Need serious input!

[Dixieland Dancer]

I have a German Shep puppy in my class, she started the intermediate level tonight. Holly is now 6 months.

Several red flags catch my eye in this post. I'll try to address them all....

First, why is a 6 month old puppy in an intermediate level training class? At 6 months they should be in a basic class working on polishing and refining the basic commands any dog needs to be a good canine citizen. Just because a dog completes one class should not mean they are ready to move on to another class.

Holly is a strong headed little girl who prefers to NOT listen to mom and dad when they ask her to sit, come, stay, etc. But they are (were?) really working with her and I was starting to see some real progress.

They may of been working with her but apparently when classes stopped, so did they. A puppy needs continuous work no matter what. I would stress to both of them (hopefully one of them will listen) that it only takes 15 minutes a day twice a day to reinforce learning behaviors at home and that no matter how busy they are, they have to find the time. A dog who will NOT listen to basic commands indicates to me the dog never fully understood what it was being asked to do.

I saw Holly last week. She seemed fine, a little wilder than usual but mom and dad said it was because she was crated more since they were busy moving boxes. That was a completely understandable reason.

I saw Holly tonight. I was APPALED..... Now, I was thinking the move upset her. Then we figure in that she's been left alone more than she's been used to. Then add in the fact that she back to living with the woman who initially abused her as a tiny pup. Perhaps she's about to go into heat? Perhaps our hot and hmid weather is affecting her?

It's not a completely understandable reason to me! Why is the dog crated just because they are moving boxes? Even when my life is out of control, I make the time to exercise my dogs, especially if they are puppies! It's a committment to have a dog! I could understand if someone was in the hospital or dying or very sick and couldn't give time, but moving boxes is not a valid excuse for neglecting a puppy. If they can use that as an excuse now, what will the excuse be later? You need to stress the importance of exercising the pup both mentally and physically.

This problem is not because the dog may be going into heat. This is a plain out problem of not enough interaction with the dog and proper understanding of training (or committment to training) of the mom and dad! As the trainer, don't make excuses for them or look for excuses for them.

I was upset aout this abrupt change in Holly and stayed after class discussing the change with her parents. They left with me promising to look into why she might be reacting so badly.

I applaud you for your efforts but as a trainer, you need to realize there is only so much you can do. This entire problem SCREAMS out to me that the mom and dad may of had good intentions in rescuing the dog originally but those good intentions died when life got in the way. How far do you have to look into why she might be reacting so badly before you realize it's because she is not getting positive reinforcement for doing good things at home? It's really not your responsibility to look into it. It's theirs! They need to work harder if they want a good pup. I always tell people in our beginning class, right from the start, there are NO BAD DOGS, only bad owners! I then stress if your dog has a problem, it's because you haven't worked at the problem from the right angle yet. While basic dog training does provide a foundation for training, it is not a one size fits all solution. Each dog has it's own individual needs and the owner needs to determine what they are. That's why it's called homework! It needs to be done in a positive light or the dogs will rebel and display inappropriate behavior as you are seeing. Just as in skin kids, the older they get without proper intervention and correction, the worse they get.

Then.......


my coworker approached me after they left. She said she saw the husband PUNCH Holly in the FACE!!!!!! I could cry. I can't believe he would do that since I've watched him work so well with her. She's come so far. But I AHVE to believe my coworker since she'd never lie about somethign like that. Could it be that he's frustrated with her new behavior and he reacted only once like that? Could it be that he's been steadily hitting her and nobody's been witness to it?

Unfortunately, you can only deal with what you know are the issues. It is possible that what she thinks she saw may of been something completely different. I am not saying your coworker is lying to you, I'm just saying that you can not address this issue with the mom and dad unless you personally are witness. I never work off of hearsay. Too many times I get accused of saying or doing something that someone interpreted wrong. I WOULD keep an eye open though for the slightest possible sign that abuse is happening. If he is abusing the dog, you will know it by the way he works the dog.

What do I say to him? HOW do I say it? I have to say something if he's been seen hitting her. Its my responsibility as a positive trainer to say something - even if its not in my job description I can't personally ignore abuse.

HELP.

You DO NOT have to say anything to him. If you do, you may lose your edge to help the dog. First off, you are going from hear say and not actually witnessing it. Can you imagine if you went to talk to a defense lawyer.... Did you actually see him hit the dog? Well, no sir but my friend did. What exactly did you friend see? He punched the dog in the face. Was it a direct punch? How hard was the punch? I'm not sure, sir. I didn't actually witness the punch. What angle was your friend standing when she witnessed this punch? Is it possible it could of just seemed like a punch from where she was standing but was actually more of a brush? Was the gentlemans hand completely closed? I think you see where I am going with this....

What I would do in this case.... I would offer to work with them individually. A few private sessions should give you a clearer indication of what is really going on. Suggest they come 1/2 hour or 45 minutes earlier before the group class. Charge them accordingly. If you do it for free, you lose your professionalism. If they only stay for part of the group class that's ok. The pup still needs to be around other dogs and situations.

Your task.... You need to stress the importance of homework (working on what was taught in class at home, no matter what) and physical exercise. You need to stress the committment they made when they decided to rescue the dog. Refer them to good reading material in dog training. I strongly recommend clicker training and any of Karen Pryor's books on positive dog training, especially, Don't shoot the dog!

Whatever you do, don't go by emotion but by what you know works! Getting emotional will wear you down faster than anything else I can think of. If these people are genuinely interested in their dogs best behavior they will listen to you like you are reading them the Bible.

There are NO BAD DOGS, only bad handlers! If I have a problem with my dog, it's not his fault, it's mine for not teaching them a better way. I stress this in every one of my classes because if the owner realizes it's on their shoulders, they may think twice before surrendering their dog to a shelter later in life for bad behavior.

Experience is the best teacher and you will see a lot more of this if you continue to train dogs. Remember you can't save the whole dog world but perhaps a few pieces of it!