27/09/2024
What a journey it’s been with Sherbet and her family.
This has been the most challenging, and the most rewarding, case I’ve worked on.
They started puppy classes with me when Sherbie was 9 weeks old, and very quickly they realized they had gotten more than they’d bargained for in this tiny puppy.
At 10 weeks old, she started resource guarding her toys and whatever items she deemed valuable around the house. The kids’ socks, pens, board game pieces…anything she picked up off the floor would spur a crisis as her family tried to prevent her from swallowing or choking on the contraband, while also not getting bitten. This was an almost daily battle. Everyone experienced Sherbie's aggression, including several bites. This was not what they’d envisioned life to be like with their adorable puppy. Feelings of fear and resentment were building.
The family vet recommended medicating Sherbie with sedatives, which her family rightfully rejected. Sherbie’s breeder denied any responsibility and blamed the family for causing her aggression. The breeder referred the family to a veterinary behaviourist, who via phone call shamed and belittled the family, without ever seeing them or Sherbie in person.
Having a limited understanding of how to help back then (this was nearly 9 months ago), I gave some recommendations which temporarily settled the situation through extensive management and safety precautions. Unfortunately, the aggression returned two weeks after Sherbie got desexed (spayed).
That’s when Sherbie’s family sent me a despondent email asking for any further guidance I could provide before they’d have to make a heartbreaking decision.
I was honest about being unsure if I could solve the problem, but I was willing to try my best. As a final effort, they agreed to have Sherbie stay with me for a month-long board and train program.
Three months later, this is part of what they wrote in their Google review: “If we had our time again we would have invested in an Eclipse Board and Train from the get-go to establish an impeccable start to our puppy's behaviour. After several weeks staying with Jess in her home, our puppy returned to us a different dog. Through several sessions, Jess was able to refine what she was teaching and gave each family member the skills and confidence to turn things around - including our three year old! We cannot thank Jess enough! The thought of telling our children we would have to re-home their puppy as she was too aggressive was a heartbreaking possibility but thanks to Jess, no longer a thought.”
Sherbie has a lot of personality, energy, and attitude and is a super fun, playful dog. Her family loves this about her and so do I. She’s finally been able to bond with everyone and is now fully a part of her family.
