Bill and Mary, from Tempe, AZ called us when their dog Paisley, an Australian Shepherd, would not stop bolting out the front door and running off to bark at the neighbors in their cul-de-sac. Paisley, while meaning no harm, sounded and looked scary to those who did not know her. Paisley’s barking and running also got her housemate, a semi-blind Chihuahua, upset and she would follow her lead because she didn’t know any better. So, Bill and Mary had two dogs whose behavior was not acceptable to them to deal with. It was also a problem that when Paisley acted this way she would no longer listen to any commands that she normally would listen to when there were no distractions around.
Bill and Mary decided to sign up for our Boarding School program to help Paisley because they felt she would do better with a jump start to her training, as well as live and be around other dogs and people to work on her reactivity. Paisley did very well while staying for her Boarding School program. She was introduced to neighbors [including children] and taught how to calmly, politely and safely greet and engage with them. You see, Bill and Mary, as well as many neighbors loved Paisley, just not her barking and running, so teaching her that she could walk up to people and dogs and interact with them in a polite manner was the best way to get what she really craved – attention. Off leash was not a problem for the neighborhood and once Paisley learned the new rules she could get exactly what she wanted and she could also give everyone else a happy visit as well.
After Paisley returned home, we worked on making sure she understood that the boundaries set up during her stay were transitioned to her home. This would be a little more difficult because she had past memories of behaviors she was well aware of, but it was much easier than she thought. She learned to walk slowly out of the front door, see that her threshold was her grass yard and that she was only allowed to cross onto the sidewalk when a neighbor called to her to visit. She was also just as happy when people came to her yard for the visits.
Paisley’s training also helped her housemate to better socialize with the neighbors. She no longer felt anxious and barked because Paisley was calm. They both fell into a great rhythm of happy dogs and happy neighbors and Bill and Mary no longer feel like the nuisance of the cul-de-sac.