So, for a time, I went through the theory I had learnt through my dog training certificate, and I thought I was doing well. One of the issues I did not fully grasp at the time was that I was working at my pace, not Cooper’s.
We live in a world of Now-Now-Now. We want everything to happen instantaneously… when dealing with behaviour, this does not work. At this point, I was fully immersed in the Dunning-Kruger effect, I was yet to have my big wake-up call, and was ultimately over my head.
You will know I have trouble asking for help if you know me. I am nowhere near as bad as I was at the time. At that point, I was fiercely independent, my not-so-awesome trauma response to life lol. So, I carried on, ticking off boxes in my head while Cooper’s behaviour was escalating.
Another thing I was experiencing at this time of my life was what I refer to as my “hermit stage”. I was working a tonne and avoiding deeply interacting with people… Which added another layer to Cooper’s behavioural concerns. My need for isolation and his weariness of people were feeding off each other.
"Genetics load the gun, environment pulls the trigger."
- Dr. Mehmet Oz.
The Wake-Up Call
It took a significant wake-up call incident to break me out of my fairy tale and ways. Thankfully, Cooper was wearing a muzzle at the time, or it could have been a completely different situation.
While catching up with a friend, I walked out of the room to grab our dinner from the kitchen, he muzzle-punched a friend. We were both utterly shocked at the time, and we both waved it off and ate our dinner after I had put Cooper back into his crate.
It wasn’t until later that the total weight of this moment hit me. I realised I was in the pool’s deep end and had no idea how to swim. Cooper was willing to display aggression towards humans.
I cried for a week on and off. I spoke to the rescue group, friends and mentors, and I was a mess. I didn’t know what to do and thought the only solution at this point was euthanasia, and I could not bare it.
Learning How To Swim.
The rescue group offered to transfer him to another carer or back to the original property from which he came. I was not about to move this issue to another foster carer, and he certainly was not returning to the neglectful conditions I had picked him up from.
Thankfully, they put me in touch with the amazing Sharon, a clinical psychologist who is also a dog trainer and was a volunteer at the time. She was amazing and helped me so much. I don’t even know if she will ever fully understand the beautiful impact she had on me, which also impacted Cooper’s life. Sharon, I am eternally grateful for your guidance and friendship. Words will never be able to do my gratitude justice. She supported me in moving forward with Cooper and his training.
Coming Up With A Plan.
They also set me up with a Vet Behaviourist, and they were able to observe and see his intent. He was placed on medication to assist us with our training moving forward.
I spoke with a good friend, among the many, and set up a session with Trish Harris from Four Paws K9 Training, whom Cooper and I are so grateful to have in our lives. She was the straight shooter I needed at this moment, and I love her so much for it. She pointed out so much that I did not see with Cooper, I was clueless, and he was my trial-by-fire moment. I had to learn and learn fast if we were going to move forward. We created a plan, which included the realistic element that if there were no improvements by six months, we needed to assess realistically if the damage for Cooper had gone too far. If he hadn’t made any improvements within this period, euthanasia would need to be considered a possibility.
"Most of what people call aggression in dogs
is really just an inappropriate response to fear and uncertainty.
The way to address the problem is taking away the fear of the unknown,
by making it known."
- Dick Russell.
Putting On My Big Girl Pants!
Cooper is my heart dog; I had let him down in so many ways through my actions and inactions; now it was time to put my big girl pants on and take responsibility. I dried my tears and got to work!
I put out a call on Facebook. I needed consistent people to work with week in and week out, and thankfully two awesome chicks put their hands up. One was a friend with a Dog Walking business at the time. I booked in and paid her to be there to ensure that consistency. Another friend, who later became a housemate, I paid in chats and beers, lol.
Again, so much gratitude for these awesome chicks who later became Cooper’s first human friends aside from me. Cooper would later go for 30-minute walks with Emma and hang out on the couch with Kristy, but more later.
Be The Change.
We had our wake-up call and through that, I decided I would not let Cooper down again, and I have stuck to my guns. I can say with 100% certainty that I have made many mistakes along the way, and he is super forgiving of me, and we work through these with the support of many.
The thing to note is the fact that his behaviour got worse in those early days was a reflection on me, again, my actions and inactions. I was clueless, putting him into situations he was not comfortable with and hoping for the best.
I am sharing this story to help others avoid making the same mistakes with their dogs. For others to see a light at the end of the tunnel and for people to realise that if your dog’s behaviour worsens, you are the only one who can take action and ask for help.
I will have more of our journey in Part 3 xo.
For dog obedience training and behaviour modification services in Geelong, the Bellarine,
Surf Coast and Golden Plains regions, contact King’s K9 Dog Training.