What made you decide to train your dog?

This week in "What Goes on in this Dog Trainer's Mind..."

What made YOU decide to train your dog?

I've often wondered this through my 33+ years as a professional trainer, and it just now dawned on me to ask!

In going about my everyday life, I see a lot of dogs. Some are well-behaved and happy - walking along nicely without pulling on their leashes, looking to their owners for guidance with devotion in their eyes, wagging and panting happily when they get a treat or meet a new person or discover a new smell.

On the other hand, I also see the not-so-well-behaved dogs, too! The ones straining out in front of their owners on straight, tight leashes, bouncing off every person they meet in over-stimulated excitement. These are the dogs who are often completely disconnected from their humans, and struggle in our human world - lunging, barking, digging, destroying things in the house, and maybe even experiencing actual aggression problems.

In today's world, there is no shortage of dog training information out there - from (often) free blogs, webinars, online training courses, youtube videos, and of course, the good ol' library - full of free books to read about dog behavior, no matter what type of training you're looking for.

A quick google search reveals that in the greater Denver area, there are hundreds of professional in-person dog training options (over 70 different options on the first 3 pages).

So...what made YOU decide to train your dog?

Was there a one-time incident that put you over the edge?

Have you always had dogs, and always gone to professional trainers, so it was a given that you'd do the same with your newest dog?

Did a friend or family member suggest training?

Did you meet a trained dog out in the world, and think, "Hey! I want a dog like that!"?

Did you see something on a tv show or social media that planted the seed in your mind that you wanted to go to training?

Sooo…What was it that made you decide to train your dog?