Isis was a 3 year white Chow-Chow dropped off to us with many issues at hand. She had a HIGH prey drive, she was high strung, untrustworthy to people she didn't know, had fought with the other 2 dogs in the house and had to receive stitches down her eye for, and her owner felt that she was incapable of learning any commands. When we met her she was a nervous dog with low self-esteem. Just like Cesar Millan, we believe all dogs can be rehabilitated...even Isis. The owner's signed her up for the 2 week board and train and we were confident that we could help her in that amount of time.
Isis was dropped off wearing a harness and a leather collar with a Halloween themed covering over it. Since she was an extremely sketchy dog in the beginning, we were unable to remove the harness and collar for the first couple days.
We attached a 30 foot lead leash to her collar and strung it through the cage so it was easy to take her in and out of the kennel to go potty without stressing her out any further.
The first 2 days consisted of bringing her in and out of the kennel for playtime, potty breaks, and feedings. And by reading her, she gave us the signs that she was definitely not comfortable with us yet. She had her mouth open wide with some panting, extremely jumpy if we got within 3 feet of her, and also very nervous and reactive to everyday sounds such as a doorbell, the door closing and opening, etc. She also wouldn't take ANY treats...that is a red flag to us because what dog won't take a treat?
The next 3-4 days we worked on foundation work with her and just letting her get more comfortable with us being around her and moving closer to her when it was possible. And every once in a while sneaking in a pet on the back.
By day 5, we still hadn't succeeded taking off her harness or the leather decorative collar; which can also add to the insecurities and nervousness of the dog since the harness can limit the body and make the dog feel vulnerable. I decided I was going to stay outside with her until I had accomplished taking it off whether I got bit or not doing so.
About 25 minutes into me kneeling down near her, she seemed to have relaxed a little bit around me and let down some of her guard since she was no longer keeping a constant eye on me. I slowly and gently began petting her upper back looking for the buckle to the harness.
Given that she is a Chow, the buckle was buried beneath her long thick white hair and made it incredible difficult for to me locate the buckle. So I gradually brought my hand closer to the harness straps and 'CLICK' I unbuckled it and it fell to her feet and she stepped out of it. Instantly you could see the relief that it gave her and she shook her head and let me continue petting her.
After that, the training was much easier and more lade back with Isis. Our big challenge was seeing how she would be with other dogs since she wasn't the best of friends anymore with them.
We decided to try her with my 2 year old American Pit Bull Terrier, Tyson. He is much like 'Daddy' from Dog Whisperer and I am so lucky to have a dog like him. I can put him with ANY kind of dog big or small, aggressive or not and he always evaluates the situation and does what a dog should do.
So we brought Tyson out first and then Isis out. By this point in her training, we had already accomplished off leash recall so this was the best time to introduce her to a new dog since the leashes cannot get tangled and they can be near each other or go about minding their own business.
They approached one another cautiously and did the famous dog 'Butt to face position' for picking up scents from each other. Which we were thrilled to see since many dogs lose that 'Dog Manner' because their owners often go about introducing new dogs to each other the wrong way. After they sniffed each other for about 3 minutes, they just started chasing each other around the yard.
It was such a relief for us to see that she didn't lose her instinct to be a dog and we were so excited to see her actually enjoying herself with another four-legged friend. The insecure nervous dog that we saw when she was dropped off no longer existed, instead she had come out of her shell and was quite the social butterfly after her meeting with Tyson.
Even though her owners signed her up for 2 weeks, we ultimately decided to keep her for a month at no charge since we knew that the extra socialization with a stable back of dogs would have a huge benefit to her. And let's just say it was a pleasure training her and seeing the progress she made!
Midway Dog Academy
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