Episodes > 105 > Pet Trainer 911

"Guard Dog" or "Watch Dog"… it's all about showbiz!

"Life’s a stage and we're all actors in it". Ever wonder if Shakespeare knew he was talking about a dog's life as well?

The cast is in place…The curtain is ready to go up and the Stage manager says…All ”Doberman’s, Rottweiler’s, Chihuahua’s & Poodles stand by stage left…The Jones’s…Mom, Dad and little Johnny stand by stage right. The curtain goes up and the Stage manager cues the Jones’s. They walk toward center stage, at the same time he cues the dogs, who charge the family like they are going to attach them.

The moral of our drama is that all of the dogs bark and look like they will attack but only half of them would actually do so. This is the difference between “guard dogs” and “watch dogs”. While the guard dogs will attack and bite, the watch dogs just put on a good show…

Mickey was supposed to be a watch dog for John Webber and his young family but he was acting more like a guard dog…the constant barking and aggressive behavior almost landed Mickey on the street. Mickey had been cast in the wrong part and needed to be recast into a different role.

Enter stage left, Director (and dog trainer extraordinaire) George Valez. George had been called in to audition Mickey but ended up auditioning the owners. He quickly found out that it was the Webbers who needed to be recast. George taught the Webbers that they needed to use the leash as a prop to show Mickey that they had the lead role and that he was simply a chorus member…“What goes down the leash is what goes up the leash” George would say. Once Mickey had a understanding of what his part was all about he happily fell into his new role as a watch dog.

THE TAIL-END

• Teach your kids to always ask if it’s OK to pet a dog.
• Teach your kids how to approach and not to approach a dog.
• If you child is under 12, never leave them with a dog unsupervised.