# Nothing ugly or bad about this.....:)



## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

A brief epilogue: I had a very strong epiphany immediately following one of our more intense incidents due to my boys DA/reactivity. It was a break through moment that in a split second caused me to form a 2 part plan. This happened around late Dec..

Get him in private agilities and get him back to his trainer. 

I was able to get him into agilities just about right away and also to a one on one with his trainer shortly after. Just recently our trainer offered a group class so we signed up to help me and my boy with our issues.

Never in my life have I been around so many dogs by myself let alone with a dog aggressive dog. I honestly questioned my own courage to do this but I have a lot of faith in our trainer plus I did have dh watching on the sidelines for support.

I am so freaking proud of Sonny. I know it was hard at first for him also but he went through it like a champ and settled in with the group rhythm.

Here are some pics. (Cropped for obvious reasons-other people) I'm in the blue coat.

































The group of owners were so great. It wasn't a social event. We were all there to work and help our own dogs with varying degrees of issues but were at a certain level of obedience. The trainer and assistant seemed to be two steps ahead of any difficulties. 

The best best part: when we got home before Sonny and I crashed, Sonny did a full blown happy puppy zoomeis race on the deck. Lol. And he greeted me this morning as he always does, like I was the best human in the world.:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

Just wanted to share a little bit of our success.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

One more of us loose leash walking.


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## Ronin2016 (Feb 18, 2016)

Congrats! Sounds like a great day for you two! He looks pleased with himself in that last picture! As he should be. Keep up the good work!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Awesome! For him to lie down around other dogs, that is great progress. It is a vulnerable position for a dog, and the ones that have serious dog aggressive issues have a terrible time with it. So, keep going to these group classes. When they are done, sign up for another, so it isn't always the same dogs that he sees. And just keep working on it. After two sets of classes, your dog should be pretty much ok with you telling him to sit or down and he should be comfortable while you are ensuring that other dogs stay out of his face.


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## viking (May 2, 2014)

Congratulations! You have a lot to be proud of!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Excellent!So glad you were able to stay on top of it and are working through it!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Huge congrats!!! Those pics tell such a story. Good for you and Bravo for Sonny! Huge progress, and shows how much he trusts you and respects you to keep him safe from all those other 'scary' dogs.


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

Nice.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

I couldn't help notice the 'ingredients' of your success story, You looked for a solution, your courage, your husband's support, your dog's confidence in you, and great trainers and group of dog owners. What a great story


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

Thank you everyone, your encouragement and nice comments mean a lot. I also want to say a special thanks to a couple members who I reached out to for help.

Sonny is a great dog. He pushes me to be creative with his little bit of "ok, i'll do it but in slow motion" he makes me laugh a lot and he is so stoic in other areas.

Sometimes I have to let go of my own issues and just trust in others. I do have a great trainer. 

My boy deserves nothing less than a confident and competent handler. He and I are truly a team.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Beautifully done this where classes are very helpful- I like the fact it's outside!


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

That is awesome, way to go! Good job and pretty work.


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## Besketball (Apr 27, 2016)

That is exciting, great job


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

Seltzer, I do plan to take his classes for as long as he offers them. I want to get a CGC behind his name. 

I do have a question for anyone who has insight on this: is there such a thing as group mentality for dogs? I know it wouldn't be the same as pack mentality, but honestly, once the dogs got further into the hour of the class, the less issues there were and close to the end of class there were no outbursts.

The "group mentality" seemed very evident when the trainer had us group ourselves in 5's, put the dogs facing the outside in a sit butt to butt. Then had us command the down. It just seemed like once the better obedient dogs went down, the rest followed more easily.

Now, our trainer did take Sonny to walk with him for a few minutes at the beginning which did make the rest easier for me but with all of my on-my-own attempts to help my
boy, he was so much easier in the class. And there were 20 dogs.

All I can figure is that because dogs are social animals they observe the group and want to do as others do. 

Are my thoughts about this correct?


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Heartandsoul said:


> Seltzer, I do plan to take his classes for as long as he offers them. I want to get a CGC behind his name.
> 
> I do have a question for anyone who has insight on this: is there such a thing as group mentality for dogs? I know it wouldn't be the same as pack mentality, but honestly, once the dogs got further into the hour of the class, the less issues there were and close to the end of class there were no outbursts.
> 
> ...


I find with max who is dog reactive dog does not like any intense or excited attention from other dogs directed at them as this is our challenge. I think in class many are very well behaved for the most part which is a I think is necessary to get them comfortable as possible and most focusing on their handler. We do nose works and class is for 3 hours all the dogs are not put in crates and sit with their handlers. I find that max gets more comfortable in this scenario with the other dogs. As it is a period of time he gets to relax near them. As we wait our turn we practice on focus and such. He really likes this black lab who is a service dog and I notice he does not mind her at all he likes her energy and puts him at ease. We walk right by the dogs when it's our turn and he does not pay one bit of attention. I think they are all focused on their turn many and do not pay attention to the next. Sometimes I feel max gets a sense the environment is more controlled and is more at ease. I find it more challenging out and about as the environment is not as controlled. There is a very friendly nice older man who has a two dogs in the class and he will stand up the entire time- he will sometimes volunteers to assists the trainer and stands out like a sore thumb to max. For no reason max is suspicious of him that seems to be a new challenge for us.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

Jenny720 said:


> I find with max who is dog reactive dog does not like any intense or excited attention from other dogs directed at them as this is our challenge. I think in class many are very well behaved for the most part which is a I think is necessary to get them comfortable as possible and most focusing on their handler. We do nose works and class is for 3 hours all the dogs are not put in crates and sit with their handlers. I find that max gets more comfortable in this scenario with the other dogs. As it is a period of time he gets to relax near them. As we wait our turn we practice on focus and such. He really likes this black lab who is a service dog and I notice he does not mind her at all he likes her energy and puts him at ease. We walk right by the dogs when it's our turn and he does not pay one bit of attention. I think they are all focused on their turn many and do not pay attention to the next. Sometimes I feel max gets a sense the environment is more controlled and is more at ease. I find it more challenging out and about as the environment is not as controlled. There is a very friendly nice older man who has a two dogs in the class and he will stand up the entire time- he will sometimes volunteers to assists the trainer and stands out like a sore thumb to max. For no reason max is suspicious of him that seems to be a new challenge for us.


A lot of what you said makes sense. I know that Sonny does not like feeling enclosed especially in new surroundings.

In my first pic, I'm obviously having a bit of trouble keeping him in a proper heel for the sit while I greet. The person I was greeting was completely relaxed with a big smile and his dog was a total happy pup and equally relaxed just looking at his owner.

That was my first meet with me holding the leash so it kind of set us up to handle the rest successfully.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

It's a great place to see that it can be done! You guys did great! I really like the photos- so cool!!!!


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