Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Dakota, part 2

Just putting a collar and leash on him was a job. He obviously associated the collar with the pain of the prong collar, and would whip around and snap. Once I got the collar and leash on him, he would stand on his hind legs like a grizzly, paw at the lead, bite at the leash, and then try to bolt. I've trained 1200 pound horses that didn't put up that much fuss. We got it worked out, and taught him to sit and wait.

A couple of weeks into his stay, the owners decided they couldn't stand to give him up, but wanted to come visit and see if they could get him back. They were still remodeling and wondered if he could stay till it was done - not wanting to have to crate him at the inlaws. I told them it would be okay, only if they would come out and work with him with me. No "mommy" voices, no endless treats, no giving in when he was misbehaving. They agreed.

About six weeks later, Dakota weighed 90 pounds, and they were ready to take him home. They thanked me for helping them, and my response was that it was self defense. Shortly after that I took out a small life insurance policy - just in case there are more "sweet" and "playful" gigantic dogs headed my way.

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