Our Australian Shepherd, Nils, was the sweetest puppy. He loved everyone he met and never showed signs of aggression. Between the ages of 6 months and one year, however, things changed. He was still a marshmallow with those in the "inner circle" family members and old friends but he became increasingly hostile toward strangers. After one minor but nonetheless alarming biting incident, we knew we needed help.
Our first step was to call upon our obedience trainer. Using traditional conditioned response training, he had been extremely effective in turning Nils into a dog who understood and followed important basic commands. But when it came to behavior modification, the same techniques that had been so effective in an obedience training context proved less appropriate. Indeed, we found that our use of corrections, pinch and choke collars and other means of "showing the dog who's boss" actually made Nils' aggression more severe, including more biting incidents. Finally, our trainer felt at a loss and gave up.
Through our veterinarian, we obtained a reference to Carole Peeler, of C&C PALS. After an initial phone conversation and meeting, we decided that Carole could help Nils. Her techniques were completely different. There were NEVER any corrections administered. Rather, the idea was to create positive associations with whatever Nils seemed to be feeling negative about, such as strangers and kids. Because we had a baby who was fast becoming a toddler, success was particularly important.
Carole understands dogs. She is able to see in their body language what is making them nervous, and she has researched them extensively. Between this knowledge and observation, she puts together a plan for behavior modification of a particular pet. In Nils' case, the plan consisted primarily of controlled exposure to strangers in a highly rewarding environment (read: lots of treats and praise). Her methods were simple and easy to implement, but they also took lots of time, repetition, and devotion on our part. Nonetheless, we could see them start to work almost immediately. Nils settled down. He became happier in general and distinctly less aggressive. He will still bark at strangers, but he'll relax in a short time. We've brought several complete strangers into the "inner circle" of people he loves.
The most important accomplishment of our work with Carole is Nils' behavior toward our daughter Ayla. From the beginning, Carole made sure that Nils had a wealth of positive associations with her. Ayla equals treats. Ayla equals play time. Ayla equals walks. And many of those things happen ONLY when Ayla is present. With these kinds of associations, it's no wonder Nils loves Ayla unconditionally. Our little girl is now a toddler and is entering the terrible twos. That means she is not always an angel, and often misbehaves toward Nils including stepping on him and hitting him. Nils takes all this with a smile and nary even a growl. Carole has ensured that there is much more positive in their relationship than these few mishaps, so Nils takes them in stride.
We recently had two more babies, twin boys, and we've applied Carole's techniques once again. And once again they're working beautifully. One of the great things about Carole's training is that she not only trained Nils, she trained us. We are now able to see situations from Nils' point of view, and predict how he might behave. We are also much better at being able to observe Nils' body language and other behavioral clues. All this allows us to prevent potentially unfortunate incidents before they ever develop. We owe a great deal to C&C PALS. We were able to keep our beloved puppy, and to have a family that coexists harmoniously. Not so long ago, it did not look like any of that would be possible.
Thank you, Carole!
Alan and Jordanna Taffel
