Update on RUGER1.... - Page 1

             Hello Everyone that's interested......

                        This past Saturday, we had a behavior trainer over to our home to work a bit with Prince. I was skeptical about her techniques and had my doubts about the effectiveness with Prince's stranger aggression. Anyway, to make a very long story short, things went tremendously positive. Prince was in his kennel in the dinning room when she arrived. She came in and talked with us and we watched a video about dogs body language. I really did learn a lot and was amazed at how badly I was  misreading Prince's body language. We were all sitting around the family room and she instructed me to open the cage and let Prince out. As I approached the cage he started barking in a way that I thought he intended to charge and bite the poor unsuspecting trainer...lol...she assured me his barking was excitement, not aggression and she was right. Prince walked up to her sniffed and began eating the chicken pieces out of her hand. In no time at all he was out the door walking around the yard enjoying her company. I was thinking that she must have thought I was a lunatic for even calling her...lol..lol...Things could not have worked out any better because my brother-in-law and nephew stopped by while she was outside with Prince. This would be a great way for the trainer to see Prince in action......Prince has not seen my nephew but once when he was a very young pup. The trainer put a pronged collar on Prince before she took him outside. As soon as Prince saw the two men approaching he did his typical bark and lunge.......POP...one time and he was all better....I think there was one other time that she corrected him that afternoon, but that was the extent of it. My brother-in law and nephew stayed the whole weekend and Prince never showed any aggression toward either one. GO FIGURE....The trainer said that Prince in her opinion is  very sound minded , smart and friendly. However, he has developed some bad habits that need corrected ASAP....

               I was suppose to start an obedience class at the Schutzhund club on Monday. The trainer works very closely with the AKC trainers that Prince and I have been with since very young puppy hood. She suggested that I stay with the AKC group until I become more confident with handling Prince and applying corrections when needed. Her opinion is to get Prince more socialized and more proofed with his basic obedience, then if I would like to get involved in a more specialized type of training/sport attend the Schutzhund club at that time..........

             Thanks for reading and I look forward to your thoughts, feelings and opinions........

                                                                                          Ruger1

Good news!  Thanks for the update.  Just remember to treat him like a dog and he should be fine.  So glad to hear you are making progress.

Hey Ruger1!

Sounds like you are on the right track!

I'm really glad you gave this update and that things are working out for the better, for which you deserve a lot of credit!

SteveO

YAY! Congratulations! Awesome job to realize you needed help with Ruger, and you got it! I am so happy for you. Good luck and keep up the great work! Theresa

Sounds like you picked a really smart trainer!! Good for you! 

                           Thanks for the comments...I am over joyed at Prince's progress and our working toward improving his behavior. I owe much of this positive moving forward to those on this board who encouraged me to keep moving forward with the training..... and being patient with my boy......Thanks     Ruger1