fire and control

I think if Mackenzie were a real person she would be some kind of life counselor or a psychiatrist.  She has this incredible ability to get through to not only people but she is simply amazing with other dogs.

As some of you may know, a few months ago Mackenzie was showing some real signs of dog aggression.  Her label would be “dog-reactive” or “leash-reactive” but to the average dog owner she would be considered “aggressive”.  In other words, she was (still is sometimes) a BITCH.

A “happy and playful” (in dog trainer terms: a RUDE, BADLY-TRAINED) puppy would run up “just to say HI” and Mackenzie would react.  We got to the point that she was growling/snapping at nearly every dog who approached her unless they were well-trained and calm.  So obviously, since my job is as a dog trainer, the majority of dogs she would meet were not well-trained (yet).

I knew something had to be done so I did all kinds of research, asked other trainers, bought books, and got my ass in gear.  Today, almost a year after the peak of her aggression (she drew blood from the nose of a Golden puppy) she helped me with a dog/leash-reactive Lab.  I let her in the training area (off-leash), she sniffed around, stretched and yawned several times (calming signals) and kept her eyes on me the whole time.  The Lab didn’t react at all.  In fact, both of them acted, for the most part, like the other dog wasn’t there.  Mackenzie was amazing as was the Lab, who also seems to only react when the other dog approaching him is rude and ill-trained.

We’re at the point now that Group sits and stays in the Novice ring are a real possibility.  A year ago I might have said her dog show career was impossible.  A year ago she stopped coming to work with me and I was thinking that maybe it was hopeless to even try to work with her around other dogs.  I was wrong.  We’ve worked through it and we continue to work on her reactivity every single day.  She has made tremendous progress and now greets other dogs with enthusiasm.  She really is incredible to watch.