Keeping Positive!

Willie has now been with us for a little over a year. There were many tears, and lots of laughs. The tears were due to the frustration of Willie's incessant crazy behavior. There were days when he just would not stop nipping. Whenever he wasn't getting his way he would literally throw a temper tantrum. I found ignoring him was the trick, and then quickly praising him when he would gain control. Willie was a tough case, but I never once wanted to re-home him. I knew that I just had to go the extra mile with him, and that eventually his antics would fade away.

I did attempt to bring in a trainer, I talked to a few, and went with this guy out of Strongsville. Once he arrived for our first training session I quickly realized that the methods he used were not the methods I would ever use or even recommend. He firmly believed that you must make your dog submit to you. He even wanted us to use a choke collar with the prongs on it during training sessions. As soon as he brought that collar out I immediately made him put it away. From that moment on I knew this hour was going to be a long one, and I couldn't wait for him to leave. Willie of course was over excited, and was bouncing around all over the place, and the trainer immediately grabbed onto his leash and jerked it; which made Willie stop bouncing around, but also made him fear this man that had come into our house. I do not believe harming a puppy will make him respect you more. In fact I firmly believe it will only make your dog distrust, and fear you. I definitely did not want Willie thinking that he could not trust me. I let the trainer finish up the hour with Willie, and was happy to see him go.

After that day I did a lot of research on positive puppy training and the great affects it had on a dogs behavior. I began working with these training techniques and after months of daily training Willie went from a crazy dog to a more relaxed pup! Certainly there are still times where Willie will regress into his old ways by nipping when he is excited, nervous, or stressed. He will still grab at the leash trying to get me to join in the fun and games while on a walk. In those times I just have to remind myself that I need to stay calm, ignore him, and then quickly praise or treat him when he settles. Finally in the last Month or so I saw a wonderful side in Willie that reinforced my belief that he is going to be a great dog. On our walk we came across three little girls ages 3-5 playing in their driveway, and Willie approached them and immediately laid down, rolled onto his back, and was begging them to come over and rub his belly. I tensed up slightly, but immediately relaxed when I looked down at him with all three little ones petting, prodding, and poking him, and he seemed to have a smile on his face. Before we continued on I gave the girls each a treat to give to Willie, so that he will always associate them as something positive!

At a year and three months Willie has come a long way, but I know that training is for life, and must always be conducted in a positive manor.