More Training & Getting to know the Chill



Chili steals Mouses's bed



After what I thought was a disastrous training class due to crazy Chili I felt that we needed a little extra boost to help us along our way. The day after our first class I called Mary, the trainer, and suggested that maybe we needed some one-on-one training. The owner of the company that Mary works for specializes in difficult dogs so I was looking forward to a personalized session. Unfortunately, the owner, Debbie (not her real name), wasn’t available until after the next class so we would have to wait.



Chili & Mouse



In the meantime, I’d been taking Chili to work with me. It didn’t seem right to leave a dog with so much energy at home in a crate all day. This is where she met her first friend, Mouse, a Chihuahua/Terrier cross. Mouse has a big personality so she didn’t even notice that Chili was bigger than her. Chili didn’t seem to notice that Mouse was smaller than her and wanted to play as if they were the same size. To avoid any crushing situations, I would make Chili lay down to play with her. They had fun together and I learned something new about Chili. She didn’t care if Mouse stole her toys, even if she was playing with them, and she didn’t even mind when Mouse tried to steal her bone right out from under her. Sometimes Mouse would just start chewing on one end while Chili was chewing on the other. She can’t be that bad if she’s so good at sharing. I don’t think an aggressive dog would be so into sharing.



The second class was a little better but it was still a wash. At least I didn’t cry the whole way home. A couple of days later we were at our personal session. Debbie was late and when she arrived Chili immediately jumped on her. Rude, I know, Debbie thought so too. She told me that when Chili jumps up, to grab her paws and walk her backwards ten paces. I know that this works with some dogs but it never did really work with Chili. She thought it was a game. Chili thinks lots of training techniques are games. It’s one of the things that I love about her but that also makes me crazy. Like Mary, Debbie also felt that Chili was aggressive. She could just tell. She told me that I had to take charge of Chili and be the boss, she was right about that. She also showed me how to put Chili in a side hold and said that I had to do this for 30 minutes every night. And, when Chili goes to lunge, I should let her get to the end of the leash and self correct. And, I was shown how to wrap the leash down her back and around her belly for more control when she lunged. This also let me use the leash to pick her up from the back end or to pick her up completely. Hmmm. I don’t know about this.

So, here I go with some new techniques. I walked Chili with the lead wrapped around her belly and used it to carry her away from incidents. How did I feel about this? Like a complete and total idiot. This wasn’t what I wanted out of training. I didn’t want a band-aid, I wanted to learn to walk her and stop her lunging. I don’t plan to walk her with the leash wrapped around her belly forever. Besides, I was worried about her getting hurt from having it wrapped around her belly. I was not comfortable with this at all. The self correction wasn’t providing results either. She didn’t care that she wrenched herself when she got to the end of the leash. She’s a tough girl and didn’t feel a thing.

We made a few other observations about Chili during that time. She’s a very gentle girl and there’s not a whole lot that bugs her. When we would play with her, she learned very quickly not to bite down. The moment she felt our hands in her mouth, she would back off. You can also poke and prod at her and she just puts up with it. Even at the vet’s office, and even when she gets her temperature taken at her back end. She really is a good natured girl. From the first day we got her, neither one of us has ever been afraid of her. She may be bratty sometimes, but there’s not a mean bone in her.



By now, the voices in my head are starting to scream. I need to look at this training in a whole new way. I really do need to trust myself and have a voice. I may not be a trainer but I’m not stupid either. From now on, I’m going to open my mouth and question things. Chili may lunge on leash at dogs but there are so many other things about her that tell me that she’s not aggressive. Things are going to be different.