Back when Dick was a kid, if you had a dog, what it generally meant was that you put food out for him in the evenings. The rest of the time, he roamed the neighborhood, playing with the kids and carousing with the other dogs. Back in those days, dogs grew up with finely developed social skills. None of the kids managed to get bit and you hardly ever saw a dog fight.
Times have changed. The law has changed. Now, if you have a dog, you are required to keep him locked up in solitary confinement. Dogs don't get a chance to develop their social skills. Dog fights and dog bites are epidemic.
To help overcome this, at his home on Greenwell Springs Road, Dick conducted a Large Field Socialization Class. If six dogs showed up or if sixty showed up, it mattered not to him. The dogs were turned loose in five and a half acres of pasture. They ran, they shoulder bumped, they jumped over one another, they scooted under one another, they challenged one another to play and they discovered the big mud hole on the back of Dick's property, and all dove in. They came away from the day having learned to read the dogs' language of body signals. They became truer to the nature of the dog, which is a social creature.
Many things are taught in the training classes. For most owners, sit, down, stay - anything that will stop the incessant motion - is wonderful. But from the point of view of having a relaxed, confident pet which you can take anywhere you want without them becoming frightened or defensive, there is nothing more valuable than Large Field Socialization.
Times have changed. The law has changed. Now, if you have a dog, you are required to keep him locked up in solitary confinement. Dogs don't get a chance to develop their social skills. Dog fights and dog bites are epidemic.
To help overcome this, at his home on Greenwell Springs Road, Dick conducted a Large Field Socialization Class. If six dogs showed up or if sixty showed up, it mattered not to him. The dogs were turned loose in five and a half acres of pasture. They ran, they shoulder bumped, they jumped over one another, they scooted under one another, they challenged one another to play and they discovered the big mud hole on the back of Dick's property, and all dove in. They came away from the day having learned to read the dogs' language of body signals. They became truer to the nature of the dog, which is a social creature.
Many things are taught in the training classes. For most owners, sit, down, stay - anything that will stop the incessant motion - is wonderful. But from the point of view of having a relaxed, confident pet which you can take anywhere you want without them becoming frightened or defensive, there is nothing more valuable than Large Field Socialization.
Large Field Socialization sessions are every Saturday morning
from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
at South Park (7484 Vincent Road) in Denham Springs.
In order to help the dogs establish and maintain an optimal pack, it is crucial for everyone to enter and exit the field together. So please arrive 10 minutes early and plan to stay in the field for the entire hour.
When you sign your pup up for the Basic Obedience course, you receive Large Field Socialization at no additional charge. There is nowhere else in Louisiana and only a handful of other places in North America where Large Field Socialization is available.
Come join us; your dog will be a better pet because of it.
