8 Warning Signs That Your Pets Aren’t Well Trained

Owning a pet is a huge responsibility. And one of the critical jobs you have as an animal owner is to make sure your pets are well trained. It’s important not only for owners and those who live nearby, but for the well-being of the pets, too. Proper training ensures they are safe and live in an atmosphere that rewards good behavior and encourages a loving and stable environment.

I’ve known I was going to write this article for Petswelcome for some time and so, to prepare, I’ve spent a lifetime of not training my pets. Makes perfect sense, right? Not to my wife, maybe. Or to our children (who left for college and never returned). Or to our neighbors. But what better way to help to convince you of the need to properly train your pets than by relating my experience in not training them? This way, if you see any of these warning signs in your home or neighborhood, you’ll know to change your training regimen immediately.

Here are 8 warning signs that your pets aren’t well trained:

1. After a long day of obedience and electric fence training you’re feeling good about yourself, relaxing with a beer while watching the Country Music Awards on TV when you spot your dogs in the audience.
2. That new chair you bought from the expensive furniture shop last week seems to have undergone a sudden, inexplicable and drastic deterioration. You make a note to yourself to call the owner and get your money back.
3. You go out on your porch to call your dogs in from the yard and you notice that your lawn needs cutting and, while you’re still waiting for them to come in, you notice that your driveway now needs shoveling, too.
4. Your cat seems unable to grasp the concept of a litter box. But after you ask your wife whether she feels like sushi for dinner, he disappears upstairs and comes down with his prized collection of 19^th century Jubako, as well as one urokotory and an iki jime, just in case.
5. You say sit and your dog doesn’t sit. You say rollover and your dog sits. You say heel and your dog rolls over. You say rollover and he shakes your hand. You reverse the order of the commands and he performs each one again in exactly the same way in the new order. Impressive, maybe. But still wrong.
6. When friends come to your front door, you have trouble communicating with them due to the SecPro RCS2 Riot Control Suits they are wearing, not to mention the 906 Tac-Elite Helmet with Grid Face Shield, and the all-important Centurion Thigh & Groin Protection System. Even a simple handshake is curtailed due to the Peacekeeper Clear Riot Shield w/ Ambidextrous Triangle Handle in one hand and Mace Triple-Action Pepper Spray (120 grams) in the other.
7. The only way you can identify your neighbors is by the distinct rings around their eyes, similar to growth rings in trees. However, your neighbors’ rings are not caused by climate variations, nutrition, sunspots, soil pH, or CO2 concentrations but instead by the incessant nocturnal barking emanating from your home.
8. The Highway Department declares Eminent Domain and erects a sewage treatment plant across the street where your neighbor’s house used to be. The plot of land, which was referred to variously as “The Office” (because your dogs did their business there) or “The Killing Fields” (coined by local landscapers) now has a bench next to three delightful, if aromatic, reflecting pools.

If any of these, or similar, warning signs have occurred in your home or neighborhood, consider hiring a professional trainer who can right the situation before it gets even worse for everyone involved. Remember, a well trained pet means a happy home and neighborhood!