Dear County Commissioner,

I’m writing in response to recent information that has come to me about the harassment by county Parks & Rec Dept. staff of Turk Abay, owner of “Off Leash Dog Training”.  I understand it is being suggested that Turk is using county property to conduct business.  As a  client of “Off Leash Dog Training”, I’m stunned that our tax dollars are being wasted by persecuting someone who does SO much to make our community a safer place.  Turk Akbay – Off Leash Dog Training conducts  paid classes  at his facility in the University area or at his clients’ homes.

The social “meet-up” sessions he organizes at locations all over Charlotte are “not paid” social training gatherings like the running groups, bootcamp classes, even the water color painters  that are opportunities for like-minded dog owners and their dogs to socialize in safe manner.   As you may already know  Off Leash Dog Parks are Public “Play at your own risk.” places. Last year what Parks & Rec “claimed to be”  the only fatality in dog park was one of our fellow students  inside the dog park.  After city has stop enforcing Pooch pass program due to budget cuts we don’t even know if the dogs in dog parks are current on their rabies shots.. If they had them at all in the first place.
Turk does such a phenomenal job in helping dog owners teach their dogs how to behave in public and personal spaces.  You’ll never see his dog owners letting their dogs defecate without scooping,  barking and causing a nuisance, and certainly never behaving aggressively toward strangers.  This cannot be said about MANY other folks we’ve interacted with on county property.

Canine responsibility is something he and his trainees take VERY seriously and should be held as an excellent example of park stewardship and responsible pet ownership.  His public gatherings only happen an few hours a week and cannot possibly be causing anyone distress.

I appeal to your common sense and humbly request that Parks & Rec staff to use their time in more pressing issues rather than single out a dog trainer because of they don’t agree with the name of his company.

Thank you so very much for your time,

Puppies can be trained from a very early age as long as you don’t expect too much of them right away.  Your puppy has already been learning from her mom and litter mates for several weeks.  Although by seven weeks of age the puppy’s brain has reached an adult dog’s brain development, the next 6-8 weeks are the most crucial time for your dog’s social skills and you should be actively seeking opportunities for your  puppy to be exposed to many things (like children, trash cans, loud noises, other dogs).

Begin training your new puppy the moment that you bring her into your home. Remember, you are setting house rules & boundaries that will be in place for a lifetime.

At this early stage focus on the basics; house training, your pack’s rules, and learning to wear a collar and walk on a leash.
When training your puppy, remember that your puppy’s attention span is very short.

If you are using a remote training device for you training we only suggest using SportDog(SMS collars are manufactured by SportDog) or Dogtra brands.

Just as any electronic device if/when there is a need to replace your remote collar please follow these guidelines:

SportDog remote collars (red or yellow remote) they have manufacturers life time warranty.  You can click on the image to email  Customer Care or by calling 1-800-732-0144.

SportDog will ship you a replacement collar with a return label for you to return your old system. When calling SportDog please mention that you have SMS System. Otherwise they will ask you for proof of purchase which you may not have.

Dogtra Collars: Have 2 years waranty. You can click on the image to email  Repairs Dept. or by calling 1-888-811-9111. (M-F 8:30am-4:00pm Pacific Time)

A little known fact about me.   I grew up afraid of dogs.

First time I met a dog was while we were visiting one of my mom’s friends.  Looking for bathroom I opened a door and  came face to face with a boxer.  I quickly discovered 6 year olds can not out run boxers.

After being what must be like being a gazelle in the mouth of a lion I became one of those kids who freeze up, unable to move whenever I saw a dog.  Living in a city where  most dogs are strays, untrained, and often mean I have experienced first hand “dogs know when you are afraid” in the form of getting chased and bullied by dogs…. Last time I was “chased” by dogs was in Bali, in 1999.  Pack of dogs that were guarding the street to where my hotel was forced me to sleep at the beach that night.  Not a bad deal to watch the sunrise in Balinese beach,  but it’s not fun  being chased by dogs.

So, when I see people who are afraid of dogs, I understand that feeling of terror  from a very personal perspective.  Feeling like your heart is about to thump right out of your chest or  the mental images flashing in your mind’s eye of a dog in any second going to tear your flesh and let you bleed out  is very visceral fear and just as any fear can be overcomed with  a little systematic desensitization.

For the fear to die, first and foremost the person who is afraid of dogs must have “I had  enough of this fear attitude.” and it must come from that person.  You the outsider can not superimpose this on them. In the case of kids you can point out what they are missing by being afraid so they can make the correlation themselves. Not you.

When that mindset is reached,  now we can talk about what is the “real fear”  is it the bite,  getting rabies shots, getting knocked down and breaking a hip,  is it a memory of past attack  or something entirely different?  When this discussion is taking place leave “your” judgement out of it.  Neither agree nor disagree. Just listen. I suggest asking questions to let the fearful person  dig deeper.

You are afraid that dog will bite you.   What it is that scare you about the bite ?  It’ll hurt.

I wonder how much it Hurts?   Oh. it hurt like hell when that dog bit you.  What did that hurt like ?  (more than hell right? what was it?)    What you are doing is taking the air out of the fear.

Next is find a dog that does not have any of these qualities.  Different size, different breed, different energy level etc.  and build some confidence on the fearful person about being around dog(s) and mark that behavior like we do with dogs.  Petting a dog has natural calming effect on people.  Start by petting the dog on the side away from “the teeth”  Nice long strokes.  You don’t have to cheer like Panthers finally scored a touchdown, but recognize how well they’re doing (lack of fear is our natural state)  Keep the sessions short, and break often,  and repeat as often as possible on different occasions.  This will work.

If you are in Charlotte, NC we can help you with some of our trained dogs.

Here is another timely episode of Carolina’s Dog Master with Turk Akbay of Off Leash Dog Training.

Turk discusses the potty  training with Larry Sprinkle about Dos and Don’ts of Potty training.

Enjoy.