Ken’s Comments:
Some people start on the group walks through class, others hear about them through one on ones, others discover us by word of mouth. It is the last group that I am particularly proud of as the group has a reputation of being very accepting and understanding. It is a place where any owner can come and, as long as they obey the rules, be accepted.
Such was the case with Susan and Mace. I remember their first day on the walk. I showed up on the parking lot, said hello to all the dogs as per usual and came across Susan and Mace huddled off to the side of the group. Susan informed me that Mace was very nervous around other dogs and people, that it was their first walk and she did not know how it was going to go. I told her that was completely normal, offered some words of encouragement and told her they would be fine. Mace allowed me to greet and pet him (the look on Susan’s face was priceless) and off we went.
I remember looking back a couple of times on that walk and seeing Susan with a mixture of elation and shock on her face. Mace was having no real issue. Truth be told, he was loving it.
Fast forward a year. Mace has no completed Level One, Two and Three obedience training at Topsailstar, he is a regular on the group walks, has attended the Santa Claus Parade two years running, hung out at the booth at the Pet Expo and has both dog and people friends on the walk….he is an all around great dog. He now helps other dogs overcome their fears and regularly walks with new people on the walks.
Mace’s focus is amazing and makes me smile every time. He greets me more enthusiastically than ever and his eyes never leave me…whether it is on the walks or in class. He is always looking to me to see “What’s next”. He has come a long way in a short time and I am really looking forward to seeing where he will go in the future.
Here is their story from Susan:
Life for Mace started out pretty good. He was brought into this world on a cold January day in 2012 by a reputable world class breeder. We had lost our 7 year old bi-black german shepherd a couple of months before to a rare type of cancer and were so sad since our loss and our older dog was very depressed. We had contacted several breeders and had done our homework on what to look for and what to ask. Through a friend (also a FTLOD group member) we found out about this particular breeder who bred reputable working class german shepherds. We contacted her and through a process of reference checks on both parts I flew to the mainland and picked up my very excited 4 month old puppy. It was love at first sight. Here was this 40 pound, 4 month old little ball of energy. The breeder interviewed me and told me that Mace tended to be a little bossy but after chatting to our vet in Newfoundland and spending some time with me she knew it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle and knew my husband and I would do everything we needed to do to find an outlet for Mace’s energy and to give him structure. Well, that little ball of energy was a handful but nothing we couldn’t handle. We had several friends who had large breed dogs and we had another dog at home and Mace was settling in quite nicely. Still full of energy but we knew exercise and setting ground rules (aided by Keisha, our older dog) he would be just fine.
When Mace was around 9 or 10 months old, Keisha and I brought him to a doggy play park for a play date with one of his friends. Here he socialized with some dogs he was familiar with and some other puppies his own age and with the same energy. The first trip to the park was great fun for him, so we agreed to return the same time on another day when we would encounter the same people. All responsible owners who supervised their puppies at play. All was going great until Keisha, Mace and I were leaving. I had Mace on a leash ready to leave and was putting Keisha on hers when a Lab mix came into the park, spotted Mace and promptly charged us and attached to Mace’s face. The owner of the mature male dog just walked away and left me to deal with a very scared puppy and my other dog. I managed to get the dog off Mace and settle Mace down. Another person in the park helped with the other dog. Needless to say we left immediately and never returned. Mace contracted a fungal growth on his tongue that had to be removed under anesthetic. The vet told us the growth was likely due to this altercation and several months later we discovered that the root of one of his main canine teeth was damaged and the tooth had to be removed. Two surgeries later we were left with a very scared puppy who was afraid of going to a vet and more afraid of any dog that would lunge or approach his face. I was determined to do anything for my boy and would walk him in areas and at times when I knew I would not encounter other dogs. By now my boy is pretty much hitting close to 75 or 80 pounds.
One fateful day my husband was riding his bike on the railbed when he encountered the FTLOD group and spoke to one of the members. Unfortunately, he didn’t ask the name of the group. For a couple of months I asked groomers and pet store employees if anyone knew the name of this group but no success. Then a really close friend told me that her and her dog had started with this wonderful group called For The Love of Dogs. She told me all about Ken and the group and thought Mace and I would fit right in. Well, Mace and I did go to a walk. It was the weekend around Canada Day, 2013 and prior to going I had registered Mace to attend Level 1 Obedience with Ken at Topsailstar. Mace and I went to our first walk. I was so nervous! My arms were black and blue from an over-active very nervous dog who showed his fear by aggression and didn’t know how to turn it off. He was afraid of everything (the vacuum cleaner, the lawn mower, the ceiling fan, strangers). Mace and I stood well back from the group. Terry Hurley and Aspen noticed us and came over to greet us. Mace promptly got very aggressive with Terry and Aspen. My nervousness was even more heightened but Terry wasn’t phased and he told me Aspen’s story. For the first time in months I had hope. Ken then arrived on the scene and greeted Mace and me. Mace oddly enough was not reacting to Ken. I was amazed. We starting walking with the group regularly and finally, Mace and I found some place where we fit. Several months went by and I started to get closer to other dogs. Everyone in the group respected that Mace needed his space and one day Mace is walking along side Lucy (a black lab mix) and he leans over and gives Lucy a lick. I never thought my boy would ever do that. Ken was looking on with a knowing smile and me and a bunch of the group members were crying. I never thought I would ever see that with my boy.
Fast forward to January 2014 and my boy has finished all three levels of Obedience with Ken and Topsailstar. He doesn’t freak out when we sees other dogs. People have stopped me and commented on how calm Mace is. Calm and Mace were never two words I thought would be used in the same sentence. I can walk anywhere, anytime and Mace is nonplussed by other dogs lunging, barking or snarling at him. He just checks in with me and keeps moving. He is still protective of his face but he doesn’t react first. He trusts I’ll handle it and protect him.
Mace now licks the face off Terry, loves walking with Aspen (and all the other dogs in the group) and keeps an ever watchful eye on Ken so he knows when he can move and when he can’t. He visited the vet a few months ago muzzle free. My boy is a very happy and healthy boy who washes Ken’s face every time he sees him (at least twice a week) and tells Ken all his woes at the beginning of every walk. Yes, my boy talks to the NL Dog Whisper! A little over a year ago if you asked me if any of this was possible I would have said NO. But through the magic and understanding of the group and the huge impact that Ken has made on Mace and me it is possible. All I had to do was do the work Ken set out for us and believe in the group, Ken and Mace - my 95 pound lap dog.