Animal shelters are trying to come up with ways to reduce the number of surrendered animals turning up daily. They have found that most animals are turned in for behavioral problems. Another category of pet owners that easily turn in their pets are people that are moving and decide this is a good time to give up on the animal. A good excuse to turn in a dog that they resented.
Some shelters have taken a proactive and innovative step by conducting training lessons for animals and their owners. The intention is to train the dogs to cease the destructive behavior that may eventually frustrate their owners to the point where they feel they no longer want to own the animal.
Professional trainers are conducting the classes and class size is kept small and the cost is very affordable to make it more attractive and practical for most owners. Classes range from puppy training - learning basics such as sit, stay, down and to come when called. For the young dog - training includes impulse control, basic obedience and socialization. Common behavioral problems are addressed in older dogs - such as jumping, barking, pulling on leash, and aggressive behavior towards other dogs.
The program was developed after a repeated pattern was seen of people either raising a puppy without proper guidance and training and eventually giving up and surrendering the pet or owners that got past the puppy stage and found themselves with a dog that they felt had behavioral issues when the truth is the animals just needed to be taught and trained the correct way to eliminate the issue.
Instead of waiting until the shelters are over flowing with unwanted dogs, shelters are finding innovative ways to stop the problem before it has a chance to develop.