Zozz_ (CC0), Pixabay

Romeo is a 1-year-old reactive German Shepherd who is proving to be a trouble for his owner. Tom Davis, a canine educator, welcomes Romeo to his facility for behavioral correction. For 19 minutes, he demonstrates how to reprogram the dog’s tendencies.

When Romeo came in, he was very reactive and vocal. He would bark at the cameraman, and every other dog moves in the area. Tom Davis had the situation under control.

Tom switched the collar to a shorter prong collar for easier maneuvering and correction. Every time Romeo tries to be reactive, Tom is prepared with a correction move. The dog has only met Tom that day, but he is already obeying most of his commands.

The next part of the training is to bring another dog out. Tom must prevent Romeo from going after the other dog. For this test, a black dog named Lakota was brought out.

Tom continues to explain what he does while he’s handling Romeo. The trainer had Lakota sit on an area still. At the same time, he was able to command Romeo to stay where he was.

Romeo had his aggression issues for a long time, but it only took several minutes for Tom to take the first steps towards correction. Romeo isn’t perfect when it comes to following commands, but according to the trainer, the behavior change is more important at that moment.

Tom can always work on perfecting commands some other time. The immediate situation requires him to be consistent in issuing corrections and noticing triggers. Romeo was able to pace back and forth while there were other dogs inside the room.

Tom was able to move Lakota closer to him without Romeo reacting. With a combination of good body language, voice inflection, and proper timing, Tom was able to put Romeo in a relaxed state. Sure enough, the owner would be very happy with the progress.

Video courtesy of Upstate Canine Academy via YouTube.

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