PacwestK9

Guinness is the name of our German Rottweiler. He is the first dog I have ever owned and as a pediatric psychiatric nurse, I tried to transfer those skills in raising my dog. Let me be clear- This. Does. Not. Work. When Guinness was 10 weeks old I did not heed the advice of my friends to, “get that dog trained before he eats somebody.” I thought, “Guinness?! No. He’s just a baby and would NEVER hurt someone!” Well fast forward one year and Guinness got kicked out of two doggie daycares, one veterinarian refused to see him again until he was neutered, he put holes in four different peoples pants, bit a veterinarian tech and wound up on a 10 day quarantine, and tried to attack multiple people, strollers, and cars. Mind you, this was a gradual progression. I began our training at PetSmart and he was an all star in the class at just 5 months old. As his bad behaviors increased I tried Positive Approach and that was as good as useless because it was all treat training with “ignoring bad behavior and rewarding positive behavior.” This approach may work for none working dogs or dumb dumbs. Not Guinness. He is a machine and smarter than some people I know so ignoring his bad behavior just made him think he was Alpha. He was like, “Oh you aren’t gonna say anything when I bark at people in the street? No? Ok b****, I guess I’m in charge!” I was about to give him away, as he was interfering with my work life and prevented me and my boyfriend from having guests over to the house. The quality of life for us was rapidly declining and the dream of having a dog turned into a nightmare reality show. I called PacWest K9 and set up a meeting with Gina. My boyfriend and I both went to the meet and greet. Gina was very calm and she noted that Guinness just needed leadership. She basically said our dog was aggressive because he was anxious and insecure, he was not a lost cause, and he needed a reset. So, we handed him over to her for a month. She trained him, worked on obedience, confidence building, and corrected negative behaviors like lunging at anything on wheels and people in crowds. When we got him back he was very calm and looked at me for direction for almost everything. Gina went on walks with me and taught me how to walk him, how and when to put tension on the leash, and how his tail, ears, and eyes communicated to me how he was feeling. I’ll never forget taking him to the Proctor farmers market one Saturday and having a teenage girl approach us. Normally I would have yelled at her not to approach and ran away, but this day I told Guinness to sit. Guinness sat and I told the girl that he was in training and had a history of aggression. Normally Guinness would not even let me have a conversation with someone but this day he did and he just sat there looking at me and then back at her. I told Guinness to “say hi” and he wagged his tail, licked her hand, and let her PET HIM!!! I almost died right there on the spot. We ended that meeting with a big treat and lots of praise. Guinness is still a ton of work but with Gina and her new PupFit trainer Michael and my new found knowledge of working-dog ownership Guinness is a happy and manageable dog. He is not the type of dog I will ever be able to take off leash to a park full of children or anything, but he is a great protector and at almost 2 he is turning into quite the gentleman. Gina is the best dog trainer, because she is practical and logical. If you have a dog with aggression issues or adjustment disorders I highly recommend PacWest K9 for your training needs. Also, never get a Rottweiler as a first time dog owner. ;o)