Evening star., 1948-10-13
Training DOGS Not to Bark


TO the Editor Of The Star:
The tone of your recent editorial on Sam
Rice and the barking dogs annoyed me- The
kennel owner told of the famous" dogs in his
kennel. not to brag but to show that he oper-
ates q good kennel. That piece of property
happens to be in the country and was set up
as a kennel years ago. paying the heavy taxes
that are required by the State.
A dog broke of barking unnecessarily later
served for IS months in the service. Barking
is habit and like most habits sometimes
hard to break, but it can be done and done
without harm to the dog or to his spirit.
Obedience is the answer to living in the city
with a dog. It isn't fair to say dogs belong
only in the country. Companionship is the
most important thing to . dog, not locality.
People who have to live in the city Gas our
civilization now dictates) should not be de-
prived of the satisfaction Of owning dogs. All
people are not dog lovers, but statistics and the
amount of money collected on dog taxes show
that there are a lot of people who are.
September 1925 was National Dog Week.
During this week of every year, an attempt is
made nationally to make people conscious of
their duties to their dogs and to their neigh
bors.
Non-Profit Undertaking.
profit civic service group. We run a, free
telephone service. helping people with their
dog problems. One question frequently am
asked is: How do I stop my dog from bark
ing?" People are interested in making their
pets behave but for the most part don't even
know our club exists. Yet our work has been
in operation for some ten years. People come
to us through the recommendation of the vet
erinarians and supply houses through individ-
uals asking the owner of q well-behaved dog
how he got that way, and through articles
written in answer to questions in the Readers
Clearing House. Very few come to us through
publicity which (when 1t appears) Is about an
inch or so at the bottom of some page where
it can't be seen. Our members are your neigh
bors who have made the effort to train their
dogs. I am frank to admit that there are
lot of dogs running around who supposedly
are owned by persons who don't care that they
get run over annoy the neighbors by barking,
chasing cars running gardens, etc. We try to
reach these people but without the cooper
alton of the newspapers, our problem is i'm
mense. Because we are a non-profit group we
cannot afford to advertise.
Nobody in our group of trainers and per-
sonnet gets paid. Our membership fee is very
small-only enough to cover expenses of equip
ment, trophies for obedience trials, PUBLISH
ing without charge a monthly bulletin, MAIN
tanning telephone service for breed and train
ing information. We have a large number of
youngsters training. In all the years of my
being in the dog game, not one child ever has
been even family associated with juvenile de-
linquency. The training takes patience, per-
severance, self-control, initiative, ability to
think and to get along with other people. In
other words, it takes character to train q dog
one can't control dog If one cannot control
ones self.
Dogs did wonderful job in the service dur
ing the war years and in the rehabilitation of
soldiers Observation-Disclosures of others also who
have through some misfortune lost their bear
ings and need something to require their at
tention and love, and who will give these in
return. The dog loves his training-even the
most incorrigible settles down to behaving and
enjoys his companionship with his master the
more because his master is pleased with him.
Instructing Owners Stressed.
Our club tries to instill in the dog owner the
need to keep his dog of the street-to keep him
in his own yard where he belongs Our men,
bers who also are breeders are more interested
in the homes their pups 60 into than in getting
big prices They breed for good temperament
and amenability to today's living conditions
as well as for the beauty of the animals. Nom
purebreds. nuts, or mongrels, or whatever
choice of word is yours, are welcome to our
classes-every dog Is better for having been
trained. Our trainers don't care which side
Of the tracks he comes from. Some are
fortunate enough to be able to train q dog
without being taught but the great majority
have dogs who are too smart for their owners
and need instruction. The owner and his dog