Nothing more to say...

[get the red out]

6. Of all things, in a dog training book

I have been reading a lot of dog training information over the last couple of years after getting a dog and knowing NOTHING. The latest book I'm reading is written by a trainer who works with dog owners who come to her class at their wit's end with trying to train their reactive dogs to do dog agility. Some of these dog owners bought the dog (often "performance" bred) specifically to be an"agility competition dog", and have focused only on the competition aspect to the point that she literally has to teach them to cuddle their pets. The drive for competition literally has people neglecting to love on their dogs! She said if these people just spend all of several classes cuddling their dogs then they are achieving something.

Competitive to the point of pain indeed! Thankfully, no one I've met in my area trains dogs in that kind of intense competitive-machine way for agility, but apparently it exists. I do know from German Shepherd friends that it exists in one local Schutzhund trainer though We take this competition thing into everything in life and remove basic pleasures.