I met Buddy this past September after his mom Kerri messaged me saying she had won a photo session in a raffle. YAY!
Kerri is the owner of the lovely dog training company I'm the Cheese, and she's been a dog lover for years. For her, Buddy is the one who started it all. Here is the story in her own words:
Many years ago, I rescued an eleven month old dog named Buddy. He is a pitbull/boxer mix, and when I took him home, he was a 65 pound bundle of energy. He did adapt well to my life, but after two years, he exhibited a very unexpected behavior...he bit someone. Well, I had already invested my heart and soul into Buddy, and this behavior was so surprising! I decided that I wanted to keep it from happening again 110%, not only by taking physical precautions, but I wanted to know WHY it happened; not just the circumstances around the incident itself, but what what going on in Buddy's head...why did he react that way?
So...I started reading and reading and reading. I went to training demonstrations, and talked to dog behaviorists. I executed a lot of what I learned, and in doing so, I developed a safe and effective walking technique, and other unique games and exercises including "magic wand training", the "eat your name game", and the "kite game. All of these are variations on a number of behavioral theories, and utilize my extensive knowledge of canine psychology, physiology, and perception. The funny thing is, that as I studied for the CPDT-KA (Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed) I found that there were scientific names for what I thought were my techniques. For example: magic wand training=targeting and the eat your name game=classic conditioning. (I like my names better)
Well...needless to say, Buddy is still with me. He is almost nine years old and he has come a long way. What inspired me to keep him safe (and alive) has helped me to prevent unfortunate and intolerable behavior from threatening a family's (or a dog's) safety (or sanity!)
Best friends!
Seeing the two of them together, there's no denying the bond of love between them. To hear a story like this, and to see love in action...there's nothing like it. Thank you Kerri for having one of the world's biggest hearts, and for giving me a chance to spend time with your INCREDIBLE pup. <3 <3 <3
