From Mean Little Pup to Boarding Regular
Jesse
Jesse is an adorable Havanese who needed a little attitude adjustment at around 9 months old. His loving family provided a great home and tried their best to train him on the basics before contacting Longhorn Pet Services. Jesse was a sweet boy but didn’t understand his place in the pack. He decided anything on the ground was his, a tissue a sock, it didn’t matter… he wanted it and would not give it up. He would run, growl and even nip at his owners if they tried to get anything away from him. He also had the bad habit of charging and barking at guests when they entered the home. As with many of our training clients these behaviors were robbing them of the enjoyment of having a puppy and forcing them to manage their household around Jesse’s behavior challenges.
We started training with a focus on the basics: walking nicely on a leash and making sure Jesse listened to his already known commands first time, every time. After a few weeks of resetting the relationship Jesse was showing rapid improvement and starting to listen to the “leave it” and “drop it” commands. We then introduced the “place” command to temper his reactivity to the doorbell and guests entering the house, this command acts as a very effective “replacement behavior”. This “replacement behavior” was used to give Jesse something to do rather than charge the door and bark. After a few additional weeks of working on “place” Jesse was much easier to control in those situations. This training method worked because we didn’t try to fundamentally change Jesse’s personality nor did we attempt to bribe him with treats to distract him from his natural desire to protect the home.
When Jesse’s family first contacted Longhorn Pet Services they were at their wits end and contemplating re-homing him if our training didn’t work. Now nearly 2 years later Jesse is a happy well-behaved dog and an important member of the family, especially for their 3 girls! Jesse has also become a regular in our boarding pack who is one of our absolute favorites!
