Wiley The Naughty Min Pin

Wiley is a seven year old Min Pin with fear induced aggression. His owners have loved and cherished him since he arrived in their home at thirteen weeks old. After all this time this couple decided that they want better control of Wiley so they can include him when they have guests to their home or walk in the park. Wiley has been an excellent student. It is very difficult to curb seven year old rehearsed behaviors for anyone including humans!!!  Luckily Wiley loves to learn and is crazy about all the attention he gets during practice training sessions. His aggression is being approached three separate ways to give his family options in the different kinds of scenarios where he he has behaved poorly in the past. The first option is to change directions with Wiley on the lead when he shows aggression. The second option is to repeatedly practice the command to come on lead for his favorite treats until he comes without guidance, and the third option is to practice having him lie down and stay on his bed. Fortunately Wiley is learning all of these commands with ease and his owners are enjoying all the compliments they are receiving from their relatives and friends about his improved behavior. Wiley has several weeks left to complete his rehabilitation program, but the progress he has made so far is amazing! I love working with cases like Wiley they are both rewarding and challenging if the owners are as motivated as this couple has been.

Hope The Service Dog

Hope is a nearly eight year old female Golden Retriever owned by one of my clients. Over the many years they have spent together, Hope has figured out when her owner needs medical attention and when she needs to be alerted at night. Hope is already a wonderful helper and companion, but her owner's condition has become progressively more severe. She now needs Hope to be with her by her side all the time including out in public. After giving Hope and her owner some Service Dog testing, I am happy to report that they are both good candidates to begin the process of teaching Hope the basic principles of Service Dog training. Since Hope is so well rounded with people and other animals it shouldn't take more than a few months to basic obedience train her and refine the tasks that she already does to get her up to Service Dog standards. I am looking forward to giving Hope's owner back the highest level of independence she once had. Hope should be ready to be certified by the American Canine Assistance Program by the end of January.

Sammy The Complicated Puppy

Sammy is an 18 week old mix breed puppy. He probably has some type of hound in him. His owners contacted me because on occasion and for no apparent reason he has shown aggression towards them. When I initially met Sammy he seemed friendly and submissive, but then after just a few moments of being patted he became tense with dominant body language. As I began asking questions, his family indicated he was previously owned by neglectful people. He was never socialized and was emaciated when they first got him. Sammy's new owner showered him with food and love thinking this would correct all the misfortune he once had. Instead he became submissive in the areas where his owners took charge and dominant and aggressive in the areas where he was coddled. His nurturing new family gave him too much status by allowing him to sleep on their bed, eat anything he wanted and when, and stroking him to calm him down. This made Sammy confused, leaving him to believe he had to make some of the decisions and rules. Sammy just needs to learn boundaries. His owners have now began making him work for everything he enjoys, providing him much more exercise and giving him a two minute time out if he exhibits aggressive behavior. I am happy to say that after just four days Sammy's behavior has dramatically improved. Sammy's first life experiences and possibly his genetics, made him vulnerable. Many puppies would never exhibit such strong behavior towards their owners who made similar errors. Luckily he has found an adult home who have the competence, time and desire to do the very best for him. Next week Sammy will begin learning some obedience commands and I can tell his owners are excited for more material!    

Payton's Progress

Payton has really made a turn around! He is coming when called off lead, going to his place when told and staying perfectly until instructed to get up. Payton's owners have been practicing his training with visitors. In the past this was somewhat stressful and dangerous because Payton would get overstimulated and frequently show aggression. Now he is now getting to the point that when people come to the home he is relaxed and looking for direction from his family! I am very proud of him and his owners for sticking with the program. I feel that the whole household is beginning to understand what he needs to be successful. Payton relishes the undivided attention that he gets each day in his very active household. I firmly believe this was instrumental in his rehabilitation. Payton also gets much more exercise and has more opportunities to just "be a dog" now that his behavior is under control. He can now be trusted to be outside (with supervision) to run around and play in his giant yard. Payton has a few more hurdles to leap before is program is finished, but he is finally becoming a relaxed, confident and friendly dog. 

Daisy the Content Puppy

Daisy family has made a remarkable commitment to improving her quality of life. It is hard to believe she is the same puppy. She will always be a high energy dog, but now she is using her active nature in appropriate ways. She already loves to play ball and is really starting to enjoy her two days a week at dog daycare. At first she was somewhat fearful of other puppies at the daycare, but now she loves to run and play with them. Daisy has mastered coming when called. This is of great importance with a high energy dog, because as an adult she will need plenty of off lead exercise. I am very impressed with her ability to follow through even with some very tough distractions going on around her. Daisy has also learned the commands: Let's Go, Sit, Stay, down and leave it. She loves to learn and earn rewards making her an excellent student. We will continue "proofing" Daisy's obedience training for the next few weeks by taking her to different locations and having each family member taking turns working her. Daisy is now well on her way to a happy well adjusted family dog.

Daisy The German Shepherd Puppy

Daisy is a three month old German Shepherd puppy. Her owner contacted me because of her extremely high energy level and excessive play biting. Daisy is very sweet and confident but has a very high work drive. Daisy is a tricky case. She is well loved by her family but up until we started her training she was being penned outside for long hours while her owners worked and went to school. This was very hard on her and she quickly started to develop behavioral problems. Once I explained that Daisy was so hard to handle because of all the isolation she had, the family immediately jumped on board to meet her needs. Twice a week she is now going to a dog daycare and on the other days a dog walker comes to the home to give her a healthy workout. We have started obedience training her now, but the attention and exercise alone have had a huge positive impact on Daisy and her family's attitude about her and dog ownership. I am very happy for Daisy that her owners contacted me while she was still young and pliable. It will be easier to completely change her idea of humans and her world. Daisy is now one of the family. I can see that even though her owners started with virtually no knowledge of proper dog ownership,  they always wanted what was best for her. They just didn't understand what she needed. Daisy will now have all the love, attention and training she deserves!! 

Layla and Willow

Layla (one and a half years old)  and Willow (6 months old) are both Shepherd mixes. They are both very well rounded trusting family dogs that just need a little work. Their owners contacted me after having worked with me in the past with "Butters" their deceased companion of twelve years. He was such a great dog and will never be forgotten! After taking some time to mourn their loss, this couple decided to adopt Layla a year ago. Everything was going relatively smoothly until they added Willow a few months ago. Although the two dogs get along very well Layla started chewing and not obeying her obedience commands since Willows arrival! Willow on the other hand is just a naive older puppy that came from a shelter without any real understanding about living in a home with humans. To get things off to a good start, each dog will spend some individual time exercising on a thirty foot lead and practicing coming when called. This will strengthen their bond with their owners and relieve some of the "sibling rivalry" I think is going on between them. Both of them will begin using a crate so they aren't getting into trouble until we have resolved their issues. At our next session both Layla and Willow will begin working on the Sit Stay command, the Down command and will be learning to play retrieve a ball. I look forward to watching them blossom!

Payton a challenging case

Payton Is making progress. He is learning to be responsible for following his owners instruction as to not become overstimulated which was the reason for his biting history. Payton is a smart but somewhat willful dog. At one point during his training he threatened to bite me rather than lie down when commanded to do so. I was glad this happened because for the first time in his life he was held accountable at the optimal moment of error, and had to go right back to work anyway. It was finally communicated to him that aggressive behavior wasn't productive and he was still going to have to follow through. Payton is wonderful with the children in the household I believe that his breed has a very high level of work drive . Before he started training I think he believed that being protective was his job. I give his owners a lot of credit for working so hard with him. Many people would have just chosen to give up on him. Their dedication and training with him are really paying off and Payton is now responding really well to direction.

Nugget and Olive continued...

Nugget and Olive's owners have done a fantastic job making certain that they are more attached to humans than other dogs. The puppies obviously enjoy each others company and play, but are much more likely to be following a person around the house and making eye contact with them. Nugget and Olive are also completely housebroken, sit on command reliably, have mastered three levels of coming when called, enjoy riding in the car and are comfortable with people, traffic and loud noises. This week we are teaching them the down command, to go to their beds when told and to retrieve a favorite toy by dropping it into a persons hand. Nugget and Olive can now begin meeting other friendly dogs since they have had two sets of puppy vaccinations. We will start with gentle dogs and other playful puppies their own age and gradually work up and down until they are comfortable with most dogs. Our training will now also involve some field trips to start to teach them reliability in new and stimulating situations.  

Frodo's Progress

Frodo has completely stopped chasing and "treeing the cats that live in his household. The cats are so relaxed now that they will sleep on a chair in the same room with Frodo! His owners had indicated to me that he would still harass other cats when they were visiting relatives or if  unknown cats wandered into their yard. Frodo obviously had not generalized yet that cats were completely off limits. The same approach we initially used was implemented in different environments. Now Frodo realizes that chasing cats (any cats) LOL is the wrong "game for hunting". Frodo's stuffed animal raccoon, along with the proper usage of the citronella collar were largely instrumental for his rehabilitation. His owners are thrilled with his progress and have promised to give me frequent updates.

Nugget and Olive

Nugget and Olive are 8 week old Labrador/Golden retriever mixes. Their owners contacted me wanting to get them the best start possible for a long and healthy relationship with them and their four children. I explained to this family that adopting sibling puppies can be a tricky task for the first few months. For the next two months each puppy will need several hours a day of one on one bonding time with just people. This encourages each of them to form strong and separate relationships with humans. Becoming overly attached to each other and only looking to each other for direction can create a very difficult set of dynamics in a household. Luckily since these people own their own business, Olive and Nugget can take turns going to work with one of them! This will make a big difference with housebreaking and teaching the puppies to look to humans for guidance. Olive and Nugget will start being socialized separately in various low stress environments. They will also begin taking short car rides and meeting people and other animals. They are presently learning about crate training and to come when they are called. Olive and Nugget need very different approaches to training. Olive is aloof and cautious at times and Nugget is assertive and energetic most of the time! These puppies are very lucky to have proactive owners who realized that raising two puppies at the same time can be a very different type of challenge. I look forward to watching each of them develop to their fullest potential in the upcoming weeks!!!

Frodo the cat chasing hound

Frodo is an eleven month old coonhound mix. His owners adopted him from an animal shelter from down south when was 14 weeks old. Frodo adjusted into his new home and was easily housebroken and crate trained. He is also very docile and friendly with people and other dogs. Frodo's owners contacted me because almost from the very beginning he was obsessed with chasing their three cats and (treeing them) on furniture. The cats at that point were quite frightened and for month resorted to constant hiding. Coonhounds instinctively follow the scent of their prey until the animal climbs up into a tree. Then they stay there baying until the hunter arrives.

Frodo's case is complicated because of his genetic predisposition. In order to teach him not to chase the cats. We are using a remote citronella collar on him. I have instructed his owners to leave the collar on him all day and to simply push the remote control whenever he bothers the cats.This will make Frodo believe the cats are responsible for the correction, and luckily he detests the smell of citronella! The other side of this project is allowing Frodo to use his natural instincts in an acceptable situation. Twice a day now for twenty minutes Frodo is being taught to hunt for his favorite stuffed animal raccoon instead of cats! We have scented his "prey" with vanilla extract and have attached it to a long string which is dragged along the ground outdoors when Frodo isn't watching. This encourages Frodo to follow the scent of his toy which is then hidden in various different locations including up in trees! Frodo loves this game and is allowed to grab and shake his toy for several minutes as a reward for every "successful hunt". He is allowed to use his natural instincts in a positive way and his owners enjoys challenging his "nose skills" and creating some great diversion for him. Frodo is learning to leave the cats alone now. They are beginning to come out of hiding even with him in the room! Now all the pets in the household can begin enjoying equal attention and affection.