Yesterday I received some of the worst news possible as a professional dog trainer. First a little history on this particular dog. A few years ago I was called about working with an aggressive male Rottweiler. The dog was described as a complete danger to society that could not be helped. As someone that has worked with many aggressive Rottweilers and also raised Rottweilers, I was very concerned about this case. A dominant male Rotty can be one of the most difficult dogs to deal with when they go bad. The dog was owned by an elderly couple. Within minutes of arriving at their home I was handling the dog and instantly started building a relationship. This was not an aggressive dog, but he was definitely too much dog for this couple, unless they decided to get serious about training. I immediately started teaching the dog and the owners. I started e collar training day one and focused more on the owners as I always do in the beginning. The dog took to it beautifully. Very quickly this dog was admitted to group classes where he shined. No aggression toward people or dogs and learned quickly, I loved this dog very much. Unfortunately the owner would not give this dog what he needed and was not consistent in doing what I asked and it was obvious when I would see him trying to control the dog. Fast forward a couple years later. The dog was more out of control due to not being worked with and no structure in the home. I recommended an e collar with more of a punch and suggested we get very serious about the training. It’s the only time I have ever suggested a stronger e collar but I knew that this was going to be the only way this elderly couple would be able to control this dog due to his strength, size, and high drive. Plus it would give the owners more confidence to get out and work the dog. Once again my instructions were not followed. I suggested we find a better home for the Rotty, a home where this dogs desire to work would be utilized. I have never done that before but I saw bad things coming if something didn’t change. The owner just could not imagine giving his dog away, and I could completely understand that. It’s not easy. The owner became ill and it became even more difficult to manage the dog. Then I received horrible news from the owner’s wife. She sent me a horrific picture of her husband’s head split wide open and informed me that her husband also had a broken neck. The dog went after another dog while the owner was walking him. The owner got knocked down hard and was in really bad shape. His wife was frantic of course. She was extremely frustrated because she and I both tried placing the dog in a new home but couldn’t get through to her husband. Now the dog would lose his life and the owner is in critical condition. As professional dog trainers we tend to only show the positive. The things that make us look good. Realistically it’s not always pretty, but sometimes our egos get in the way and we love to toot our own horn but don’t show the ugly. People need to see the ugly so we can all learn from mistakes. The owners are great people and I care for them a great deal. They continue to apologize to me because they think they let the dog down. Maybe we all did and I should have been more persistent about them getting rid of the dog. The bottom line here is that when it comes to children and elderly people you cannot take chances and assume that everything will be alright and that our ability as a professional trainer will fix everything. That is just ego wanting to show how you were able to turn a dog around that everyone else turned away, and it’s not worth someone’s safety. This was not even a dangerous dog, but it was the wrong dog and that is all that matters. Today a beautiful dog, a dog that I loved, a dog that was loved by its owners, and a dog that had a ton of potential died unnecessarily and that is sad. We pray for the owner to make a speedy recovery but I know his heart is broken over the loss of a dog that he literally loved to death.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 20:08:38 +0000
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