Lorenzo is a 5 year old Chow mix with his adversary Teddy a 11 year old Chow. This household is getting too much for their owner. Since the passing of Kirby a large black shepherd things have just gone totally wrong.

Their owner had invited several trainers and behaviorists to her home with absolutely no success whatsoever. By the time I got there these guys didn't know whether they were supposed to bark, growl, roll over or sleep.

This particular issue was not only confusing to the dogs, but their owner as well. Everything had to be undone to fix this issue and started from scratch.


Lorenzo



Both dogs were so used to being pumped with chicken they were loving training and yet the issue of aggression had never been confronted. We gradually removed the delicious treat and replaced it with ..... NOTHING.

It's not that you shouldn't spoil your pets, but because these dogs were so confused why they were being treated, it was better to confront these outbursts head on and make them realize what exactly a consequence is.

This process took several visits and more training the owner on how to become the thing that her shepherd represented to the boys. The one thing they both had in common was the fact that their beloved owner was the center of these fights. They wanted her attention and they were willing to come to blows (or bites) over her.

We had learned the processes used to overcome some of these issues so in the interim we used those methods to affirm a consequence for each action.

Body language is something that dogs communicate with most of the time and we were to focus on that in order to make them respond to presence and pay attention.

It took quite some time and involved removing not only treats, leashes, partitions and baby gates, but removing the owner as well. It soon became known that by turning your back on them they would behave. Of course this and added structure helped the situation immensely.

As fierce as Lorenzo would look, he was a big baby. A dog with a mind of his own, but a strong love for his master. This mixed in with taking charge again is what led to the solution.

I received a call from her and she sent me the picture below. This was the first time in months she had been able to enjoy them in peace and felt more and more relaxed as days went by.