We acquired our dog Jessie through a series of sad and unfortunate events. Her previous owners had purchased her from a backyard breeder and reported having difficulties with introducing her to strangers. We originally accepted Jessie as a client for boarding at our kennel, without fully understanding the depth of her issues or knowing that her owners planned to abandon her with us. When her owners refused to claim her, we contacted several rescues looking for a new placement. Unfortunately, she was denied by each rescue due to her bite history and it quickly became apparent that if we didn’t help Jessie, no one would, so we chose to keep and work with her. Jessie’s issues ranged from; nipping and biting strangers, nipping and biting us when she became fearful, extremely fearful of average household sounds and activity, terrified to walk on hard floor surfaces, quickly stressed by passing through enclosed spaces, such as doorways, nipping and biting when leashed and resource guarding. Even with all my years of experience as a competitive obedience trainer and my husband’s extensive background in training protection dogs, we were at a loss as to how to help Jessie overcome her extreme fear aggression issues.
One call to Canine Foundations and I was already feeling more confidant that Jessie’s quality of life was going to improve. Thanks to the guidance of our Behaviour Consultant, Julie Ott / Speyer, Jessie is now an affectionate dog who is learning to trust our family and adjusting well to home life. Although she’s still not done her journey to rehabilitation, it is amazing how far she has come. My family and I are so pleased with Jessie’s progress and couldn’t imagine our life without her. Thank you Canine Foundations!