Pepper loves her hair ball! (Blatant plug for clicker training here.....) I got Pepper from a kill shelter in Chicago when she was about ten months old. She had been there for 45 days. She had been a stray on the streets, living out of dumpsters for five months before they caught her. Total survival mode during the critical puppy socialization periods. Plus she was listed on their website as a pit bull mix. Yikes! Guess they had never seen an ACD? Pepper bit three people in the first weeks we had her. She got me in the neck, my husband in the hand, and my friend has a bite scar on her stomach, my dog was trying to kill her two year old daughter and she blocked the lunge. Needless to say, this dog was on her last chance. One more bite and she was done. I hired a trainer to come to the house, and he told me she was out of control. He tried to give her collar corrections with a choke chain (with commands she obviously didnt know), and she turned around and attacked him. Got his pants and ripped them. I fired him. Then I started researching. I figured Pepper had zero respect for anyone who manhandled her, and I looked at force free training. Long story short, clicker training saved this dogs life. She has graduated from advanced obedience and rally o. She is off leash trained and does tricks. The picture above was taken the day she gave me the ultimate proof I had make the right choices for her. We were out walking in town and some guy in a delivery truck started pounding on something in the back of the truck, sounded like gunshots. At the first shot, she fell off the retaining wall. The second one sent her under my car. The third caused her to slip her harness and run for the Main Street. I crouched down, heart in mouth, and called her. She stopped dead, turned to look at me (at the busy street), then ran back and jumped into my arms. Together we jumped into my car, me crying hysterically, her panting from fear of the noises. I figure any dog who is well trained enough to recall when in a haze of fear was trained the right way. I am so proud of her. I called my trainer and thanked her for being so awesome, and putting up with me while I learned to be a good handler. Pepper is still a typical ACD, she thinks strangers are suspicious, and she still hates kids, but she ignores them and plays at what she does best, Velcro to mom!
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 21:10:21 +0000
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