I feel sorry for most dogs. They live boring lives. Some worse than others.
They are loved. Good health. Nice home.
Bored.
Dogs are intelligent animals. They love to learn and love to figure you out. The limited activities of daily life are not a challenge. Give a dog some novelty, you'll see their head tilt, and they will be compelled to check it out.
I think training is much more than teaching fundamental life saving skills. It is a healthy activity for an intelligent animal like a dog.
Most people will never enter some kind of competition with their dog. Besides, a lot of that work is a grind. Most people neither have the time or the inclination to get a ribbon of some sort. Most won't want to turn their dog into some kind of working dog either. But, they still want to do something with their dog.
I've had students who took their dogs from the very basics to advanced, for no other reason than to give their dog an enriched life. Enrichment isn't licking peanut butter out of a Kong toy. It isn't giving them a food puzzle. It is the provision of a full life for a dog. Dogs in shelters are especially bored; no wonder they break after several weeks.
Plan accordingly.
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