So about 4 years ago I came onto this sub wondering how to manage my 4.5 month old demonic dog I adopted… She was actually quite great at first for the first month or so, and then adolescence kicked in… and she was absolutely insane. Resource guarding, picking up everyting on walks, pulling on lead, lunging, reactivity to dogs and people, terrified of everything under the sun on a rotational basis, scared of walks, scared of being inside, scared of dinner time (spooky smoke alarm went off ONCE, ONCE I TELL YOU), scared of being in her crate, too scared and won't leave her crate, THE BITING, OH MY GOD THE BITING, the demand barking, the stealing everything and ripping it, the eating of everything we knew and loved… I could go on…
I tried everything to manage her behaviours. Everything. We did training classes, level 1 obedience, swear to god we almost got kicked out because of her arousal biting. Being in a room with so many people and dogs was just too much for her, she would freak out and start eating us alive 30 mins in. We would do everything under the sun… I kept having people tell me to walk her more to tire her out and she'll be better, she's biting because she's understimulated… I had so many people saying do this, do that, stop this, stop that. I would go on walks with her and come home crying. I would go to training class and come home crying. I would be inside with her and I would be crying. My life was hell because of this demon that entered my house.
Last week we did a class for handler discrimination (it's a dog sport thing), and she was off leash in a small ring, with 4 people inside, 3 other dogs, 2 of which were off leash, and there was 4 other people in the facility, 2 of which had dogs (puppies) in the ring over (separated by a short fence). She was able to work for me, at a distance, ignoring all distractions, including dogs 1 ft away from her, like an absolute champ.
I left that class feeling so elated, not from what she did/could do sport wise, but just thinking about how far we have come. If you would have told me that I would be able to do all the things I could now with the same demonic dog I got just over 4 years ago, I would have laughed in your face.
This is only a fraction of all the amazing things she does. She's truly the best girl, the best dog I could have ever asked for. If I had the option to go back in time with all the information I have, knowing how hard it was to raise her, I would do it again in a heartbeat. If you're struggling right now, hang in there. That demon puppy will turn into a great dog. You'll get through it, I promise.
submitted by /u/TroLLageK
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