Mandy is an adorable lab/golden/hound mix that was rescued from an unfortunate family situation. Mandy came in with what the owner felt was leash aggression. The actual problem appears to be an over reaction to dogs who tell her to back off. Mandy gets so worked up wanting to play, and then her defense drive kicks in if a dog says "uh no, I don't really know you that well". This is because Mandy goes full tilt boogey into a reactive greeting. She is really a very easy dog. This is a dog that has shown a few aggressive behaviors, but mostly reactive behaviors. Mandy is going to be returned home to a more active and free life, and with much more trust in her handlers:) She goes home at the end of next week, and her owner is traveling down from Canada to do a few days of training with us. Mandy's owner had been working it her on socialization at home, but found the very strong Mandy too physically taxing to continue doing it her self and be safe. Mandy was very close to being returned to the rescue before her owner finding Mannerly Mutts. This would have been a real shame, because ultimately dog and owner will be fine together, and they both love each other. 
Zoey is a 15 month old GSD female who has gotten about four bites in on dogs. She had a traumatic experience herself early on, so some of what she shows is defense drive. Since the nips have been all around the ears or so, this dog is trying to show some self control. Zoey has displayed resource guarding issues around other dogs, and has only had minimal training previously which did not result in a dog that could be walked easily around the neighborhood on leash. The family has had many dogs in the past, but had just needed to do the minimum in training. Zoey has an optomistic future, as her owner has been working diligently with her. Here is what her owner recently wrote to us after lesson 2 " We encountered some dogs in yards on our walk and I was successful making her sit and down instead of barking and pulling. It was wonderful." Zoey's owner is very committed, even though she was pressured by family to give Zoey up. Due to the committment displayed, we are very optomistic about Zoey's future and remaining within the family (and the family liking her). Zoey's owner found out about us due to a past client recomending us.
Kitty is a super cute 6 month old Springer. Her owner brought her here because she thought Kitty was fearful, but Kitty just got the puppy jitters when someone scared her at the office. Kitty spends a lot of time with her owner at work. This cute Springer girl actually ends up being a confident well rounded puppy, who is enjoying training very much. She is going to turn out just fine. Springers are so darned cute, no wonder they almost always lord it over their owners:)
Nellie is a hound mix that was a bit fearful, and used to running away from her owners when let loose. She is coming along very nicely, and I see her owners all the time working with her in the neighborhood. It makes me smile just to think about it. Another dog that will do just fine.
Just about all the cases above have something in common, besides the fact that these are all female dogs. None of these dogs were ever formally shown how to follow. Nellie when inside the house or on the leash, actually does follow her owners gladly. It's off the leash when she can be a naughty girl, and scare her owners by running out of sight for minutes at a time. The puppy Springer, Kitty, is just in the perfect place to learn this right now. Zoey and Mandy were very much in need of this to keep their homes. Both dogs are already happier now that the conflict is gone, and the handler or owners can give them more freedom and exercise.
And today, Miss Gigi is coming to board, and give Mandy some pointers on what she has learned about proper canine etiquette!
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