Training Day

Cooper's last full day of freedom

So after numerous incidents and a whole lot of embarrassment, I decided to bring in a professional trainer for Cooper. I knew he needed more than your standard Petco trainer. A lot of those companies use positive reinforcement only, and considering Cooper could care less about treats when he's lunging for dogs or chasing squirrels, I knew this wouldn't work. Instead I decided to contact a trainer who was at the Mutt Strut who starts off with some pretty intense changes and also uses a training collar to introduce a negative (a pinch in this case).

Our first lesson was a couple of weeks ago, and I remember not being able to wait! Cooper's bad behaviors had been snowballing and he was strutting around like he owned the place. He really needed to be knocked off his pedestal. Anyway, as soon as the trainer came Coop and I met her in the parking lot to work on him walking on a leash. She fit him with his training collar and showed me how she wanted me to hold his leash as we walked. She then took control of him and started walking. When she stopped he was supposed to sit. When he didn't she gave a slight tug of the prong collar and said "No...Sit". Cooper wasn't phased. She tried again, but this time a little harder. Still nothing. She gave him one more gentle shot before she needed to give him a much harder pinch. Of course Cooper still would not sit. So with a swift movement she pulled his leash hard and said "NO...SIT". Well nothing like this had ever happened to King Cooper. He instantly yelped and started jumping and twisting on his leash. With another tug and command, he stopped the tantrum and finally sat. He then looked at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen, and of course I started crying. Nonetheless, we kept going, and after an hour of Cooper not sitting when he was supposed to, followed by huge yelps and lots of stares from neighbors, the trainer decided this was something I could work on after she left, and we went inside to set up the house.

Cooper sitting like a good boy on a walk

Once inside, she explained to me that Cooper could not roam freely at all until our next session which was in 3-4 weeks. What did this mean? Well when someone is in the home he has to be in his crate 1/3 of the time, walking around on a leash following commands 1/3 of the time, and laying in his place 1/3 of the time. What's his place you say? Well we made it a little bed in the corner of the living room. While here he must be chained to the radiator so he can't leave, and he must be laying. If he gets up, he must be corrected with the prong collar and told to stay. This includes if someone enters the house, if the mail slot (Cooper's mortal enemy) is used, or if anything exciting is happening in the house. Overall, he cannot do anything unless given permission to do so.

Cooper unhappily laying in his place (Note the toy he is not enjoying)

Now I know many of you may be thinking this is crazy. And I agree, it is. But he was out of control. He was a danger to other dogs and children, and my fear was that if I couldn't control him he would hurt someone and face the possibility of being put down. I just wanted to give him the best shot available. In addition, as hard as this seemed for him, it was extremely mentally challenging for me as well. It broke/breaks my heart to hear him yelp. The night after our first training session I barely slept because my dreams were all nightmares of me hurting my pup. Therefore, to get through this I just remind myself this was for his own good.

So how has training been since our first lesson. Well, I took Coop on a walk as soon as the trainer left. Of course this time he sat the second I stopped without needing any correction. I couldn't believe it. Maybe it was his pride when the trainer was around, or maybe he just finally got it; either way, I was thrilled.

As the days go by, Cooper continues to do extremely well on walks. For the most part he sits when I stop, and he walks right with me. Multiple people have told me how good he is when they walk by and of course I brag. There have been a couple of times he's gotten himself into trouble. For example, the first time a skateboard went by he lunged for it and pinched the heck out of himself. Of course yelping ensued and everyone around was looking at us. Needless to say, he hasn't done that again.

When other dogs are going by, and I can tell Cooper is uncomfortable I just stop and let him sit. He seems much calmer and even wags his tail a little. Of course, some humans are not very bright and let their dogs run up to him despite me removing him from their path. Some even fight with me when I ask them not to approach because he's not good with other dogs. I usually get "he seems fine" or "then why isn't he barking". Seriously? After a couple minutes of a dog sniffing Cooper's face he usually starts to growl and the owner then gets it. However, in the past he would have lunged at these dogs, so I am extremely proud of him that he remains calm by my side. There have even been a few times where he sits happily and wags his tail without any growls while other dogs sniff him. We do have some setbacks, like the other day we were on a run and a dog actually jumped and nipped Coop in the butt as we went by. After this, he was a little puffed up around other dogs, but he has since calmed down again.

Enjoying some play time

Now for as good as he's doing on walks, he's a pain in my ass at home. If he's not tired when he's in his place, instead of chewing the dozen toys around him, he sits there and cries. I get it, I wouldn't want to be tied up either. But the thing is, he would happily chew these toys elsewhere. He just doesn't want to be there chewing them. He also cannot stand when we are making food while he's in his place. He would prefer to be up our butts getting the scraps. In addition, his biggest fear is that the cats are getting food and he's not. Of course that's not true and in reality, I give him a lot more scraps because I feel bad for him. Needless to say, he's doing better, and is starting to really like his place since it is a calm area where no one bothers him.

I do have to mention the cats now, because they are out of control. I guess Coop used to keep them in check. Blue is ripping apart trashcans looking for Q tips. I actually feel bad, because I always assumed it was Cooper doing this, and I would get upset with him. Now that he's always being watched, I finally found the real culprit.
The cats also are running around the house like crazy. I literally was walking around upstairs the other day and Tangie was running on the wall eye level with me. I have no idea how she did it, but it was insane.
Another thing Coop used to control, was the fighting between the cats. Friday night, they broke out in some intense face-off probably because Tangie ate Blue's food again, or because she's just a pain in the ass. All you could hear was hissing and running throughout the house. Both were puffed up to max capacity, and when I finally found them to break it up, Blue had Tangie pinned behind the washing machine. I guess Cooper really kept some order in the house (although he added a lot of disorder too).

Coop getting some pumpkin pie!

So there's the update after the first training session. The second should be coming soon, and Coop will finally be regaining some freedom! I am proud of how well he is doing, and have been spoiling him with lots of treats, like doggie waffles this morning (which he threw up 2 hours later) and some pumpkin pie!
At this point, I remain cautiously optimistic about Cooper's future success.

Cooper eating the waffles he would later throw-up