And so it begins

My mind is always buzzing with thoughts about dogs and dog training. That is hardly surprising, right? I have decided I want to share some of those thoughts. Therefore, I am going to start writing blog posts about new ideas I have heard in webinars or read somewhere, the things I do with dogs and owners, contemplations about techniques and ethics, and whatever may seem relevant to share.

Today I want to share a major win for one of my client dogs and me. This week, Jake initiated contact with this little nose bump to my leg that he does and when I sat down a few feet from him he came over and draped himself across my legs. My heart soared and I am sure I had a goofy, sappy smile on my face!

Let me tell you why this was such a big deal:

We have been working on severe stranger aggression for a few months. We are talking about a very strong pit bull with a not-so-great history who doesn’t trust new people and is very protective of his family and his home. Fortunately, he was adopted by wonderful people who were willing to put time and money into helping him. He does great in his home and with the dog that was already in the family and is very gentle with the family members.

The first thing we did back when we started was to get him acclimated to wearing a muzzle which he has on during training sessions for safety if the training involves being close to me or potentially other people or dogs. When he growled and barked at me/a stranger it was clear he was willing to follow through with biting if he was given the opportunity.

Without going into detail, we did a lot of sessions with various aggression countering techniques. Recently we were able to work in public places as long as we can remain at a reasonable distance.

So, you can see why it was a milestone that he was ready to accept me and consider me a friend. He was still wearing the muzzle at this time, but I am sure it wouldn’t have made a difference, and later I walked him a bit without it.

Moments like these highlight why my job is amazing! To me there is nothing more rewarding than when a dog feels it can trust me and communicate openly with me. It doesn’t have to like me - I am not in the business of making friends with all dogs and I don’t take it personal if they don’t - but that it trusts that I do not intent to harm it or do worrisome things to it; that I see and respect what it is saying with body language and vocalization; that it believes that when it follows my cues and directions, good things will happen. And that when it says No, I respect that, too. Doesn’t that sound a lot like how many of us want to be treated?