It’s been a long while since I blogged and I think the isolation created by the pandemic and the incredible influx of people and puppies has created a space to resume this activity. I’m almost 65 and I’ve never been busier as a dog trainer. Dogs bring comfort - there’s no argument to be made in reference to that statement. That said, people in isolation often make rash decisions to get what they think they want and need without doing the requisite research. This brings me to Bentley.
Bentley is a 7-month old beautiful Boxer pup. His owner is a lovely guy, a professional HR consultant - I imagine to be in his mid to late 30’s. He lives in Seattle and works a lot. He hasn’t had the time nor the expertise to give his incredibly energetic and misbehaving pup the clear and firm direction that he needed. So, that’s where I come in and boy, do I have my work cut out for me. When I first met Bentley and his owner, Joe, I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. At 6-months, he was already over 30 pounds and growing fast. By the time he got delivered for the start of his 4-week board & train he’s probably a good 40 lbs. He’s got all the normal boxer puppy behaviors, ie: wiggle butt syndrome, can’t sit still when asked, is like a bull in a china shop (so all the pottery had to be put away), selective hearing, and ignoring what’s asked of him, and the list goes on. But, in addition to that, I found out he has a fairly developed resource guarding instinct and has now tried to bite me a few times over the marrow bone that his owner brought him to keep him occupied. He also started charging my two docile dogs at the feeding areas in and around the food bowls. No Bueno!
He intermittently harasses my 16-year old, 40 pound and 6 pound poodle mixes. The former tolerates it and says nothing, the little guy, Rudy, schools him like he’s a big dog and (believe it or not) is instrumental in putting Bentley in his place. This is good, since he came with a tendency to harass small dogs. In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to talk about the ways that I’m both training Bentley and also coping with this very lovable but very active and naughty pup.