Dog Boot Camp
While watching the news once morning, a special about disciplining dogs came on.
The program had taken four disobedient dogs to Washington DC dog training in hopes of turning them into refined pets. Each dog was treated individually and taken through a series of exercises.
I was astonished at the progress the dogs made in such a short time. Each went in a miscreant and came out a jewel.
Had they held auditions for the program, my dog would have made it no questions asked. Jesse, my dog, and I have a very complex relationship. As it seems, he is the king of the castle.
I didn’t think dogs could wear pants, but Jesse has showed me differently. Jesse is a diva by all standards. I have spent countless nights sleeping on the couch because Jesse wouldn’t share the bed.
When I buy a new pillow, Jesse has to test it out and see if he wants to keep it. He also has taken on the role of my personal taste-tester, even if I didn’t ask for his service.
I have tried to reform Jesse to the best of my ability. I started with a book given to me by my brother-in-law; called Good Masters make Good Dogs.
I did everything the book suggested, child-locking my kitchen, putting shock systems on things, but it did absolutely nothing. Jesse just out-smarted it all. I felt like I was hopeless.
I then asked my veterinarian. The vet taught me tricks to correct misbehavior in animals that was “fool-proof”. Well, obviously, my dog is either a genius or a dunce because it didn’t work. Jesse seemed to repel any type of constructive reformation.
The expo seemed like my only option. If it could turn dogs that bit people, barked viciously and ate furniture around I was confident it could help Jesse. After all, Jesse was harmless at heart, he would never hurt anyone. He just needed some expert discipline.
After watching the news special, I ran to the internet to see if I could get Jesse into the program. The news station website had a contest entry form for a sweepstakes that could land Jesse a trip to D.C. for dog training. I am usually pessimistic about contests, but I pushed my reservations aside for this one.
Three weeks later, I got a message on my cell phone from a Washington D.C. dog facility I had almost forgotten that I even entered the contest, so it was a huge shock. I had to have Jesse in DC in two weeks.
I took him to be groomed and get a checkup just in case. Now that he was presentable, Jesse and I got in my car, him in the front seat of course, and set off. By the end of the workshop, Jesse was a new dog.
Since that time, I haven’t slept on the couch or had my food taken.
A great tool to use for training your dog is a dog clicker.
