Dialogue, Not Dominance, Wins Over Dogs - And Saves Their Lives, Too
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

SBH Clay
November 2005

Part 6 - In the March 2005 issue, the parent of a six-year-old Jack Russell Terrier wrote:

Augie first came into our lives about a year ago. My wife Melissa and I went to the local animal shelter looking for a dog to adopt. When we found the one we wanted, the people at the shelter asked us to also take his kennel mate (a Jack Russell Terrier). They claimed that the two dogs were bonded, and they needed to stay together. I was happy with the situation because I have always wanted a Jack Russell Terrier, and this was a justifiable reason to get one. Melissa was not as sure as I was, but she really wanted the other dog which was a Blue Heeler. So we decided (after very little thought) to go ahead and get them both. We had no idea the ride we were about to take! Augie has a very loving personality that won us over from the beginning, but his flip side is that he was extremely aggressive with other animals. This came to our immediate attention when we brought him home and introduced him to our cats. We spent the first several months keeping them permanently separated, so that he wouldn't attack them. Also, even though he only weighs about 18 pounds, he would attack a Great Dane if he had the chance!  This made him very difficult to live with, as I was always nervous about him being a liability. To take a walk, first we put on his muzzle.  We were very torn over what to do about him. On the one hand we loved him very much, and his personality added much joy to our lives.  On the other hand he frustrated us, and we knew we just could not trust him with our other pets and other animals in general. So we decided to give him Dialogue, and attended Judy's January Denver clinic. Judy has been an incredible blessing to us for many reasons.  I am especially grateful to her for the amount of time she has spent with us, answering all of our questions.   Before we even began training, she must have spent hours just writing me e-mails, encouraging us.  She helped us to understand that Augie was not mean, but rather he was extremely afraid of animals and many things.  When I watched her working with Augie, I was amazed at just how effective she is.

 

Augie has made an incredible amount of progress in only a couple of months. I can take him on a walk, and he still may bark at the other dogs, but he stays right by my side with his attention on my guidance the whole time! And with the cats? They are living comfortably together now, like there never was a problem! In fact the other day I accidentally put him in his kennel when the cat was in there.  I left him in there for about 3 ½ hours while we weren't home. When we came home and I let him out, the cat came out also! You can imagine my surprise. Only a couple of months earlier that would have been a disaster. I am now looking forward to the coming summer months when we can spend time in the park and go on hikes, and we'll not have to worry about Augie being fearful and aggressive. And I'm looking forward to even more progress with the training that Judy has given us. It has truly made a difference in our lives!


Go on to Part 7 - In the June 2005 issue, a New Jersey resident who completed the two-day training in Moore's weekend clinic in the Garden State wrote:
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