Doggie Boot Camp

(Warning: Long post. Left handphone in office, so no photos)

We finally decided that for the sake of the nieghbourhood and the family, some of Chassard's ...er... less endearing habits had to go. Top of his list of sins was fighting with other dogs, jumping on people, pulling on the leash and food thieving (I really need to blog about this one day).

He's 7-years-old, mind you, and finding a trainer that would take him on was ridiculously difficult. As a neighbour very kindly told me, "Your dog is beyond help." Anyhow I managed to find a trainer who promptly told me that with a bit of work, he could still be trained. It was really a big relief as compliants about him have been mounting.

And training begins...
Chassard generally likes people once he knows they are welcomed by the family. Lance was no exception. I guess Chassie boy didn't know he would be spending the next hour in hard labour.

As a dog's bad behaviour stems from bad training, the rest of the family had to fall in as well. I soon realised that reversing Chass' habits of 7 years, meant reversing my habits of 30 years. Gulp! HELP!

This means no more giving in to his "pet me" face, no more free snacks, no more fussing if I accidentally step on his tail, and above all, no more asking him to hug me. You see, I've trained him to jump up, wrap his fore legs around my waist and rest his head on my tummy.

Cute, yes? But my mom's friends don't think so. So out that goes.

All in all, the first session consisted of making him take a snack only when we say he can (with a LEAVE command), jerking a coin-filled bottle when he jumps (with an OFF command), making him wait for everyone to walk through the door before he does (WAIT), and getting him to walk at our pace with SLOW.

The result?
Especially considering its the first lesson, I think it went really well. By the end, he was walking nicely by our side and didn't even need one correction! This morning, he was tugging on his leash and I used WAIT, and he stopped immediately and sat by my side.

OFF works a bit too well. I took Chass to the vet today who wanted to see how he stands on his hind legs. I tried my best to get him to jump on he and he absolutely refused! He even had the "this is a trick, right?" look.

He still needs some work on LEAVE, but once he gets it, we'll be able to use that whenever he is distracted by other dogs on walks. Yay!

AND...throughout the whole session he didn't even growl once or show any displeasure at being disciplined!!! Double yay!!!

Trainer's verdict?
The trainer, as it turns out, specialises in behavioural problems especially in aggressive dogs. He takes on dogs who bite and lunge at their owners or have killed other dogs in a fight. He said Singapore has a lot of really aggressive dogs.

After he heard the list of greviences against the black one and spent 1.5 hours with him, he said that Chassie is fine (woohoo!) and that I should see some of the other dogs he trains. He also said that I made him sound really bad on the phone. Aiyah, trying not to be blinded to his flaws mah.

Chassard may be just another mongrel but he's proving that old dogs can learn new tricks. He does have all his flaws but I'm still proud to say that he's my dog and the family's fuzziest loved member.