Ken’s Comments: I met Megan and Dozer when Dozer was a puppy. I remember the first time I met him, he was like a toy wound too tight. So much boundless energy and so full of himself. When Megan explained that she got him at 6 weeks old, I was not surprised given the issues she was describing. He was a great dog, just had all kinds of rude behaviors that were not being dealt with and were being encouraged. We immediately devised a plan to deal with his issues and Megan went to work.
Megan is not one to do things half heartedly. Like most members of the group, when she commits, she commits. Dozer at times really pushed that commitment to it’s limits. There have been times over the years Megan has contacted me very upset over something that happened and wondering if things would every improve. There are lots of other times however that Megan contacted me totally proud of something that occured. Myself and Dozer (like many of the nut cases that I have had the honor to deal with over the years) have always had a very trusting and loving bond. I take his leash and he automatically becomes a perfect dog. When he sees me, his eyes are on me. He cries to walk next to me and is so proud walking in between my dogs at my side. Dozer also has the LONGEST tongue of any dog I have encountered. He can lick your face with that thing from a foot away.
A year and a half ago Megan added Guiness to the mix. Guiness is a dane and always has been very skittish. Megan has HEAVILY and PROPERLY socialized him over the last couple of years and he has steadily improved. When she first brought him into class, it was with great reluctance that strangers, especially men, could approach him. By the end of class, he was jumping up on my shoulders. He is a goof ball.
Both are works in progress but are true testiments to what hard consistant and proper work can accomplish.
Here is Megan’s Story:
I've been on a long road with Dozer, and we will never reach the end. Iit will be an on-going journey that I am happy to be on. Dozer is a valleybulldog and I got him when he was 6 weeks old. From then on he had lots of personality which some thought was cute. I have to say it was entertaining to watch him hold his own no matter what the size of the other dog. But after a few issues at the dog park this cute puppy with lots of personality turned to a puppy who had dog aggression issues. It wasn't with all dogs and we couldn't always pinpoint the triggers so we then stopped attending the dog park. So this dog aggression also turned into what I call were his moments. At times, he would become aggressive and lunge towards me. There was many times I would be in tears wondering what was I doing wrong, why was he doing this to me. I never let him see fear as I always stood as the leader but it did not stop him from trying to test me and my limits.
So I had contacted Ken for a one on one to see if there was anything I could do, or if things I were doing were wrong and contributing to his behaviour. We put the modification plan in effect and went to work. He had lots of moments where I had to pin him to the ground til he calmed down and stopped ju,mping at me. I had him fixed when he was 8 months to hopefully help calm him down. It made little to no difference to his agression issues.
However, we have since completed level one obedience and have become regulars on the group walks and he is like a new dog! He still doesn't like all dogs but I can gauge how it will go and am always ready to handle whatever Dozer throws at me! He is a big fan of Ken, he cries his whiney bark as he sits and waits patiently for Ken's attention. He has made a few dog friends on the walks and is always trying to make friends with people! We participated in the Santa Claus Parade this year and he was amazing. He greeted all the crowd eagerly and accepted lots of love and never once jumped on the children offering lots of pats. Words could not explain that day how proud I was of my boy!
So here's where the story turns into two... I have Dozer who has all of his issues which are well under way, so we thought about adding a second. Dozer turned one that July and we decided we wanted to add a Great Dane so at the end of October we welcomed Guinness to our home and was unsure how it would go. It went wonderfully and they are great together. Soon after we got him we attended the walks, put him in level one obedience and did everything we could to socialize him, but in the end we still ended up with Guinness being nervous of people and has his own issues now with dogs. So we now have two works in progress on our hands who we work with everyday, Dozer has come leaps and bounds from where he was and Guinness has made some steps in the right direction, and I hope both of them continue to do so! Ken and the group have done so much to put myself and the boys on the right path!