Ken’s Comments:
Over the years I have had the distinct honor and privilage of meeting so many interesting dogs from very diverse backgrounds. Some of these backgrounds are very happy, others have very sad back stories. Leo unfortunately had one of the later.
I remember being contacted by Leslie and Lee saying that they were adopting a great dane with a horrific past. They knew they were going to need help. They informed me of all of his issues and we agreed to meet shortly after they picked him up. Walking into a home with any aggressive dog can be quite intimidating. Walking into a home with an aggressive/scared dog like a great dane is even more so.
When I walked in, Lee had Leo on leash. Leo immediately barked and lunged at me. Having 150 pounds of dane coming at you like that will make you question why you chose to get into this profession in the first place. I will never forget the look on both Lee and Leslie’s faces. Both white as sheets, mouth open and shocked. I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through their head. We calmed Leo down and he started to get a little more comfortable. I took the leash, walked him around the room and hung out next to him while discussing things with Lee and Leslie.
We set Leo up with a plan to increase his confidence, expose and desenstize him to others, especially men and to help him become the dog he desperately wanted to be. By the end of the visit, Leo was sitting by my side, accepting pats and generally liking me.
Leo became a regular on the group dog walks, graduated Level One, participated in the Pet Expo and the Santa Claus Parade, has attended doggy daycare and is currently a couple of weeks away from completing advanced obedience. He now loves most people and has turned into quite the confident, well balanced dog. He has met and exceeded every challenge thrown at him. It has been amazing to witness this transformation happen.
Have I mentioned we have a real bromance on the go? In the first meeting, Leo wanted to eat me. Now I am one of his favorite people. He loves getting love from me and you can regularly see him with his front paws on my shoulders getting and giving kisses and hugs. It is a sight to witness. When I see his face in class or on the walks looking at me or moving his head to look around people so he can keep his eyes on me…it makes me smile. At any given second, he is ready to dash to my side. I love the big guy and he knows it. There is total trust between the two of us. I have him scouted to become a therapy dog and he is well on the way to accomplishing this.
Leo’s story started off as a sad one, but he is now living the life he so rightfully deserves. He has a wonderful family with Leslie, Lee and Dakota, a very active social life and if you could see the smile on his face as he accomplishes new things, you would know how proud he is.
Leo buddy, I am honored to be on this journey with you.
Here is his story from Leslie
Leo's story began with us this past April. We adopted Leo from a wonderful organization Fresh Start Dane Rescue. We knew that Leo had a rough start. He had been kennelled and abused for 3 years in a basement with his sister. Leo was not aggressive but he was terrified of men. He would step towards a man, bark (which is loud) then hide. In the space of about 3 weeks Leo had been removed from the home, neutered, separated from his sister, placed in a foster home. He then faced the journey to Newfoundland, which involved a overnight ferry ride and a drive with us across the island to arrive in St. John's. We were advised that my partner Lee should remain in the truck when we picked Leo up from the ferry and to let Leo approach him first for the first few weeks until he built up trust.
Leo was a sweet boy from the start but he was different from our girl, Dakota, who was adopted from the SPCA. Dakota was a happy, sweet, confident dog. Leo barely wagged his tail, never got overly excited and was terrified of loud noises. You could not approach or startle Leo when he was asleep, he would awake growling and defensive. Disciplining Leo was also tricky the moment you spoke in a stern or angry voice he would instantly be terrified and stop moving. Leo was also too interested in small dogs, which became apparent after some time. He had prey drive. It was clear we wanted to start Leo off on the right foot and make sure we were trained on how to help him.
I had already become a member of For The Love of Dogs, I had spoken to Ken before about adopting and I read his success stories so I knew Ken was just the person to help us.
Exactly 3 days after Leo came into our lives so did Ken. We arranged for a one on one and Ken came to our house. For those of you who know my 150 Ib lapdog, who adores His Ken. Leo must climb up and hug him EVERY time he sees him. This was not the case that first day. Ken walked into our home and did not back away when when Leo barked. In fact Ken took his leash, walked Leo toward him and was unafraid. Let's just say Leo was not particularly impressed. We refer to this as the time Leo tried to eat Ken. My heart sank to see Leo so visibly upset. I began second guessed myself on what we had taken on. Fast forward a half hour and the bromance between Ken and Leo had started. I was armed with two pages of info to help Leo, a plan, obedience classes and our first mission...a group dog walk at the Fluvarium. We had thought we should work with Leo before exposing him to other dogs. Ken saidhe thought it best to get Leo out there around other dogs and that leo could do it.
Ken was right our first walk was amazing.
So then came Level 1 obedience. Leo was still a lot to handle. I was nervous about even walking into the class. Leo had proved he could drag me up the road if he wanted to chase a cat or small dog. I had even asked Ken to help me walk him into the first class. Leo was a fast learner and did well but his interest in small dogs was increasing. I walked around class with the leash wrapped around both hands in case he jumped towards any of the smaller dogs. Leo started out level 1 not knowing sit or down, up sit was a huge challenge. The dehumidifier in class terrified him which turned out to be a challenge to walk past it. But Leo overcame these challenges and graduated the course.
Over the summer we passed an off leash small dog and this time Lee was dragged by Leo. So we arranged for another One on One to work on the small dog focusing and Leo’s prey drive. Once again Ken was there for us. We arranged a meeting at Bowring Park and began to walk the loop with Ken teaching us techniques to interrupt Leo's focusing. We ran into another For The Love of Dogs group member who was walking her two small dogs and Ken asked if he could her dogs help Leo with his focusing. You know your trainer is trusted when the answer to that question is “yes, sure” lol.
Once again we had a plan and put it into motion. Within a few months we could see the difference in Leo. I have to thank everyone in the group for Leo's improvement with his focusing, especially his petite dog friends. It took time but it is such a relief to walk Leo now and know he will behave.
During the summer Leo also attended his first day of day care. Unlike every other dog owner, I took the day off instead of heading to work. I expected to get a call that he was too rough or had hurt another dog. We did not want him muzzled or to be kennelled, this was just to socialize him and to see if our hard work was paying off. I left him with Travis ( which was a huge improvement in itself because just months before he was terrified of him too) but I was worried and upset wondering if I was doing the right thing. Hours later I had not heard a word from Topsail star ( I had said to call if he became trouble). I did receive an email from Ken who visited daycare that day to check in on Leo. I once again cried. Leo was being the perfect gentle man listening to Jodi and playing with dogs of all sizes.
Fast forward to November and Leo is in Level 2 and attended the St. John's Christmas parade. Once again I was nervous wondering if this would be to much for Leo. The Christmas Parade was also my frist time on a group walk without Lee for back up. At first we stuck to the centre of the group at first but after a quick pep talk from Ken we moved to the edges and greeted the crowd. Leo loved it! He greeted everyone who reached out or spoke to him. We fell behind a few times but it was worth it. We both had big stupid grins for the rest of the parade.
Leo is now almost finished Level 2 and the only distraction that we will never overcome is Ken. :) I always know where Ken is by watching Leo. It was about 2 weeks ago in class that it hit me I no longer have the leash wrapped around both hands, my boy and I can enjoy a casual walk. His heel is by no means perfect but I am thrilled.
Leo has come a long way in less than a year. He is now approaching men with no fear and likes to use some of his guy friends on the walk to lean on. He loves the attention he gets wherever he goes and must be pet by everyone. This is a huge improvement when pet stores were overwhelming.
I can walk my boy and have full control and I do not fear small dogs approaching. I completely believe Ken now that Leo is on his way to becoming a Therapy Dog... something I could not see at first. But most of all it's seeing the improvement in Leo's happiness. He wags his tail now all the time, he gets happy and excited so easily. He loves visitors to the house and the attention he gets. It is a new thing for Leo.
This is definitely Leo's success story but it is also Ken’s. There is not one part of his story that Ken was not a part of and Leo would not be the happy relaxed boy that he is without his Ken. Leo's success story is long from over, he plans to take on level 3 at some point and will be working towards becoming a therapy dog.
After the last 8 months I have learned to never doubt Leo and Ken is always right :)
Ken’s ps…..the “smile” that both myself and Leslie mention in our comments…it is very very real. If you doubt it….this is an example of what I am talking about…
