Ken’s Comments: Some of these success stories are from people who have been working with their dogs for a year or more, this one comes from Meaghan who I only met 7 weeks ago. Rottweillers are are very interesting breed. They get a bad rap at times because they are big and can be scary looking to some. They are fascinating to work with. When you have a rottie who comes from questionable breeding stock, who has had some questionable training, the work can be even more interesting.
Seven weeks ago I was contacted by Megan. She and her husband live in Marystown (a five hour drive from St. John’s for those of you reading this and are unfamilar with Newfoundland geography). Meghan was very upset and distressed when she contacted me. She explained she owned a rottie with aggression issues. She had tried numerous interventions but nothing worked. Rayne had bitten before, thankfully nothing overly serious. She was problematic around people and other dogs. She explained that I was the fourth trainer she had dealt with in the two years she had Rayne and was really at the end of her rope. She was concerned Rayne would do some serious damage. She asked if I could help.
This kind of situation is not one that I agree to take on lightly. If a dog has an extensive bite history, if other trainers had seen the dog and recommended the dog be euthanized, if the dog had these issues despite living in a stable home, prognosis is usually poor and unless EXTENSIVE precautions and work was done, the chances of a dog hurting or killing somebody are too much for most to deal with.
Rayne had all of these factors.
I told Meghan I would see them if they came to St. John’s and give them my opinion on the situation. That weekend, they travelled into St. John’s and I met them at Topsailstar Training Facility. I requested Meghan have Rayne on a leash to avoid potential injury and to assess one of the issues. I was immediately met with Rayne lunging and attempting to nip at me when I walked toward them. Meghan was visibly upset but I saw something in Rayne that gave me hope…even when she lunged, there was a lot of bluster but not a lot of anger behind it…so into the training room we went. I walked Rayne around the room for about 10 mins, treating her as I went, not pushing boundaries with the touching and very quickly she settled down. During this, I could see the fear in Meghan’s face…whether it was fear I would be bitten or fear I would tell her to leave and euthanize Rayne, I don’t know. Maybe it was both. It is heart breaking when an owner reaches this point. They love their dog but feel hopeless and not able to handle the issues. When I looked at her and her husband and said…”Yes, I can work with this…it is going to require a lot of work on your part and a lot of precautions that need to be followed to the letter, but I think we can bring Rayne around”….they both looked at me with hope and smiles.
We designed a behavior modification plan focusing on a lot of positive reinforcement, building Rayne’s confidence and trust in people, breaking down those barriers that were leading to the aggression and teaching Rayne what it means to be a good and trustworthy dog. Again, for a dog displaying these types of behaviours, it means HUGE work. The difficulty with something like this was compounded for Rayne as her family lives in Marystown.
It has been seven weeks, Meghan and Rayne have been to St. John’s for five one on ones, taken part in ten group dog walks including the Santa Claus Parade. The last one on one and group walk took place without the muzzle. Rayne is accepting treats from strangers and is slowly but surely coming around. She still has a long road ahead of her but the strides she has made in the last two months have been amazing. Meghan has even started doing group dog walks in Marystown with the same rules as my group dog walk in St. John’s.
Again, hard work, dedication and doing things right are key to success. Meghan is putting the work in, Rayne is benefiting from it!
Here is their story from Meghan:
Rayne is a two year old rottweiler who didn't have a very good start in life. Coming from a back yard breeder she has many aggression issues towards people.. more so towards men and children. Before meeting Ken we seen 3 other trainers, some professional and one every day trainer. All their responses were the same. " Put Rayne down"… " She will never be trained" or " She will end up killing someone".. I couldn't bring myself to listen to them. Even after she attacked my nephew and step father, I knew with the right help she could turn around. Thats when I called Ken. I sent a heart felt message to Ken in hopes he would take us on rather then turn us away like everyone else.
After talking to Ken we booked a one and one. I was terrified. Rayne tried to do what she does best and attacked! Ken just looked at her and laughed.. He was the only person who took the leash and said yup.. Lets fix this. The rest has been nothing but amazing.
In just 6 short weeks, 10 group walks and 5 one on one sessions i now have control and the confidence to control rayne. She has gone from wanting to attack every person she sees to walking in the dog walks… allowing people to give her treats and even let a few people pet her… Her most impressive moment was when we walked with the group in the St. John's Christmas parade..
All this progress couldn't be done without the help of Ken. And to make the best of everything, i am a out of town client. Just by listening to what he says I am able to work with rayne at home knowing what I am doing is helping.. I look forward to the many more milestones that Rayne will reach with the help of Ken Reid .