I met Emma the Bull Terrier, who was nearly 11 years old, just after she had an incident with another dog while walking on-leash in her neighborhood with her person, Katie. Emma had always had aggression issues with other dogs, and she was also a bit territorial around her house when company would come over. She also did not walk well on a leash, which was a bit problematic in their new neighborhood, since Emma had taken a particular liking to the berries that dropped from the trees that lined the street. She would pull Katie all the way across the street to get to them, often gorging herself, and many times she would get sick later on.
All that being said, Emma is also a great, loving dog and fits my saying, “there are no bad dogs, just poor decision makers” to a “t”. She had been Katie’s loyal companion for many years and up until the latest dog incident, Katie had just taken the good with the bad. She had learned to live with Emma’s issues, but the last incident had been the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Katie called me to see if there was anything that could be done to help Emma.
When I met Emma, she intimidated me a bit. Bull Terriers are extremely powerful dogs, and knowing her history of being territorial and protective in her home, I gave her a great deal of respect. At the same time, however, I explained to Katie that if she were willing to take my suggestions and do the work to help Emma overcome her aggression issues, they would be able to do many more things together which would be much more fun for both of them.
My opinion is that dog training happens equally on both ends of the leash, and after teaching Katie some new handling techniques, I suggested to her that she not take Emma into problematic situations, such as on walks when they might encounter other dogs, until she felt comfortable handling the situation calmly. This took a few weeks, but when I returned for our second session, we were able to walk Emma around the neighborhood past other dogs, and even past her favorite “berry buffet” spot, without her paying any attention at all! I noticed how much calmer Emma was when I came to the house, and Katie let me know that her aggression level with visitors had decreased considerably.
We did our fourth session at a popular nearby park where there are always dozens of dogs walking with their people, and I’m happy to say that both Emma and Katie did great! Emma barely paid any attention to the nearby dogs, where before she would bark and lunge aggressively at them, which of course made everyone uncomfortable. This time, Katie handled Emma with complete confidence! At the end of our session, Katie told me that she was looking forward to taking Emma there again, which is something she never dreamed would have been possible since they had always avoided situations where there might be other dogs around. I’d like to think that this improves the quality of life for both of them.
Many people that have dogs with severe issues will often just adjust their lifestyle to accommodate them – simply “managing” their behavior. I commend Katie for taking the steps to help Emma even though she’s an older dog. The changes they’ve made will allow Emma to live out the rest of her (hopefully many) years doing many more things and going a lot more places with her best friend!
You will not be disappointed with my Columbus Dog Training program! Give me a call at 614.347.9127 to learn more and set up an initial consultation!