Cooper was a great deal of fun to work with! I have a dachshund / beagle mix, so I'm especially fond of working with hounds. Cooper's owners were expecting a baby when they called me to help him be more specially respectful of children and babies. He was not great at meet & greet at the door, needed to respect his food supply more and was unruly on the walk. I worked with his owners to overcome these issues and Cooper responded excellently! Sometimes working with dogs and people is just making a few suggestions and giving a clear reason. Many times, I find that people simply don't know why they are doing what they are doing, and they are therefore creating a problem without knowing it.

Cooper didn't respect his food because he was being free fed, so why would he work to earn it if it's just handed over to him? He didn't respect the leash because he had never been asked to walk properly and stay out of the foot space of those walking him. He didn't respect the space of children and babies because they engaged him play, rather than the adults stepping in and correcting when he got too rambunctious. Once his owners learned how to correct these areas, he adjusted well to the new baby and learned that he, after all, is last in the family order. Dogs usually don't want all of the responsibilities we give them unknowingly: mediate every activity, challenge every command I give you, take charge of when you want to do what, etc. They simply aren't given the leadership many times, and this results in frustration on their part and ours. It doesn't have to be this way, though. If we learn a handful of key principles in working with dogs, we can all have a happy and healthy relationship with them. I'm so proud of Cooper and his owners for their hard work and consistency!