Ken’s Comments:
Not every situation is deal with is a “problem dog”. While I have made a name for myself helping owners address issues like serious aggression, many times I help owners deal with more mundane problems. Such was the case with Cassius.
Cassius was a a young puppy at the time but he was RUDE. His mom especially could not enjoy him. He was very mouthy and pushy with her. He constantly pulled on the walks and she was having great difficulty with him. My heart goes out to owners like Cassandra because they want to enjoy their dog so much but because there is a breakdown in communication, they can’t. I feel sorry for the dog as well because the puppy is just doing what the owners, while well meaning, are teaching them. It makes for a frustrating situation.
Most times in cases like these, the issues are fairly easy to address. They still require consistancy and work but once we open up those lines of communication, light bulbs start going off for both owners and their dogs…magic starts to happen and everybody is happier.
Cassandra dropped me a line a couple of weeks ago to fill me in on Cassius’s progress since the one on one. I asked her to do up the story for all to see.
Here is their story from Cassandra
After we lost our dog, Mindy in may and after some major thought and discussion with my family we decided it was time to open up our home and our hearts again to another dog. Our house seemed to empty no 'click clack' of little paws running up the hallway for some morning snuggles no 'pat pat pat' of an excited tail wagging. Even with two cats it was lonely without a dog around. We decided on a boxer pup. We knew all the pros and cons of owning a boxer and with three young adults living together we knew a boxer would be the right fit for us. So let's fast forward to bringing Cassius home.
We got our little buddy and life was great we instantly fell in love. After a few months he was starting to nip and mouth at us especially me, for such a little dog it seemed so aggressive snarling and growling at me It didn't matter if I had a treat or his favorite toy he only seemed interested in my arms and hands. Walking Cassius with and without a harness would frustrate me to tears. It seemed to me I was being singled out. He would walk perfectly with my boyfriend and my brother but as soon as my hand touched the leash he would completely change he would tug on the leash, bite the leash, and jump up on me. For me personally I would boycott my part of the responsibility with him because of how difficult he would be with me. Even though I've read about worse cases than Cassius it was frustrating for me because I knew he had potential to be the best boy he could be, if only he would listen to my commands and not just my boyfriend and my brothers commands. What was I doing wrong? Not only was he disobedient to me he was not a huge fan of other dogs as we didn't socialize him properly right away and we'd find ourselves crossing the road and avoiding any other dog walkers. I wanted so bad to join the group walks but I was a nervous wreck about how he would act to other dogs and group members. So once again I found myself boycotting those as well. Fast ward again a few months and I decided it was time to seek some professional help.
I contacted Ken and asked if he would come in and help us with our big nut ball. And within minutes we had a one on one set up and I was overjoyed! Ken came in and right away he jumped up on him (another problem we had with Cassius) Ken calmed him down and we discussed Cash's problems. Ken advised a plan for us and gave us some tips and pointers to correct his bad behavior. It wasn't a long extensive one on one but the information we got from Ken helped so so so much! Now Cassius is 8 months old and I'm so proud to say his nipping, biting and mouthing at me are a thing of the past. When I walk him he trots along side of me no tugging (unless a leaf blows up the road LOL) no leash biting or jumping. With the help of my friend and his dog we helped him realize he can have friends and not everyone and everything is a chew toy. I put in the extra time with him to get him to listen to me and did everything Ken asked us to do. It makes me so proud to say that he will listen to my every command. It took a few months and a lot of patience but we got to where we wanted to be. We still work with him everyday and will continue to do so everyday of his life. There is no case too big or too small that can't be fixed I learned that from Ken's help, even though we are still working on his excited jumping when people come in he's slowly getting there. So a little word to those who are having some difficulty with their babies and think "eh well he's not THAT bad..." the advise you receive, big or small goes a long way with some hard work and dedication. Don't give up.