Meet Dorothy & RavenDorothy called Beyond The Leash last month because she was having a little trouble with Raven. Raven is a wonderful one hundred and fifty pound, two year old Newfoundland that still acts like a six month old puppy.
Dorothy needed a trainer to come to her home for training sessions. Raven is a very strong and enthusiastic dog that had already knocked Dorothy down with her jumping and playfulness. Keep in mind that although these two are a bit of a mismatch, this is Dorothy's fourth Newfoundland. This is her favorite breed and I fully understand a person's devotion to one breed or another. The problem was that if Raven decided to run down the street or even pull on the leash for that matter, Dorothy does not have the physical strength to hold her back. Raven had been through puppy classes and actually was involved in a board & train program at one time, so most of the basics were in place. We just needed more reliability and less reactivity to the environment. I knew I could get Raven to that point and then Dorothy could safely manage her dog. After that, the two of them could really start enjoying life more by getting out into the world together.
We started off with just creating a simple routine of putting a leash on Raven and making her sit at the door before going out and sitting outside the door after passing through. This level of control was needed to keep Raven focused on Dorothy and to break the old habit of just charging out into the yard and going into crazy play mode (I did the same stuff with my young dog Cane). Next we worked on heeling around the backyard. From there we worked on sitting at the gate that goes to the street and sitting outside the gate. At this point after about four weeks of training Dorothy is able to put the leash on Raven and take her out for a walk in the neighborhood. Our next hurdle is teaching Raven to control herself before getting in the car. She LOVES going in the car for a ride through Peabody, MA so this is very stimulating for her. We are making progress in leaps and bounds. Every time I arrive for a training session I see Dorothy's confidence and competence getting better.
It really makes me feel good to help someone like Dorothy. She had already spent considerable time and money with other trainers in the area. It was simply a case of finding the right training approach for this team. Dorothy's strong commitment to seeing this training through has made working with her a real pleasure. I look forward to video taping the two of them in the future and posting that video to this blog.
Stay Tuned and Enjoy Happy & Safe Training!
