The Canine Bill of Rights

Your dog should have as many rights as your child. When you buy or rescue a dog, you're making a commitment to care for and train that dog to the best of your abilities for his lifetime. If you can't afford the time or money needed for his healthcare and training, you may want to rethink getting a dog. When you take on the commitment, I hope you will promise to do the following:

1. Provide a place in your daily life for the 15-plus years where he will live, no matter what your life changes may be.

2. Provide quality food and clean water.

3. Provide proper socialization.

4. Provide shelter from hot and cold weather.

5. Provide clear, concise, positive training.

6. Provide good healthcare and regular grooming.

7. Provide daily physical exercise and mental stimulation and enrichment.

8. Provide the time and dedication to find proper solutions if the dog develops health or behavioral problems.

In this throwaway society, our dogs seem to get the short end of the stick. They can't speak for themselves to tell us their requirements and fears, so we must anticipate and be aware of them. Dogs are social animals, as are humans. To make them live their lives alone in the backyard is like making you live in solitary confinement. You'd go crazy. I'm sure you know dogs who are isolated like this, who bark incessantly, lunge, pace, wear huge ruts in the dirt, and spend their lives alone with virtually no socialization, positive mental and physical stimulation, or companionship.

We owe it to our dogs to care for them in the best possible way. If you don't have time to train your dog, get a stuffed animal instead.

Excerpted from:

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training © 2005 by Pamela Dennison. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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