and lots of reading and discussing gave me tools.   Teaching other people in public classes for local dog clubs, really started me learning how to read behavior and adapt techniques for the situation.
 
I have switched to premium foods and now feed a raw meal daily as well.  I provide top of the line vet care and that is something I have always done.
 
Figure I am still learning.  I pick up new ideas and tricks and treats all the time.  I even learned when to give it up, that has been the hardest lesson in my evoluation as a dog owner.  Ecko broke my heart, but sending her back was the right thing to do.  It was the contract and the responsible breeder who produced her, that made it possible.