11/21/2024
Boarding dog Jackson making a new friend.
Jackson was one of my very first board and trains several years ago. He was extremely fear aggressive with people and dangerous. And luckily for Jackson, his owners are so amazing and dedicated to him and still to this day, he’s a world’s difference from how he was with people when I first met him. He went from extreme fear and rage when seeing new people, to- calm, safe, and able to make human friends.
Here Jackson is making a new friend by playing with someone.
Play is an amazing way to develop a good relationship with a dog and human. A language that both understand. No forcing interaction. No throwing of treats. Just play.
It initially started with just me playing with the ball with (new friend to Jackson) standing next to me, but very quickly moved over to our new friend throwing the ball and playing with him. Here, Jackson had a huge turning moment. Whoa! This person understands this game too. They’re pretty fun!
I only see Jackson once or twice a year for boarding and while he’s not here for training, I couldn’t help but to try this new to him method out for generating an even more positive outlook on people (I’ve since updated and changed how i approach some behavioral issues from how I did back then).
I’m happy to provide Jackson an even more positive outlook on making new friends. We opened a world of new possibilities for him in his brain that day.