Status Updates From Nate Schoemer's Dog Trainin...

I was before, but now I'm even more judgemental of backyard breeders. Not only health tests, but the breeder micro chipping their dogs and giving the buyers a guarantee they'll take the dog back should be the standard.

Basically, my opinion has shifted where I'm less judgmental of people who buy dogs from ethical breeders and opt out of adopting rescue dogs. Less judgemental of ethical breeders & people who show their dogs or do sports. I'm more judgemental of people who adopt shelter dogs more for their tragic backstory vs prioritizing if the dog is a good fit for their home & lifestyle.

I agree with Bethany some of the shelter dog people think more with their heart than their head. Robert Cabral has talked about this too (he trains shelter dogs) that people get emotional about the worst cases at shelters, meanwhile really good dogs will end up in the shelter system and they'll ignore the best cases (dogs with the best chance of adapting well to a new home)

Good dog rescue organizations do that too. And that means she isn't breeding more than she can take in to take care of at any time.

I like microchip idea. I don't plan on breeding, but I'd totally do that too.

Then she talks about the bias breeders get, that they don't care about shelter dogs, but she has 4 foster dogs. Some of the people passionate about shelter dogs really do hate on breeders.

I like her more nuanced take, and how she breeds dogs. She microchips all her dogs in her name (the owners can microchip too) but she does that because she wants none of her dogs in the shelter system. A good breeder will give that guarantee, also let the buyers know if they ever have a life circumstance change they'll take back the dog.

https://youtu.be/0YOIpEyE53U?si=VIP_3...

This is a really good interview. It's taken me over a month to finish it (listening to parts off/on) all these podcast interviews that are 2-3 hours are ridiculous.

Around an hour twenty she talks about breeding dogs and shelter dogs:

She was even outside and ran inside right as the dog was going out to pee - she ran right through his legs and he completely ignored her.

I'm v. pleased the cat/dog situation. Even moreso - the dog is completely ignoring the cat in the house. He'll be on the couch and the cat will even be sprinting back and forth in the dining room (open floor plan) which would typically trigger the dog's prey drive and he just ignores her.

This makes me more hopeful about getting a second cat

Idk it's tough. A lot of people don't have access to a space to allow a dog to safely roam off leash and dog parks aren't the safest either, especially for a dog that's not already trained or well socialized. And even then there's a risk, anyone can bring any dog.

*Not recced to allow adopted dogs on the first day to run off leash. A close friend has years of experience fostering dogs and has worked with dogs from abused homes. Sometimes they'll be afraid of the new home, all people. That's a very regimented, slow approach to introducing them back to life with love & making them feel safe.

Admirable, but that takes so much work & patience

Basically, Ivan's method appeals to me because I like the idea of giving a dog enrichment/exercise first - no matter what their behavior is or training level is at.

Then introduce training in a way that's fun to them

And the goal of training isn't to change the dog, but teach them behaviors that will make more enrichment (like going on vacations, traveling) possible

With allowing the dog to run off leash the first day I got him, I was able to read his personality/body language - he was very confident. Showed no signs of abuse/fear.

It isn't recommended to allow adopted dogs from a shelter (or even home) to do that because they might run away, but it depends on the specific dog/environment