This beauty here is my best girl Ginger Bread. She was my Christmas gift to myself in 2011. When I first brought her home I went to the pet store and picked up the necessities. Dog bowls, puppy chow, collar, leash and training guides. I chose Raising the Perfect Puppy by Cesar Millan. Ginger was my first pit bull, so I believed that she needed a heavier hand then most breeds. What did I know?? Thats what was widely accepted and so I just went with it. I followed the guide to a T(minus the roll, I never felt that was right) and I did have a well behaved pit bull. Ive got this, i thought. I eat before her and she must preform for any treat she gets, shes not allowed in or out doors before me, she has to sit and wait before I let her get into bed, I give her permission for EVERYTHING! She didnt get to make any decisions using the brain she was given, it was always me telling her what to think. Ginger wasnt The Perfect Bully though. She was given the nickname the destroyer. Everytime she was left out while we were working shed chew up shoes, pillows, COUCHES, anything she could get her little paws on. Id come home and start yelling and carrying on and punish her the only way I knew how, the only way I was taught. Id hold her face and smack her butt, pretty hard too. She needed to know I AM GOD! I am the reason you are here and in an instant I can make you disappear! That didnt work though, she was still constantly pooping in the house while we were gone, or chewing up something vital(like my only pair of glasses). So she was punished, every time I came home she was punished. It became a common trend, I come home, yell at and hit the dog, throw her in the pen, and make her wait it out an hour before she was allowed to come out. Even then she wasnt allowed to cuddle w me, she needed to EARN my love and respect. It wasnt just GIVEN!! Then one day I came home and Ginger had chewed up a pair of my flip flops. I look for my dog, bc my goodness she is gonna get it!! I go to find her and she is COWERING in the bathtub, and thats when it hit me like a ton of bricks. My dog isnt listening bc she respects me. Shes listening bc she is terrified of me... WOW!! What the hell have I done?!? This is my puppy!! I LOVE HER!! And shes afraid of me?? This isnt what I wanted!! I wanted a dog that listened, yes, and Ginger did listen. She could hold a sit and stay in the middle of a crowded pet shop at 4 months no problem. Everyone told me how well she behaved whenever we went anywhere. But at what cost?? My dog didnt trust me, and that broke my heart. That day, I called her to me, cuddled, and cried!! From that day on I promised her I would NEVER treat her like that again. I started doing research and found out that this method had been disproved and shown to break a dogs spirit faster then anything. And I fell for it... A few months of positive, mama loves you and youre not in trouble went by and Ginger was beginning to trust me. Anytime I would raise my voice(not at her specifically) she would lay down and show her stress signals. It was going to take awhile to undo what I had done, but I was going to do it!! I broke her, I HAD to fix her!! Unfortunately, I didnt have the time I thought I did. A few months later I was at my exs house and one of his roommates accidentally let her out while we went shopping. Since she was raised in fear instead of confidence, she wouldnt come back to them no matter how much they tried. By the time we got back to the house Ginger was gone and I was heartbroken. I spent the next 2 days looking for my dog, but it was too late. She had been hit on the highway close to his house. A little over a month passed and I decided I needed a new puppy, I was in a deep depression and would wake up at night sobbing, reaching for my puppy, bc I could still feel her there beside me. I needed to do something, and under my moms assurance and pleading I went and got a beautiful, playful red nose. So this is the SECOND puppy Ive trained in a year. They were both socialized properly, spayed at a young age(4 months) and got just as spoiled(with material items) as the other. The ONLY difference is Holly was raised the positive way. I made a promise to myself, Ginger, and Holly, that I would NEVER punish another dog when I came home before telling her how great she is and how much I loved her. I took away the BEST part of a dogs day from Ginger. She dreaded me coming home rather then being excited about it. And Ive kept that promise to this day. So anyone who says dominance training is what they do in the wild. Or that its the only way to do it is either A.misinformed like I was or B.too lazy to let your dog work through it. Its the easy way out, Holly still jumps on visitors, she still runs and greets ppl on the street when I ask her to stay(working on it and getting better). But she looks at me a way Ginger never did. She TRUSTS me. She looks to me for support and her confidence is out of this world! It breaks my heart to know I broke my big beautiful brindles spirit. But I am so grateful she taught me the error in my ways. She was the best thing to happen to me, I love both my girls with all my heart. I just wish I couldve had Ginger long enough to see that mama did truly love her, but glad when she left me, she knew I wasnt always scary. That I could be fun!! #thinkpositivebcm
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 21:26:37 +0000