Name: Blizzard
Breed: American Pit Bull Terrier
Sex: Male
Age: 8 months
Duration: 4 week Board & Train
Reason for B&T: General obedience work / social skills
Background: Blizzard and his littermates were being sold on the side of the road at 4 weeks old when his family took him in. I met him that day and shared some concerns not only for his premature age, but also for his health. He appeared to have limited to no hearing and his ear canals were swollen shut still. I advised his family to seek a vet opinion ASAP.
As it turns out he is deaf - but that hasn't stopped him, or them. It has made working with him much harder for them however, so as he is bigger, stronger and very clever at avoiding situations he doesn't want to participate in...they have asked for my help.
What we are working on during his stay:
OWNERS REQUESTS:
* Basic Obedience - Sit, Down, Stay, Leave It - hand signal
* Jumping - jumps on people and furniture
* LLW- does not walk well on leash AT ALL
* Door Manners - stop bolting through open doors
* Anxiety - mild separation anxiety
I have worked with deaf and blind dogs before and love the challenge! Let's see what we can teach this big boy!
So Coco finished his month here and we hadn't gotten as far as I wanted with him. I offered his Mom another 2 weeks free since the first two weeks we couldn't do much training at all. These two weeks have really made a difference.
Somewhere around week 4 we started to turn a corner and look at him now!
He is so much more relaxed and calm. And his recall is amazing - even with farmyard distractions. His reaction to the doorbell was pretty severe - but we are working on that as well.
I think we are turning a little bit of the corner with Coco now - the anxiety is by no means gone, but he is not pacing all the time and has been able to settle nicely with Charlie inside.
We haven't been able to do much structured training at all due to the level of his anxiety - but his Mom wants him to stay and see if we can resolve some of this with him so we will see what the next few weeks show.
COCO: UPDATE
Boy did I ever speak too soon about Coco.
This poor boy has probably the most severe case of separation anxiety I have EVER seen.
I had to leave him for about 30 minutes yesterday and his owner said no crating so I left him in my bedroom. I never expected to come back to anything like this. He was soaked from his muzzle to his feet with drool. The floor was a pool of drool and footprints. The inside of the door was dirty at least 4ft high. He was out of his mind with panic.
I immediately called his Mom and she said yes she knew (but didn't tell me). Hmmmm.....
If I close a door between us the result is total chaos. He tries to bolt through doors to avoid getting left behind and will do so dangerously. He jumps and slams himself against the door, drooling profusely and crying. We are in for a long month!
CHARLIE: UPDATE
Charley has fit right in. She has been busy exploring and running out some of her energy.
Her "brother" Brooks is here for a few days boarding but he is more interested in toys and she is more interested in the other dogs! LOL
Name: Coco
Breed: Mini Poodle
Sex: Male
Age: 6 yrs
Duration: 4 week Board & Train
Reason for B&T: General obedience work / social skills
Background: Coco has been with his Mom since a pup. He has traveled with her through several moves and has taken several obedience classes. He hasn't had much socialization with people or dogs though outside of those classes. He seems to be a generally very settled dog who just needs to sharpen up on some basic manners and social skills. He doesn't seem bothered by too much at the farm so far.
What we are working on during his stay:
OWNERS REQUESTS:
* Basic Obedience Refresher- Sit, Down, Stay, Leave It
* Recall - owner says he has an unreliable recall and has not trusted him outside off leash
* Jumping - jumps on people and furniture
* Barking - alerts to every sight and sound, esp the door
* Dog Social Skills - doesn't really have any
* People Social Skills - has been known to nip
* Feeding - only eats people/table food
Sounds easy enough!
Name: Blizzard
