A close friend of mine adopted 2 male puppy mill dogs a few years ago. Them being puppy mill dogs, they've received no training or discipline in the 4 years or so since she's had them because she just feels too guilty and that they should never be harmed again in their lives.
They've destroyed her house, not fully house trained, she basically goes home after work and "cleans up after them" every day. She refuses to crate train them (again because of the puppy mill/cage thing) and won't use any type of negative reinforcement training. She and her husband have spent over $35,000 in vet bills therefore re-homing them isn't an option either because no one other than these two would spend that kind of money on these dogs.
Here is where my intervention comes in: they're getting divorced now and both need to find a new place to live while they sell their house. These dogs you truly "can't take anywhere", so in the next few weeks (they're selling in spring), they'll have to do something about them. The dogs are very loving but they don't get along with other dogs, they don't walk on a leash, they're not house trained, they can't be separated, they cost thousands a year in vet bills, on top of everything else, one of them is deaf, so let's face it, no one else will want these dogs. I've already promised mysef that whatever happens, I'm not taking these dogs in because it would probably cause my divorce (at the very least, destroy our house) so I need to help in another way, by somehow fixing these dogs so they're more compatible with their new living situations.
Does anyone know of any trainers that will take these dogs over a few weeks and train them (positive only) into well behaved house pets? Anyone?
I've spent years trying to convince her that crates aren't punishment, showed her how my dogs love their crates, I've shown her our e-collars, zapped myself, zapped her, shown her vibrating ones, citronella ones, she will not do it. She's already admitted that the problem is her and not the dogs and has no business in the future owning any animals once these are gone, so she really does need someone to do all of the work for her.
They've destroyed her house, not fully house trained, she basically goes home after work and "cleans up after them" every day. She refuses to crate train them (again because of the puppy mill/cage thing) and won't use any type of negative reinforcement training. She and her husband have spent over $35,000 in vet bills therefore re-homing them isn't an option either because no one other than these two would spend that kind of money on these dogs.
Here is where my intervention comes in: they're getting divorced now and both need to find a new place to live while they sell their house. These dogs you truly "can't take anywhere", so in the next few weeks (they're selling in spring), they'll have to do something about them. The dogs are very loving but they don't get along with other dogs, they don't walk on a leash, they're not house trained, they can't be separated, they cost thousands a year in vet bills, on top of everything else, one of them is deaf, so let's face it, no one else will want these dogs. I've already promised mysef that whatever happens, I'm not taking these dogs in because it would probably cause my divorce (at the very least, destroy our house) so I need to help in another way, by somehow fixing these dogs so they're more compatible with their new living situations.
Does anyone know of any trainers that will take these dogs over a few weeks and train them (positive only) into well behaved house pets? Anyone?
I've spent years trying to convince her that crates aren't punishment, showed her how my dogs love their crates, I've shown her our e-collars, zapped myself, zapped her, shown her vibrating ones, citronella ones, she will not do it. She's already admitted that the problem is her and not the dogs and has no business in the future owning any animals once these are gone, so she really does need someone to do all of the work for her.