Our Story | Francis

We tried it all. Just like soooo many dog owners.

My husband Michael and I adopted Francis 3 years ago and thought nothing of it! I grew up with dogs, they lived outside… they were just dogs - no big deal. When we brought her home, we let her have the whole house, and I specifically remember being excited to show her the backyard! “Fran, you get allllll of this!”

Our friends Jen & John stopped over that evening to meet her. John says “where is she sleeping tonight? I looked at Michael, shrugged, and was like.. “ummm probably like, wherever she wants to?” John says “I have an old crate you can have. I’ll drop it off later tonight!” I was thinking — wait, so she’s going to sleep in a crate? He was so confident in knowing that’s where she should sleep, and I am forever grateful for that (ONE) piece of structure we provided for our dog. Thanks John : )

It’s sort of like telling your kids “Good luck finding a comfortable place to sleep tonight, do what you think is best…?” Ha!

Fran was the PERFECT dog for the first 2 weeks. We took her to music at the park, on longgg walks where she led the way, I let her meet other dogs while walking on leash, and I let all the kids pet her at the park - (I don’t recommend any of these things)... We also thought she was a vizsla (ha!) and had committed to taking her to the park everyday to let her run.

Then there were tears. Fran would come AT me in the backyard. Bite at my legs, jump on me, growl, scratch me, and chase me to the point where I would run inside because I was now actually.. scared of her. My legs were just one big bruise, and I didn’t wear shorts because it was embarrassing. I took up running (I hate running) so I could keep up with her on walks. We ordered a harness thinking that would help. The last thing I wanted to do was walk her - It. Was. Not. Fun.

We had to do something. We signed up for obedience classes. I went straight for Advanced because well.. she could “sit, stay, down, sit pretty, roll over, spin, back, and the list goes on.” Long story short, she wasn’t ready & got kicked out day 1 (don’t feel bad, we should have never came back). Walking her into that room full of dogs that could keep it together (for the most part), EXCEPT for Fran was so so so embarrassing. She pulled, she choked, she peed, she lunged, she barked, it was.. amazing. (insert sarcasm).

We went back. I thought that positive reinforcement (there’s a time & place) and these obedience classes were going to “fix her.” She barked & lunged less every time, but her state of mind was a disaster. I had NO clue at the time. She whined with excitement and raced her way through all of these obedience drills, while I rewarded her with high value treats that we were told to bring. I am feeding her hot dogs, telling her to sit-stay, all while her mental state was THROUGH THE ROOF. I was rewarding this behavior. I repeat…. rewarding. Are you following? I was basically telling her (without knowing) keep acting the way you are acting, and I’ll give you treats.

Shoot.

We ended up ‘graduating’ from beginner’s obedience. Honestly, looking back, I am so thankful we did these, because it taught me SO much, in the weirdest way. I’ll never forget the moment I asked one of the trainers how to stop my dog from barking and lunging at our windows at home while other people / dogs passed by. She told me to cover the bottom half of the windows with wax paper, and that it helps & works with her dogs. In the nicest way possible… this is not the right answer. There is no way I’m covering my house in wax paper.. for my dog. I’m glad it works for her dogs, but I am here to teach other balanced & healthier ways to approach these issues. For both human AND dog.

I do it all so differently now.

Which leads me to >> my passion for dog psychology & behavior.