Skip to main content

Who’s the Boss?

We officially hired a dog trainer to come over last night to help us get control of the crazy dog. What I’d chalked up to puppy behavior was getting a little too old, and so was the dog. She’s a little over a year and a half now, so I decided these were patterns of behavior, not just a puppy doing what puppies do.

I Googled a dog trainer in my area and clicked on the first link at the top, and wow did I get lucky. When I visited Marcia Martin’s website, there were tons of success stories of how she’d turned people’s lives around in just a couple of hours. I picked up the phone and called Marcia, expecting to pay an un-Godly amount of money, weeks of training and tons of frustration waiting for results. I told her about our doggie issues – jumping on everyone, not listening, counter-surfing, pulling the leash, peeing in the house – and she said we could probably address everything in about two hours, in one evening, at a really great price.

I didn’t believe her.

She showed up with a bag of tricks, and she fully expected to have to pull them all out from what I’d told her about Lucy, but in only 15 minutes, she had Lucy calm and cool, relaxed and laying on the floor, just hanging out. She said our biggest issue was this: Lucy was in charge of the house, not us. This meant that Lucy felt like she was having to run the house too, that’s why she never sat down or relaxed. She was behaving like the mother hen, running around checking on everyone, and we needed to take that responsibility away from her first so she would know who’s the boss and second so she could take a break and just chill like a dog is supposed to.

After less than two hours, we pretty much learned everything to get a really good start, now it’s just up to us. The hardest part for me was getting hubs to buy into this because he’s mostly the one that spoils her (he has such a tender heart for animals). But once he saw her behavior and how well she could behave, he immediately left for Target to pick up a couple of water bottles to aide with training (just one of the little tricks we learned for controlling her behavior).

We actually had dinner last night with her laying on the floor right beside us vs. her jumping up to the table or counter. It was great. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Photobucket

Comments

  1. Glad it is workin' for ya!! Love the picture! = )

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hired a trainer to come train "us" the first week we brought Zoe home. It was so worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. cute picture! Please share more about the training tips. This sounds like exactly what we're dealing with too.

    When is it ok or do you use the water bottle?? So curious! Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the inspiration! We just started puppy training as well, so far so good. But we all know, it's more about the Humans being trained, more than the dogs! Good luck & keep us posted!

    Love - Love - Love the picture!

    ~Melissa~

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have some friends that need that trainer for their dog AND their child!

    ReplyDelete
  6. So happy to hear it worked! It's amazing what a little discipline will do, and how well dogs thrive on it.

    That is a precious, precious photo too. I can't stop smiling when I look at it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great photo! And I love a good golden retriever story!

    Glad to hear it worked. Now you've got me thinking...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just found your blog and I love it!

    Good luck with all of the training - what a great picture!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such an adorable picture!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi, found your blog through I Pick Pretty :) What an adorable dog!!!!!! Would you be willing to share some of the tricks you learned -- specifically the ones that let your dog know you're in charge? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love to hear what you all think! Thanks for visiting and let me know you were here!

Popular posts from this blog

Star Wars Gift Bag Tags

Two years ago, for Walker's Star Wars birthday, I created Yoda tags to attach to the gift bags for the party. Little did I know these bag tags would become so popular on Pinterest! To date, these tags have been repinned almost 500 times!!! So I thought since there's so much interest, I'd add them to my Etsy shop . So now, for just $8.00 - you can receive the file electronically and print them for yourself! I jazzed them up a bit with some sliver glitter puff paint on the light saber and some silver ribbon to attach to the dollar store bags. Print as many or as few as you want! So, if you are planning a Star Wars party, check them out ! And may the force be with you!

Baby Shower Inspiration Boards

I got all excited about the baby shower inspiration board contest over at Sippycups Are for Chardonnay , but only ended up submitting this first one on time. I managed to pull the second together this weekend just for kicks and loved the colors, so thought I'd share here. The first board is call "Nesting Instincts" and the second is "Over the Rainbow". I think I could get addicted to creating these things.

A Jewel Kade Giveaway!

My friend Cristina sent me an e-mail about some great new jewelry she's selling that is right up my alley! I think it's fun, eclectic, original and affordable! If you haven't yet heard of Jewel Kade, you will soon! The collection consists of handcrafted charms, bracelets and necklaces with a vintage, urban and romantic feel. Here are some of my favorite pieces, picked directly from Cristina's site . Aren't they fun??? You know I love the Halloween ones!!! I'm gonna give you a necklace and charm free!!! Here's what you get if you are the lucky winner! To enter, leave me a comment and tell me which charm is your favorite and why? For two entries, Tweet this content, then come back here and tell me. The winner will be announced Friday, 22 October. If you're interested in learning more about Jewel Kade or if you live in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area and would like to host a party, e-mail Cristina: cristinagarner at nc dot rr dot com. Also, th