Deflated Ego

Having trained Mitzie (somewhat) and taught my grandmother's dog some tricks, I thought I would be a good trainer. I also thought I was good with dogs. It took Jake about 24 hours to bite my ego balloon.

Jake went from a happy and confident dog at Glenda's to a cowering mass of fur at my home. Wouldn't eat, drink and he cowered at any sharp or unusual noise. It was quite apparent that I didn't know what to do. I called Glenda after about two days of this. She told me to give it time, and not to coddle him. At this point I don't think Jake even liked me, he would not come near me unless he had to. My yard was what people call a postage stamp yard, so walking my dog had always been in my plans. Walking Jake was a joke...a joke on me. Anytime a car went by Jake would try to crawl in between my legs, or sometimes he would try and bolt. That first week I don't think we made it a whole block, before I would turn us around a drag, haul, plead for Jake to walk home with me.

Not knowing Jake's neurosis' was going to be an issue, I had signed us up for a basic obedience class. Talk about ego busting to the max. I walked in with a dog that would not let anyone approach it, cowered at anything and everything, and definitely would not eat any treat provided. I'm sure everyone thought I was nuts for having a dog so neurotic. I remember in that first class we worked on heeling and Jake would take two steps then lie down and not move. No amount of cajoling would persuade Jake to move. That night at home, I was ready to give up, but I had inside my head a vision of who I wanted me to be and the kind of dog that I knew Jake could be; so I couldn't give up.

Over the next few weeks Jake slowly started loosing some of his spookiness. It took him and I years to get him to a place where he was friendly with strangers and confident in new situations. But those first few weeks was still a rough adjustment for both Jake and I.

It was my friend and co-worker Beth who became a mentor and helped give me hope to carry on. At the end of our third class, Beth showed up with homemade liver treats, and she offered one to Jake and to my amazement he took it and asked for more. Beth was one of Jake's favorite people. When I had to travel for work, Beth would take Jake into her home, and when I came home, Jake would refuse to come to me. Another blow to my poor ego.

Through time, and lots of training and working with Jake he became the dog I envisioned. However, he always had the ability to humble me.