June Bug- the aggressive Danes last chance

My husband and I were fortunate enough to meet Liz Norris and begin our journey with Pawsibilities Unleashed at the beginning of 2017. We had rescued a previously abused Great Dane, June, and after she honeymooned with us for a bit, began to display aggression issues. In spite of my husband and I being a Social Worker and a Teacher, we neglected to realize that you can’t just “love” an animal enough to make things okay.

We tried obedience training with both a prong collar and choke chain at the advice of two different trainers. Fortunately, after working with the second trainer for quite some time, he introduced us to Liz, because he was at a loss after trying all his methods. This saved June’s life! We knew that keeping a dog of her size and strength wasn’t possible if we didn’t figure out how to manage her safely.

From the first day of entering the Pawsibilities Unleashed facility, we had hope for June. We instantly realized how much we were doing wrong and took our homework seriously. We not only wanted to save June, but were also pregnant with our first child. We were under pressure, to say the least.

Liz quickly helped us realize that the majority of June’s issues stemmed from her low self esteem. She was already an obedient dog, but had zero manners. Essentially, she was a bully. Regular daily things that we never realized to be “poor dog behavior” such as walking in rooms ahead of you, invading your space, and demanding kisses on her time instead of yours, she displayed.

She had no patience or self control, and to be honest, at that time our patience had about run out as well! We had no idea that a tiny clicker, some treats, and serious repetition could change her and us so drastically. Not only did these simple things build her confidence, but built ours as well. It gave us courage to challenge June in ways we never thought we would be able to. What I mean, is taking her places and putting her in situations that we assumed would make her uncomfortable to change her perspective on her fears. Changing her fears has helped her to enjoy things that so many humans and dogs love. She now loves dog parks, Pet Smart visits, camping, romping through the woods, boat rides, and most importantly our daughter, to name a few. We never expected her best friend to be a 20 month old little girl, but they are thick as thieves, and gang up on us parents all the time! She is soon to become the big sister to twin boys, as well. The dog we feared to be around people, particularly kids, is now going to be the big sister to 3!

Again, our success is all thanks to Liz and the behavior management methods that she taught us. We are true believers in these methods and would recommend Liz, and her knowledge, to anyone!