The Dog Tamer

Price, Thank you so much for the kind words and feedback. It has been such a pleasure working with all of you. I am proud of all of your efforts and the commitment to the training and overall well being of your dog.

To be completely transparent, the information that I was given on this dog from the owner was a 1 1/2 year old Belgian Malinois who was given to them from the "breeder" because she was not aggressive "enough." They had the dog for about 2 weeks and there were concerning behaviors like skittishness and anxiety with just recently low level growling at strangers. I had explained the categories of training programs and also given pricing on private lessons and boarding and training. I was informed that they could not afford the boarding and training but we would do a private session. I arrived at the location which was on a very busy main road and parked in the back of what looked to me like a 2 family or duplex. Outside I met with the Matt who once again explained to me that he did not believe she was aggressive and we could go inside to meet her. I followed him through the back into a very small kitchen where I saw Daisy the dog right next to Oksana in the other room and Daisy immediately was growling very aggressively. Oksana responded by telling her "its ok" several times and was petting her. This only made Daisy growl even more and I calmly told Oksana not to be telling her this or petting her because this was reinforcing her feelings of aggression. This made Oksana visibly upset and then Daisy started lunging at me. Keep in mind I was not informed or prepared for this level of aggression so I used my safety instincts and turned my back to make myself not be a threat to Daisy and she actually sniffed me but walked back into the other small room. I felt confined, so I realized that the best plan of action was to go outside. So Matt put the leash on her and we went to the backyard which there was no containment, a very narrow and small area and a 8-10 foot tie out cable. Matt was holding the leash with such tension that Daisy started to become aggressive again lunging and snapping at me. I instructed him to hold the leash properly with out putting tension on it and once again she stopped being very aggressive. So I began to gather more information about her. She was given up on, obviously had litters of puppies and was never socialized before. I was also told that upon visiting the ''breeders" home the conditions that her and other dogs were living in were extremely bad. This was just sheer negligence by the "breeder". First, no dog should be bred for aggression for companionship then made to have litters of puppies and then dumped. I have trained and rehabilitated many of these dogs in my time and this is a very energetic, herding dog that needs a great deal of exercise and room to run and roam. This poor dog that was already mistreated and abused was made to have puppies, then just dumped when it served the "breeder" no more purpose. It was clear that this skittish dog was not getting any exercise except being tied out on a small tie out cable overlooking a main street. When I explained to both Oksana and Matt that tie out cables may heighten aggression they once again both became visibly upset. We concluded our walk in which I explained how important walking our dogs and having them engage with their nose was. So we went back inside to the room where Daisy was being housed. It was a crammed, small room with several other cages which were said to be rabbits and Daisy refused any treats, shut down and went into her crate. The bottom line is that this dog needed a great deal of rehabilitation in the right environment for this super athletic dog. Not a small 2 family home with a tie out cable (which could be choking her) on a main road being her only form of exercise. This was already a abused dog and by being subjected to this environment only made her more frustrated and anxious and the aggression was just the way to express her frustration and pain. As dog owners we need to research dogs before getting them to make sure we can give them the best of care. This was clearly not done here.

Thank you Alex for the feedback. I'm proud of your efforts with your dogs and your commitment to the training and overall well being of your dogs. Thanks to your efforts your dogs are now doing great. It was a pleasure working with all of you.

Jill Thank you so much for the feedback. I really appreciate the kind words. It was so nice working with you and your family and to be able to help Charlie with his rehabilitation was so gratifying. I'm so proud of all of you including Charlie 💜🐶

Thank you Joe for the feedback. I greatly appreciate the kind words. It was my pleasure working with all of you. I'm proud of your efforts and commitment to Mosin's well being.