O4K9

Hi Tony, I appreciate the review. Y’all were very cordial and willing to learn, and that made working with y’all great.<br><br>To set the record straight, my motto is “Solviter In Modo, Firmiter In Rei“, basically “gentle in what you do, firm in how you do it”. I never advocate for “breaking a dog with pain”. I have never said those words and do not condone it. I have repeatedly told y’all to monitor the dog’s mental and emotional bandwidth in order to not break him. <br><br>When your wife contacted me with urgency that Jasper had snapped at her, your daughter and your veterinarian, I came the next day to help. As we were walking to the front door Jasper began snarling, lunging and barking at us from inside the house. This continued when we entered the home. We went easy with him until he tried to bite my employee and I had to restrain him. After he made several more attempts, while I was restraining him, I had to get him to stop the behavior, or it would just get worse. I did that to protect my employee in the moment while we were trying to assist your dog. This isn’t dominance or trying to show the dog who is boss. This is just a desire to keep human life safe in the moment of danger.<br><br>Fortunately, he isn’t a truly aggressive dog, but he is seriously anxious and had become confident coping with his anxiety by being a bully to those closest to him.<br><br>This isn’t at all where we started or how we progressed with Jasper during the 7+ weeks prior. What I did was truly a last resort. We are prepared to protect human life at all costs, because safety is paramount, and in those situations a dog can be unpredictable. I am not ashamed to have protected my employee, or any other human being.<br><br>While he was with me later that day, we were able to work with him using simple desensitization methods to promote a positive interaction with us touching his hindquarters. He was happy and felt safe with us, even nestled up to me asking for belly rubs. The dog is desperate for leadership to help manage his emotions.<br><br>It would be prudent to maintain structure, boundaries and accountability, and be extra joyful in your restoration after fair corrections, just as we discussed during the 7 sessions prior when he was progressing in the right direction. That will prevent any further incident from escalating again. Without those lifestyle measures in place, he will more than likely bite a child, adult, or animal.<br><br>It was great working with y’all during training. I truly believe Jasper has the potential to be a great, well-behaved and happy dog. The videos we have of working Jasper prove as much.<br><br>Semper Fidelis,<br>Blake<br>O4K9 LLC