This thread is a continuation, or evolution, of my initial progress thread.
My Personal Pain Points:
June 2022: I rescued my adult male Rottweiler, Klaus. He had some major issues like extreme reactivity to other dogs (he even bit one in the face while on a walk within the first weeks I had him), severe separation anxiety (he broke out of my apartment, smashed one of my car windows, and is an expert at crate escape), and he was terrified of going potty in front of me (he wouldn't go on several-hour long walks and would hold it until he was literally leaking).
October 2023: Klaus was diagnosed with a large brain tumor. If we had done nothing his prognosis was 3 months. I took him for radiation treatment, which gives a prognosis of up to 15 months. But I think we can do better, at least I'm fighting for more time with him.
December 2023: we impulsively rescued an adult female German Shepherd, Ella. She was a ball of stress, but seemed to be doing alright. A few days later the shelter called me to inform me that Ella never should have been adopted out. She was an aggressor in a severe attack on another German Shepherd and had been labeled as un-adoptable. The victim survived, but required surgery and a long recovery. The other aggressor had already been put to sleep. They said that it was their mistake and they couldn't make me bring her back, but if she did end up back in the shelter she would be euthanized. It wasn't long after that I saw just how reactive she could be towards other dogs (and bicycles).
My Personal Success:
Today Klaus and Ella are doing great. Both in health and behavior. Much less reactivity, much less frantic energy, much much less shedding and scratching and licking. Klaus is now 3 months past his original prognosis and 5 months into his radiation prognosis; I know we have a long way to go, but there are currently zero indications that his tumor is growing. It has taken hours upon hours of research and implementation to get them here.
I'm in a couple of Facebook groups for dogs with reactivity/aggression. I see people posting daily about how they've poured thousands of dollars into training and behaviorists and their dog is still out of control. I wonder how I got so lucky to have two psychopath rescues turn into such wonderful members of our family. Did I really get lucky? Quite possibly. Or am I doing something different enough to make the difference in behavior? Maybe?
I'm also in a few groups for dogs with cancer/tumors and specific dog diets. I've seen a handful of miracle accounts of how people have reversed their dog's ailments with diet and supplements. More often I see countless stories of dogs on what appears to be a healthy diet and still getting incredibly ill, and many dogs not making it very far past their prognoses even with chemo, radiation, or surgery. Klaus and I were one of the latter stories - he had been eating a veterinarian-formulated dog food that came frozen, and he still got the brain tumor. Our third dog, Silver, also had horrible skin yeast infections even though he was on "novel" proteins like lamb and venison. I'm hopeful we are now on the right path to become a miracle story. We shall see.
Goals:
I want to help as many people as possible with their dogs' behavior and health issues. In putting together my personal process for achieving both behavioral and health wellness, I've realized that a lot of things go hand in hand. It almost feels to me that traditional dog training is only treating a symptom, much like pharmaceuticals also often only treat symptoms. What I've put together more closely resembles a lifestyle - diet, exercise, sleep, reducing pollutants/toxins, socialization, communication, autonomy & choice.
Even though I've been establishing myself as a local dog trainer, I don't really like labeling myself as simply a "dog trainer." But, alas, I'm not a vet, nor a nutritionist, nor a certified behaviorist, nor certified anything. I know I will face hurdles with that in the future, but so far it hasn't seemed to matter - people are just happy to see the improvements and results. Maybe as I keep building up and getting people interested in the whole picture, not just training, I'll simply become "the dog lady."
Current Standing:
I've mostly been doing one-on-one training sessions with people and their dogs. I don't have any packages, group classes, online courses, or memberships going yet. I did have decent success with a virtual client once, so I am interested in exploring that more. An ebook is also on my mind. This evening I'm giving a free community seminar that will paint the lifestyle vs. training picture. I have 16 or 17 out of 25 spots filled - not too bad. I've made a waitlist on my website for my whole lifestyle package and will advertise it after my seminar. I've had a couple of clients interested in some aspect of it beyond training, so hopefully this gives me an even better idea of general interest. I've also had some interest in treat bags that I up-cycle from old jeans, so I'll dabble in that a little bit more; perhaps they will become part of a package deal one day.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'll post an update at the end of each month. As always, would love feedback and suggestions!
My Personal Pain Points:
June 2022: I rescued my adult male Rottweiler, Klaus. He had some major issues like extreme reactivity to other dogs (he even bit one in the face while on a walk within the first weeks I had him), severe separation anxiety (he broke out of my apartment, smashed one of my car windows, and is an expert at crate escape), and he was terrified of going potty in front of me (he wouldn't go on several-hour long walks and would hold it until he was literally leaking).
October 2023: Klaus was diagnosed with a large brain tumor. If we had done nothing his prognosis was 3 months. I took him for radiation treatment, which gives a prognosis of up to 15 months. But I think we can do better, at least I'm fighting for more time with him.
December 2023: we impulsively rescued an adult female German Shepherd, Ella. She was a ball of stress, but seemed to be doing alright. A few days later the shelter called me to inform me that Ella never should have been adopted out. She was an aggressor in a severe attack on another German Shepherd and had been labeled as un-adoptable. The victim survived, but required surgery and a long recovery. The other aggressor had already been put to sleep. They said that it was their mistake and they couldn't make me bring her back, but if she did end up back in the shelter she would be euthanized. It wasn't long after that I saw just how reactive she could be towards other dogs (and bicycles).
My Personal Success:
Today Klaus and Ella are doing great. Both in health and behavior. Much less reactivity, much less frantic energy, much much less shedding and scratching and licking. Klaus is now 3 months past his original prognosis and 5 months into his radiation prognosis; I know we have a long way to go, but there are currently zero indications that his tumor is growing. It has taken hours upon hours of research and implementation to get them here.
I'm in a couple of Facebook groups for dogs with reactivity/aggression. I see people posting daily about how they've poured thousands of dollars into training and behaviorists and their dog is still out of control. I wonder how I got so lucky to have two psychopath rescues turn into such wonderful members of our family. Did I really get lucky? Quite possibly. Or am I doing something different enough to make the difference in behavior? Maybe?
I'm also in a few groups for dogs with cancer/tumors and specific dog diets. I've seen a handful of miracle accounts of how people have reversed their dog's ailments with diet and supplements. More often I see countless stories of dogs on what appears to be a healthy diet and still getting incredibly ill, and many dogs not making it very far past their prognoses even with chemo, radiation, or surgery. Klaus and I were one of the latter stories - he had been eating a veterinarian-formulated dog food that came frozen, and he still got the brain tumor. Our third dog, Silver, also had horrible skin yeast infections even though he was on "novel" proteins like lamb and venison. I'm hopeful we are now on the right path to become a miracle story. We shall see.
Goals:
I want to help as many people as possible with their dogs' behavior and health issues. In putting together my personal process for achieving both behavioral and health wellness, I've realized that a lot of things go hand in hand. It almost feels to me that traditional dog training is only treating a symptom, much like pharmaceuticals also often only treat symptoms. What I've put together more closely resembles a lifestyle - diet, exercise, sleep, reducing pollutants/toxins, socialization, communication, autonomy & choice.
Even though I've been establishing myself as a local dog trainer, I don't really like labeling myself as simply a "dog trainer." But, alas, I'm not a vet, nor a nutritionist, nor a certified behaviorist, nor certified anything. I know I will face hurdles with that in the future, but so far it hasn't seemed to matter - people are just happy to see the improvements and results. Maybe as I keep building up and getting people interested in the whole picture, not just training, I'll simply become "the dog lady."
Current Standing:
I've mostly been doing one-on-one training sessions with people and their dogs. I don't have any packages, group classes, online courses, or memberships going yet. I did have decent success with a virtual client once, so I am interested in exploring that more. An ebook is also on my mind. This evening I'm giving a free community seminar that will paint the lifestyle vs. training picture. I have 16 or 17 out of 25 spots filled - not too bad. I've made a waitlist on my website for my whole lifestyle package and will advertise it after my seminar. I've had a couple of clients interested in some aspect of it beyond training, so hopefully this gives me an even better idea of general interest. I've also had some interest in treat bags that I up-cycle from old jeans, so I'll dabble in that a little bit more; perhaps they will become part of a package deal one day.
Anyway, that's it for now. I'll post an update at the end of each month. As always, would love feedback and suggestions!
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