Dogs Have Always Been A Part Of My Life.
I didn’t grow up knowing that I would choose dog training as a career but I did grow up loving dogs. Dogs have always been part of my life. They were my friends and confidantes and were always there to listen to my deepest secrets silently and without judgement. This instilled a great love in me for all dogs; it’s a love that just got stronger as I grew into adulthood.
So, eventually, I decided to get a dog of my own.
My First Dog, Buddha The Min Pin.
I always loved the Miniature Pinscher breed. Known to be fearless, energetic, and clever I thought a Min Pin would be a good fit for me. At the time, I lived in an apartment with a lot of stairs so, practically, I figured a small dog would also be easier to take care of. That is how a little dog named Buddha came into my life. Trust me when I say, I ended up with more than I bargained for.
A Little Dog With A Big Attitude (Problem).
Buddha was certainly fearless and energetic. He was also very aggressive. Boy, was he a mean little pup!
He thought that ANY little scrap of food was his and that he had to defend it with everything his little 5 lb body could manage. No scrap was too big or too small for Buddha to defend! Once, he even decided to try some laundry soap that fell on the floor. I tried everything I could think of but I knew we needed the help of a dog trainer.
Finding The Right Dog Training For Buddha.
As it turns out, choosing the right dog trainer isn’t as easy as it sounds. I hired a couple of trainers to help me, but no one really offered any advice or got to the root of Buddha’s attitude problem.
The training wasn’t working and Buddha was turning into a regular little monster.
So, being the resourceful gal that I am – I Googled it.
My First Steps Towards Becoming A Dog Trainer.
I knew there had to be an approach that would work for Buddha. I read everything I could find on the breed and different training methods. Nothing clicked until I came across Cesar Millan’s show and website. Once I started implementing some of his training techniques we started making some progress with my little mini-monster.
There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Dog Training.
In time, Buddha came to live up to his namesake. Once Apollo came along, he went to live with the fine folks over at the Green Street E-Bike Shop here in Peterborough where he became the official “shop dog” for a while. As of July 2020, Buddha is loving life with his owners cruising the canal system. For the first year of his life, I had some serious doubts about this little pooch but once we found the right dog training approach, communication and trust were built and his behaviour changed.
