Dog Giving exclusive interview!

Four Legs and an Interview

I have learned that it is always wise to interview a potential client before you hire them. In fact it is a good practice to interview anyone who is in any type of service business. My husband and I adopted four month old Rocky from a rescue shelter. The shelter told us he was a cross between a Lab and an Akita. However, he had the head of a pit bull and the eyes of a Rottweiler. There must have been a third party around when he was conceived.

As expected, Rocky immediately bonded with my husband, grandkids and me. However, Rocky decided that his bonding duties ended with us. A few weeks later we discovered Rocky was afraid of people because he ran away from anyone that spoke to him. It was evident he was in sore need of some type of behavior training.

A local dog training franchise in our area advertised an advanced training method which guaranteed success for any breed of dog or they would give you four weeks of free lessons.

The trainer arrived with briefcase in hand to demonstrate his advanced dog training method. Immediately, Rocky took sanctuary in his crate. In order to make Rocky feel more comfortable the trainer recommended his chair be positioned directly in front of Rocky's crate. To my surprise, Rocky was coaxed out of his crate. Things were going pretty smoothly as the trainer explained to me how to gain the dog's trust and that he was going to teach me and my husband a special dog language. A language, that apparently only dog's and dog trainers know.

The trainer began to growl (explaining to me he was speaking Rocky's special language). He threw a short piece of link chain on the floor near Rocky with a loud hacking, ack, ack, guttural sound, akin to clearing your throat before you spit. This action was meant to instill fear in the dog and it worked. Rocky retreated to his crate. I began to have second thoughts.

This interview wasn't going too well. Thirty minutes later after much coaxing and pleading with Rocky, the trainer conceded that he and Rocky had obviously gotten off on the wrong foot. The idea was for the trainer to leave the house and come back ten minutes later to start all over. I think he forgot that dogs don't forget someone who has tried to hit them with a chain in the space of ten minutes. The trainer had a lot at stake. He declared that there was no dog alive that he could not train. His reputation was on the line.

The minute the trainer went out the door, I noticed he had left his briefcase sitting next to the chair directly in front of Rocky's crate. I was not the only one in the room who noticed this.

In walks the trainer. Rocky feels secure in his crate and the trainer feels secure as he gets down on all fours and sticks his face into the crate. The growl (Rocky's, not the trainer's) sounded like a locomotive as it gathers up speed. The trainer never did offer me a free training session. I guess he was too much in a hurry to leave.