Jonel T. and Duke

My dog is a classic example of not fitting into a one-size-fits-all training plan. I rescued Duke from the shelter at 12 weeks old after he was found in the woods. He has always been a well-behaved dog indoors, but it quickly became clear that he wasn’t socialized which led to fear aggression and general anxiety around new people and things outside of the house. It was also a pain to walk him any more than 30 feet from my apartment because everything scared him.

After one session with Jacque, I quickly learned how to take more control on our walks. He was still skittish, but at least we could make it around the neighborhood. The follow up group classes/pack walks Downtown were great for training in an environment that wasn’t radically different from the urban area that he was used to.

After getting a grasp on obedience, the next obstacle was working on Duke’s reactivity around new people and strange dogs while on his leash. For that, Duke spent 1-2 days a week at the Fit Canine Daycare to work on obedience around other dogs and get used to different people being around him. The entire staff was very patient with Duke, and have reassured me several times that it would take time to get him to a point where he would be able to relax in public.

Jacque also put aside time to educate me on the right training tools that would help me communicate better with Duke. A combination of CBD oil and remote collar training helped Duke relax, and pay attention to me instead of everything around him. With that combination, we were able to go from using his vet-prescribed anti anxiety medications every day to almost eliminating them completely.

Prior to training, Duke would lunge and bark at joggers, bikes, scooters and other dogs on walks. Now, I can get his attention before he reacts and have him sit and wait to let the distractions pass us. It was an extremely rare thing to see Duke look happy on walks, but smiling is becoming a normal occurrence and now, he runs to me whenever I pick up the leash.

Raising a reactive pit mix in downtown Memphis is HARD WORK, but it can be done. Had it not been for the support that I received from the team at Allegiance Canine, I may have given up a long time ago.