Sapphire is my love and nemesis- I am his guardian and he is stubborn- big strong- and beyond a bully... It took me months to get him to do down without him trying to bite me.... EVERY LONG MONTH has been worth it to see this look in his eyes. When the "down" command was NOT coming along - I had to stop and ask why- it was trust. I did not have his trust- so we backed up- and I focused on my trust games with him... and WE GOT it... we did it together and our bond is stronger than ever- it has been almost a year- and it has taken a long time- while sapphire "loved me" immediately - sapphire HATED to be told NO- and that was where things got rough at times... I stayed in it- focused on the trust- and now I got him-. Now he is becoming the dog I knew he could be.. In adopting Saph I realized he is one of the most challenging dogs I have ever faced- he has a LONG way to go- but we are getting there one step at a time- There were days I wanted to give up- but I remembered- DOGS NEVER give up on people- so we can never give up on our dogs. When I stand with my clients- I know the challenges you face. I know what it is like to have been afraid of your dog... I know what it is like - to forfeit summer plans for a dog... I know what it is like to be so frustrated you sit down and cry... I know how annoying the 15 minutes 3x a day can be when you are busy... I GET IT
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:08:18 +0000