Dogs turn wilder with age and fake trainers 

Training of a dog is essential for its effective functioning and safe handling, according to experts. During the training, a dog learns skills and behaviours and the trainers can learn the animal’s characteristics, including triggers of violence.

Dog training makes a dog learn to react to certain situations, react to particular commands and to act independently in a given situation, trainers interviewed for this article said, but what can be challenging is how to find a professional trainer for your dog so that you are not duped.

Mr Bruce Arthur Eyere, a dog trainer in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb, said a dog can be trained in body language, guard work, and obedience.

He noted that one will know that one is a professional dog trainer from the way your dog reacts during training, because not all dogs are the same.

“Just like humans, there are dogs that are slow learners and there are those that learn fast. So, during the training, be observant on how your dog is reacting to the instructions being given. If the instructions are right, the dog will react correctly, but if the instructions are wrong, the dog will do the opposite,” Mr Eyere said.

He added that a professional dog trainer learns what the dog they are training likes. 

“Dogs like different things, from food to what they do; so, a good trainer will learn what the dog they are training likes to do, likes to eat, how strong and how much it can sustain because there are also weak dogs that you can’t train for long,” Mr Eyere said.

He revealed that dogs need retraining to cool their tempers because aggressiveness comes with age. Training costs between Shs1.5m and Shs2m, depending on what the owner wants their dog to learn.

“A good trainer will tell you to take back your dog for training after a certain period, say six months because the older it gets, the more it becomes aggressive,” he said.

Dr Martin Mugume, the commander of police’s Canine Unit, said on March 19 that a good dog trainer doesn’t beat the dog during training.

“If your dog is trained by a professional dog trainer, you will see it responding to what you want it to do. For example, if the trainer trains it to guard and you throw a stone at it, does it run? So you will see results,” he explained.

He added: “We encourage positive reinforcement-based training, not beating and harassing a dog - you are making it aggressive.”