Franklin has a trainer

[Penelope's Mom]

My boy will be leaving me for a month to be rehabilitated. I found, through a lady who works at a rescue, a man who only works with giant breed dogs. He has experience with EM's, BM's, Presas, and Corsos. We spent about an hour on the phone today and I told him everything that is wrong with my boy. He responded by saying that Franklin isn't broken and with a little tough love and time, he can be a normal and happy dog again.

I'm not allowed to visit him for the first two weeks, but after that, he will work with both of us on keeping the training going. I will be getting daily phone updates.
Is there anything I can do to make this easier on Franklin? He's never been away from me and his home, and I know he is going to be very stressed.

I'm gonna miss my big boy.

 

[aaronl]

Isnt broken?. wtf?

 

[ParentsofVegas]

Make sure you have done your research.
"Tough love" and no visitation would raise a red flag for me.
Hope it all works out for the good for you and Franklin.

 

[joshuagough]

Glad to hear this, he will be fine. There's no "nice" way to say this but 98% of the issue's in the training arena are owner cause and or related, this doesn't mean the owner didn't have the best of intent & love for the dog. It's none the less true.

Hard headed dogs will push issue's until they win or basically force the owner into submission to what they want to have happen. There are hundred's of gun dog training programs that do not allow the owner to interact with the dog for a month or more, a good number are 2+ months. I'm not going to get into all the reason's behind this, what he/she will be doing with Franklin is different in the application process but follows suit with the basic concept of none owner interaction.

There's no red flags to be worried over, it's the quickest manner to hone the dog into acceptable behavior modifications. The dog quickly understands he's dealing with a trainer that won't break and respect is 'more' quickly instilled in the dog (every dog is on a different level so some take longer / some shorter). What they are working towards is the dog receiving the same reaction either positive or negative to a given situation, in a constant manner.

He will come out with a skill set that will build confidence in him & for your self which lessens the "stress" level for both parties (you & him).

Great move on your part!
Well done

My boy will be leaving me for a month to be rehabilitated. I found, through a lady who works at a rescue, a man who only works with giant breed dogs. He has experience with EM's, BM's, Presas, and Corsos. We spent about an hour on the phone today and I told him everything that is wrong with my boy. He responded by saying that Franklin isn't broken and with a little tough love and time, he can be a normal and happy dog again.

I'm not allowed to visit him for the first two weeks, but after that, he will work with both of us on keeping the training going. I will be getting daily phone updates.
Is there anything I can do to make this easier on Franklin? He's never been away from me and his home, and I know he is going to be very stressed.

I'm gonna miss my big boy.

 

[musicdeb]

Red flags on this trainer. You're not allowed to see him for 2 weeks. Franklin isn't broken and with a little tough love...wtf?

Sounds like Franklin will be broken when he returns home.

 

[Amanda F.]

I did the same type of training with Parker. He got to a point that I just couldn't control him anymore, he was very dog aggressive. I wasn't allowed to visit for the first 2 weeks either. When I did visit I almost pulled him out. I felt like a terrible person for leaving him there. While on our visit I took him outside and he immediately went after another dog. So I decided to leave him to finish the program. When I went to pick him up he was in a down stay while we were speaking with the trainer. They were walking dogs around the room right past him and jumping over him...it was amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes! He still doesn't like to meet other dogs but he will ignore them and doesn't try to drag me to them to attack anymore. I know he developed the issues he had because of me. I missed the little signs from the time he was a pup and once I caught on it was too late for me to fix it. After the 4 week in-kennel program, we had an 8 week class with the trainer. Basically so he could train us lol For us, it was money well spent. He is an amazing dog and now I have the confidence to walk him without being afraid of what will happen. I know now that I was passing my fear onto him but I felt I had no control of it at the time. We had too many close calls and I expected something bad to happen every time we went out of the house. I think it sounds like a good option for you and Franklin. Keep us posted on his progress!

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Good luck...this isn't something I could do...and certainly not without LOADS of written recommendations on the trainer and speaking with as many of his past pupils as possible. My dog would have to be pretty darn 'broken' for me to trust anyone to 'fix' him without me being there. Just a thought, how far away is this trainer from where you live that he cant work with you daily from home?

 

[joegrunt]

Best of luck to Franklin and you. I know it will be a hard time not seeing him for two weeks. Not sure about the tough love, but hopefully it will benefit you all.

 

[musicdeb]

Good luck...this isn't something I could do...and certainly not without LOADS of written recommendations on the trainer and speaking with as many of his past pupils as possible. My dog would have to be pretty darn 'broken' for me to trust anyone to 'fix' him without me being there. Just a thought, how far away is this trainer from where you live that he cant work with you daily from home?

Ditto

 

[Rugers-Kris]

Good Luck to you and Franklin. I couldn't take this route myself. I am incredibly uncomfortable with the "no visitation" rule. Tough love is a concerning term to me as well. I hope it turns out to be what you are paid for.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

My obedience trainer does this, I have known him for 4 years, took both my two through all their KC training levels with him and still attend his Sunday working trials with Bear. Would I send one of my dogs off to him for rehabilitation? Nope. I know this guy, I like this guy, he has been doing dog training and only dog training all his life. His mom does it, she is an Akita and Doberman breeder and still I wouldn't do it. Maybe its me but if I cant be there, if I cant be a part of it from the word go, if I cant be trained along with my dog rather than apart from, I don't want to know and I don't care how long I have known you or how great a guy I think you are. You are not doing God know what to my dog when I am not there to be a witness. This is just my opinion and I am glad to hear success stories of other people, I don't think for a moment they made a mistake but I wouldn't personally be able to drop my dog off for someone else to fix and come back two weeks later.

 

[mx5055]

I would not do it. Anytime someone tells me I can't be there with my dog it sends a warning to me. I won't even schedule a vet tech appt anymore due to this. Training develops a huge bond between you and your dog, even if you don't get it right at the first get go, you keep working and improving. I also think it will send a red flag to your dog anytime you ever need to kennel him in the future. Training is about trust, and the dog's reaction to you. How can you possibly know exactly what methods they use if you are not allowed to be there? I would only consider this type of possibility if it were a matter of life or death for my dog. JMO.

 

[musicdeb]

I feel the same. I believe dogs and owners should be trained at the same time in the same room in the same city.

If I had not done the training with Titan, I doubt we would have bonded as we have bonded.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

This man comes highly commended from a local rescue. He's about an hour from my home and he usually only works with shelter dogs who are on death row for behavior issues and aggression.

Due to my financial issues, he is working with Franklin for free. All I have to do is provide his food. (Franklin's, not the trainer's. ..lol)

He says I can't visit because he needs time to lessen the bond between Franklin and me and if I show up, it will make us have to start over. I can call to get an update at any time and he will call me daily. After the initial 2 weeks, I will have to go there so I can be trained as well.

I would be lying if I didn't say I am scared and worried for my boy. He will be so confused and scared without me, and I will be a mess without him. But if this will help him, I feel like I owe it to him because let's face it, I'm the one who f*ucked him up.

I havent signed the contract yet, so i can back out at anytime until then. Part of me feels really good about this, the other part of me...not so much.




Oh, and he says he doesn

 

[Penelope's Mom]

I hate it when I hit submit before I'm finished...

He says he doesn't want to come here because he doesn't like to leave his dogs for too long and because Franklin needs to be removed from his territory for awhile.

 

[LizB]

I have a similar situation as Amanda and Parker - my dane is overexcited the second the leash goes on and by the time you get out and he sees another dog, it is ON. My own anxiety about what he might do makes it nearly impossible not to pass it on to him. We have had some close calls that scared the crap out of me, so I have good reason to fear a future event.

I made him this way, and in hindsight I see how it happened, and for me the only way to fix it is to have a trainer work with the both of us. She can be there while I leash him, take him out the door, walk him, sees how I respond to him when he reacts, and she can coach me and point out where I go wrong, each step of the way.

I very often fantasize about sending him somewhere and coming back to a trained dog (hey, train my teenagers while you're at it!) but I'm too much of a control freak and can't bring myself to do it. In my situation I am definitely the problem so I need my own self trained, more than him. I think another person could take him right out the door and he would not behave this way, in other words.

That said, I know people who have done this type of training and are glad they did, so it is very much a personal choice - you know your dog and you know yourself, and you know what is most likely to work. As for not permitting visitation I can see how visiting with the owner would interrupt the process. The owner carries the emotions of ownership, naturally, and that could set things back, I'm sure.

 

[SavingGrace]

I think this is a great thing, especially if he's able to do it for free for you. There are hundreds (as someone else said) of training courses like hunting courses or doggy boot camp where the trainers need time to work with the dog without the owner present. Having the owner present really changes the dogs behavior and the trainers need time to see how a dog will react in a different environment without the owner there. Franklin will be fine and I'm certain that this trainer is fine, seeing as how he's had so much experience working with shelters. They wouldn't be recommending him if their dogs came back in bad shape.

I see a lot of people focusing on the buzz words "broken" and "tough love" - those are two words that we don't really know the context to. Sometimes Mastiffs need a little tough love, IMO as they can be very stubborn. If I'm concerned for the safety of myself, my family or someone else - you better believe I have no problem being assertive with my dog. Tough love doesn't equal beating the dog. Couple that with his experience working with a variety of Mastiff breeds that, I would assume, were also aggressive - I think this is a win win.

2 weeks will fly by and the improvements you'll see in that short amount of time will be grand.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

I know it will still take a lot of time and effort on my part after he comes home. I'm of course more than willing to do whatever it takes to insure his success. I just don't want him to be scared and forget me.

 

[LizB]

He won't forget you!! That much I DO know. I don't think he'll be scared, either. He'll be confused, but he'll have instruction and a very regular schedule, which dogs adapt to very well.

What would make me feel better if it was my dog going there would be to visit the place when Franklin was NOT there and see what goes on for the dogs who are in training. If no visitors are EVER allowed on the premises that might worry me.

 

[Penelope's Mom]

Now that I'm on the computer, I can type a little more, to give you more information about our conversation.

The trainer told me that Franklin is still a puppy and can be trained and rehabilitated easily. He said he knows I am a good dog owner who just made some big mistakes along the way and he is willing to help me fix them so I can keep Franklin and we can be happy.
He has trained and been bitten by several large/giant breed dogs, and is currently working with a Dane, a GSD, a BM, and a Fila, so he isn't afraid and has plenty of experience. He has an empty run and is willing to let Franklin have it if I provide the food. He is going to be using a prong collar and will begin socialization by doing things like sitting in a parking lot with Franklin and letting people walk by him.
This trainer won't even be coming to pick up Franklin. Since Franklin is leery of people, men in particular, he feels it's better if Franklin is dropped off rather than him coming into Franklin's territory and having the relationship get off on the wrong foot.
He also told me that compared to some of the issues he has dealt with in the past...abuse and dog/people aggression, etc.,that Franklin will be easy to fix and that if progress is made quickly, I can start working with him sooner than two weeks.
The ideal situation for him is to work with people who want their dog back and can provide a loving home, rather than a dog that will have to be put into a rescue, so he likes this arrangement.

Liz...he said that rescue workers are coming in and out all day, so there are people who visit and monitor what's going on. I don't know if at this time, he has other dogs owned by regular people, or just by rescues, so I'm not sure about that.