 "I talk to him when I'm lonesome like; and I'm sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that."
- W. Dayton Wedgefarth
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Tonight's session with Rocco focused on Come When Called. We put him on a long line and let him wander off and sniff, then called him. To my surprise he came rather quickly. The only thing we had to work on was his finish, and by the end of the session he was automatically sitting at our feet. Good job Rocco.
 A few weeks ago Apollo greeted me like he wanted to rip my face off. Today his entire body was 'wagging'! I can't stress enough the power of positive association. We then proceeded to teach him Wait, Stay, and Come When Called. He's getting better every day.
 "Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job."
- Franklin P. Jones  I was contacted about Copper because he is becoming increasingly aggressive towards strangers. When I arrived he was in his crate and I immediately greeted him with a shower of cheese. After a few minutes I let him out and he was basically ok. Copper is a well- trained young dog, but he is very excitable and a bit anxious around new people. With some desensitization and counter-conditioning he can be a great dog for this young family.
Shelby, a 2-year old Lab/Corgi mix, was recently adopted and has some pottying and chewing issues. We went over some techniques to improve her reliability of going outside, and we taught her Leave It to help curb the chewing. We also discussed how to manage these issues to reduce their frequency. Shelby is a very sweet dog who will do well in her new home.
 I haven't seen Sara for 2 weeks and she has gotten so big! She is such a sweet girl. She learned Leave It tonight, as well as Wait and Stay. Sara is so smart and such a quick learner.
Boss, a 9-month old Shih Tzu/Yorkshire Terrier mix, has a pretty severe fear of new people. He growls, barks, lunges, and snaps at the mere presence of strangers. I immediately began a counterconditioning program. By the end of the night I was able to sit a couple of feet away without him barking. Doesn't sound like much, but it was major progress in an just an hours' time.
Rocco is doing very well with his Sit and Down, as well as Leave It. Tonight we taught him Wait and Stay. Rocco was very distracted to start and wouldn't stay for a second, but we kept at it and by the end of the session he was staying put while we left the room. We also introduced the Relaxation Protocol for his hyperactivity.
Rommel is a 10-month old German Shepherd who shares a home with 2 senior Jack Russell Terriers, Abby and Zoey. Rommel, being a youngster, wants to play with Abby and Zoey, but they want no part of him. It has gotten to the point that whenever Rommel even moves Zoey growls and snaps to keep Rommel away, and it has caused a very upsetting household. Today we taught Rommel the Leave It command which his owners will use when he starts bothering the other dogs, and we worked on desensitizing and counterconditioning the other dogs so they are not so anxious when Rommel is around.
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AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, FFCP, CTDI Archives
February 2021
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