Pawsibilities Unleashed

I've been a Pet Stylist for 24 years which made it even more frustrating to have an, "issue" dog. When we "adopted" a little 2 year old Cairn Terrier 5 years ago, (Buster Brown is about as cute as any little dog I've ever seen), he was being given up by his first "mom" for health reasons. She said he required more work than she was able to handle at the time.  When we went to see Buster he met us at the door and it was LOVE at first sight for both my husband, Dennis and me. We were able to take him home THAT day and were just soooo excited to have him. He LOVED to play ball and we wanted a dog with a "little" attitude. OH, he has ATTITUDE!!!  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!!!! You just might GET IT!!!   I have believed from the beginning that Buster came to live with us for a reason.

 Without realizing what was happening, he managed to get control of our lives, our home, claimed the neighborhood and had NO plan to give any of it up willingly!!!!  Having been a pet groomer for many years, I "thought" I knew how to handle a terror (ooops, I mean terrier!!)  but some how Buster was able to "bluff" me and got the upper hand, (which I would NEVER allow with a clients dog), which frustrated me even more! He bit both Dennis and me more times than I care to remember, causing me to have stitches on 2 occasions.. I tried several trainers, one telling me he should be "put down" 3 times during the course of the conversation and she NEVER  saw him to evaluate him (which made me FURIOUS!).  I  used a choke collar, pinch collar,  talked to my veterinarian friends about medication to help with aggression, and none of these methods helped. It made the situation worse instead of better. Toward the end I carried a riding crop to correct him if need be (I don't recommend any of those methods now).  He has always been excellent in command obedience, but no one ever mentioned Modified Behavioral training. He was good 95% of the time,  as long as he was not made to do something HE didn't want to do, but when he got mad the prey drive kicked in and he bit to the bone, latched on and would NOT let go. One vet friend told me he hated to see the day Buster ever got really sick, because we would not be able to treat him. I was told on several occasions he should be put down, (and if anyone else had him, he would have been put down)  but I believed from the beginning that Buster's life served a greater purpose for my life...

We went to  The Neighborhood (an assisted living home)  for Buster's first therapy visit. He could not wait to get inside!  With his eyes bright and wide with excitement he was anxious to greet everyone he came in contact with. Several of his therapy buddies were there which made it that much better. The "mom's and dad's" have REALLY good treats!!!! He got to show off a few tricks he knows and just had a GREAT time!!!!