Well it has been a little while since I started working with our new best trainer,I really like her attitude to training,"you find what works for your dog".When l think about it,it really makes sense,as a mum I know my children responded to different ways of being taught so why not dogs.
I first introduced myself and Charlie to this site in 2009 and have made many great contacts and have had wonderful support which has helped me through some really rough times with Charlie.
As some my not know his history I'll give you a brief rundown.Charlie was 14 weeks old and came from a well established breeder inter-state so he had a 2hr flight to us in a really bad storm. When he was finally brought out he was sitting stock still and just staring,it took us a long time to cox him out of his create.Once home we settled him into his new create and he slept,the next morning when any man went near him he would bark and back away,we put this down to the bad flight and all the noises in the freight terminal so we put our limited dog training skills into practice and he did get used to the guys but he remained one very nervous puppy and his behaviour just got worse,we went to a puppy school that used clicker training and were advised to send him back after our first lesson,I couldn't do it and decided to carry on.He did start to enjoy puppy school and did well and became used to the people but his behaviour at home and in the street got worse.At home any new person that came in he would bark and leap at and the same when we walked,if I let him off lead he would chase joggers and nip at their heels,basically anything that moved he would have a go at including vehicles of all kinds,he was your worst nightmare.
The second training method we tried was Jan Fennel's which we did have some success with but I found that I couldn't get the results I was looking for especially when walking on lead,Charlie still wanted to bark and leap at everyone and dogs which was stressing my whole family,I was ready to give up but I did a lot of research and talked with some other breeders and found out that Charlie had probably never been socialized or handled as a pup and later down the track his breeder did let slip that he had been returned by a couple that had bought him before us and I am in no doubt that he would've been just put back with their other dogs and left before coming to us.
You learn by your mistakes, I didn't see Charlie or the kennels he came from before I bought him,I had talked with his breeder many times and felt I could trust this person, really,really big mistake.I now take the view that Charlie is the worlds most expensive rescue dog.
I have learnt so much from this little dog, in getting to understand him and bonding with him,gaining his trust,love and I think most importantly his respect, he now feels safe and we can now get on with living.I'm learning skills that I can use to stop his bad behaviour before it happens and he's responding to me in a much better way as my skills are improving with the help from Judi and her team, it will take time but we will get there and it is so gratifying to see him having fun.
Cheers all round, Marianne and Charlie
