A Newfoundland puppy!! My excitement could not be contained. Angus came into my life unexpectedly, but that is a story for another time.
Our first night home, I realized right away that he was going to be a big and powerful addition to our family. I needed to be able to control him, with 4 small children in the house, all under 6 years old at the time, it was paramount to have a well-behaved puppy.
We needed training and we needed to start early. I looked online and asked others about training classes. As a rookie dog owner, I needed training as well as Angus. We happened upon the Canine Company and the rest as they say is history.
Angus and I have been through Level 1 obedience and Level 2 obedience twice!! In the beginning, Angus jumped up on all visitors at our house and on the street. Whomever he met he wanted to jump on!! When he played with my children (supervised of course) he always wanted to grab them by the clothes and pull them around the yard. He was distracted by people, dogs, kids, cats.... just about everything. I still took him everywhere with me, and as he grew bigger the excited behaviour was becoming more of a problem.
We kept going to training classes and kept working on his manners, and we still do today. I remained positive throughout our training. I was very patient with Angus and we worked on his manners every opportunity we had. During our daily walks, when company came over to the house, whenever we went somewhere together were just more opportunities to practice and work on what we have been taught in training classes. I had a treat bag and clicker on me at all times and rewarded Angus for everything he did that our family liked.
Angus can now walk past other dogs, people, cats and kids. City noise does not bother him, nor do skateboarders, joggers, etc.... All this because of a clicker, and the lessons I have learned with Tonji Stewart. Angus has been in convenience stores, buildings, hotels and anywhere else that will let us in. He regularly meets tourists and children and still gets excited everytime, but now he contains his excitement. No more jumping up, no more trying to grab my children, no more frantic pulling to meet everyone and everything he sees when we are out for a walk.
Angus is not perfect, nor will he ever be. He can sometimes get too excited, but I am now more prepared to deal with those times because of the training. I can take him everywhere with me knowing that together we make an awesome team. To see my guy be greeted and petted by 10 kids at the same time is a sight to behold. To watch him gingerly manoeuver his 125 lb. fame around my 1-year old daughter, who, as you would expect, is still a little shakey on her feet, without as much as brushing against her is to witness his gentle disposition around children first hand. To see him get hugs from senior citizens while we are out walking is truly amazing.
I see these things on a weekly basis. I owe it all to clicker training with Canine Company. Angus will always make me smile, now everyone he meets leaves with a smile. If you don't mind being licked on the hand, leg or arm and drool is no big deal, then I have a Newfoundland Dog that would love to show you all his tricks and be petted all day!