It is not often that people enroll their small dogs in group classes, and even less often that they follow through with all the training recommendations. But not Kenzo’s owners.
When Kenzo joined our classes, his single most notable issue was insecurity.
The poor little guy was shaking and looking completely miserable in the presence of all the people and other dogs. He pulled on the leash, did not want to put his bottom on the ground, and would attempt to fear-bite anyone who tried to convince him to do anything he did not feel like doing. The thing is, Kenzo did not feel like doing pretty much anything because of how uncomfortable and scared he was.
Many people would have given up on that—after all, he is only a small six-pound dog who can always be picked up and removed from bad situations, which many would consider an easier solution than putting in training effort. However, Kenzo’s people were not looking for management strategies; they wanted to address and fix the behaviour.
During the first two classes, both Kenzo and his owners struggled. The dog was shivering, the people were nervous, and the progress seemed like a far, faraway thing. A dog who showed up in a third class was nothing like the Kenzo I met two weeks prior. This dog was a confident, attentive, happy little ball of fluff who wanted nothing more than to do things with Namisha (his handler). I honestly suspected this was a different dog (maybe it actually was, even though it was never admitted😜).
There are fewer and fewer things that faze Kenzo today. He is happy to be anywhere and neither dogs nor people bother him any longer. Heeling, recall, stationary commands, jumps—you name it, Kenzo will do it.
It is truly a pleasure to see this little guy blossom and a great privilege to be a part of his people’s training progress. Thank you for trusting us!