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| - I called Bark Busters for help because my 4 year old lab, Al, had some severe behavioral issues. The worst, and most worrisome, was his food aggression. He has lunged at me, growling and snapping, because I've tried to take his empty food bowl away to put up (otherwise he would guard it all day). He also had ZERO manners.
I live on an acre of land and twice this year, while walking him outside to do his business, he saw some animal in the front yard and tore off after them. I'm 4'10 and he is more than half my weight so the first time that happened he drug me through the entire yard full of rocks and cacti. My ankle was sprained and I was covered in pretty bad cuts and scrapes. The second time I was lucky and he slammed me into my car so I was able to get a hold on him.
Recently I took him to our vet and it was PACKED full of dogs in the waiting room. Usually my boyfriend comes with me so he can control Al but this time it was just me. He was barking and dragging me all over the place trying to get to the other dogs. One dog was not so friendly and barked at Al and Al just lost it and tried to lunge after the other dog. He almost got away but I was able to pin him against the front desk and the wall, holding him there with my full body weight. I cried when I finally got into a room.
Al had severe dominance issues and would try to instigate fights with dogs. I had to get rid of another dog I had because he would pester her and corner her to the point of her attacking him. He has tried to mark people who came into my house. He snatched food from people. If I tried to pet my cats he would come over and hit them with his paws until they ran away. He would do the same if someone brought their baby over and he was no longer the center of attention. There was never any peace because he always had to be RIGHT on me whenever I did anything, especially sit on the couch. He would paw me and slam into me with his body if I wasn't paying attention to him. He chewed his toys on me, which often led to him accidentally biting me as he chewed on his toys. He jumped on people when they came in the door so I had to crate him every time the door bell rang. He'd lunge out the front door. He was just a mess.
Then Michelle came over and taught me how to work with him and how to speak his language. She taught me exercises that would teach him personal space, leash etiquette, and front door management. She taught me how to work out his food aggression. She taught me how to get him to respect me as the dominant one. From the very first day of working with him, he showed so much improvement. It was stressful for him and wore him out, but he really grasped the training. I was just amazed at the results. It's been a few weeks, and we've had some kinks, but Al has improved so much. I can actually pet him now while he's eating. He's so much more calm. Michelle came by today and even commented on how well he'd improved. I'm so happy with her and I am so grateful that she's been so helpful. There have been plenty of times where I've texted her with questions and she texts back pretty quickly, even at night. Michelle has made such a world of difference.
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