Super Nanny

You know that show Super Nanny (or whatever the TLC equivalent is)? Well, we're now that family that's so out of control we have to call in Super Nanny. Or Super-Pup-Nanny, as it were.

I emailed Casper's teacher about the idea of getting another dog and explained some of the concerns I have. Her first suggestion was an in-home evaluation/consultation to set up a plan to correct some of the behaviors before introducing any new furry family members. She pointed out that dogs often teach their bad habits to other dogs in the household, which could further complicate matters. Casper has a bit of a special-needs personality, so I'm being extremely cautious about our next move. I certainly don't want to create additional chaos at this point!

Having said that, I'm quite relieved at the idea of Suzanne coming to do an in-home evaluation. Greg has never met her and I don't think he quite believes me when I tell him that she's a dog-whisperer. She is by far the best thing we ever did for Casper when he was a pup. Her level one basic obedience class is probably the only thing that stood between the awesome pup we have now and a very difficult, somewhat dangerous dog. She didn't train the dogs, she trained the owners to understand and train the dogs. She would spend some time with Casper during class and after she would tell us something she noticed about him and could tell us some crazy thing to do with him at home to correct a behavior. I'd think it sounded nuts, then we'd try it and it would totally work. Casper failed his first try at basic obedience class because he stubbornly REFUSED the command "down." He knew it, he knew what it meant, but he flat refused to do it when told. She gave some suggestions, we came back for a second round of level one, and amazingly.... he will now down in a heartbeat with barely a word. Sometimes with just a look.

Ok, so yes, he failed the class the second time around as well, but it wasn't for refusing to down. It was because Jen had to make him sit and stay for five minutes while she walked to the end of the leash and faced him. He was fine for the first few minutes, then he got up, turned around, and sat facing his audience. No matter how hard she tried, even taking him down to an end of the room where there wasn't an audience, he refused to face her when he had admiring fans who wanted to see him. Overall, if that's the only thing he was being stubborn about, he's become a pretty awesome dog, even if he's not a graduate*!

*He did get a certificate of completion both times, but he had to officially "graduate" to move on to level 2 courses and therapy dog training. Honestly, he doesn't have the therapy dog personality anyway!