Client Interview

 Hi Robert, 

We were emailing earlier this summer about a possible stay and train but the dates didn't align with our summer plans. Dewey (now 1 year old) is getting neutered 8/16. We're wondering if you have availability 9/15 or after? If so, let me know, and we can connect. Thank you,

Abby

Submitted Information:

Name
Abby & Zack Kaufman


Email
abbyjkaufman@gmail.com


Phone Number
617-913-6951


What is your dog's name?
Dewey


How old is your dog?
14 months


What breed is your dog?
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon


Is your dog up to date on their vaccinations and can you provide proof of that?
Yes


Why did you select this particular dog or breed?
We have had two griffons before. Both were females and we loved them. We raised one from puppy to age 10, the other we adopted in middle age. They do not shed, are very sweet, well-mannered, and very athletic.


Age and/or Physical disabilities
Adult age with no physical issues


Please detail any issues that may make training hard for you to participate in.
None


What has been your ownership history with dogs to date?
We have had two griffons over the last 10 years and Dewey is our third. We both grew up with dogs. The other two have passed and now we only have one dog, Dewey.


How many days per week are you willing to train your dog?
Daily


How much time per day are you willing to train your dog?
He gets 2-3 walks per day. Able to add 20 minutes of training per day, or take time from the walks for training.


Does your dog require house training?
No


What has been your history to date of training dogs?
We trained our first griffon puppy 10 years ago in a house that had very low foot traffic and we had no children at the time. She trained up quickly and easily.

With Dewey, it has been more of a challenge training him with 2 young children (ages 6 and 8) at home. We also live in a house with high foot traffic on our street as we live near a park with soccer fields and there are walking paths connected to the road near our house.

We did a young adult dog class last spring with Dewey, and had a trainer come to the house and work with us this summer. He made progress, but needs to learn more house manners and to be less reactive on walks and when people/dogs walk down our street past the house.


Have your previous dog training results been satisfactory to you?.Yes
1


If you have participated in dog training in the past but not finished, please explain why.
No - we have always finished any classes. We have used some online type courses with Dewey such as Crate Games by Susan Garrett, and K9 Academy which was more structured. Also see above about classes and training we did.


Please describe goals for training your dog.
We would like him to "master the basics." Loose leash walking, "leave it," drop it, "no," "sit, stay, come."

House manners - no counter surfing, no chewing shoes, stuffed animals, no begging at the table, no barking, no jumping. He is very food motivated which means we have to be on high alert about leaving food on the counters or dining table.

We've had social interactions in our house where he is grabbing pizza slices off the table from kids, even on leash. In social situations sitting in our yard he is very aggitated if there's food out and he needs to be tied up for this or put in the house. But he barks in those situations.

On leash walks through our neighborhood he can be reactive to dogs when we pass them walking with their owners. Some dogs he's fine with, others he barks and lunges at. We have him on a gentle leader which helps control him in these situations, or for general pulling.





Please describe interactions your dog or dogs have with adult family members, friends, or other adult.
He doesn't understand personal space yet. He is always underfoot, bumping into people, sniffing people, rubbing on people, barking for attention, barking for food. If he's not resting or napping, he most likely being annoying. He's pretty excitable.


Please describe the exposure or interactions your dog or dogs have with children.
He has lived with our 6 and 8 year old boys since he was 7 weeks old. He loves to get their attention but doesn't know how to do it in a way that doesn't bother them. He chases them, jumps on them, nips, bumps them, steals their food and toys.

They cannot sit on the floor and play a board game or with other toys without the dog coming over, licking them, and stealing pieces or jumping on the toy or them. We have had many lego projects get smashed. Our remedy is to close the door to their playroom and bedrooms and Dewey isn't allowed in those rooms. If the door gets left open he will steal stuffed animals. He seems to know enough not to destroy them, but he wants us to chase him for the animals.


Please list the household family members interacting with your dog(s) now.
Abby 42F
Zack 41M
Chase 6m
Carter 8m


List any and all aggressive interactions your dog or dogs have had with adults and children.
None with people. Sometimes he gives a small growl when we are putting on his invisible leash shock collar.

The vet tells us he is nervous and reactive at the vet. He has snapped at them when they touch his rear legs.


List any and all aggressive interactions your dog or dogs have had with other dogs.
He has had some aggressive interactions with pitbulls walking by our house and he can be very difficult to wrangle when he is engaging in these interactions. No bites have been exchanged, it's posturing.

He has never been bitten or bitten another dog, although when Abby had to remove him from a posturing fight with another dog he turned around and bit her hand. We do not believe he was intending to bite her.

Other dogs get annoyed with him because he doesn't know when to stop playing with them. He humps other dogs and doesn't pick up on social clues that he is playing too rough. He was neutered 8/29 so hopefully some of that goes away as the testosterone fades.


List and describe any and all behavioral problems that you have observed in your dog(s)
Pretty much everything!

He still pulls on the leash and is very reactive. Sometimes he lunges at people, bikers, noisy trucks, toddlers, and other dogs.

He counter surfs and begs at the dinner table. If we aren't watching, he will counter surf the dinner table while the children are eating and steal food.

He gets very excited with the children and jumps and nips them.

He loves other dogs but doesn't pick up on their social cues that his playing is too much.

He is reactive sometimes to noises, squirrels, etc.

He jumps on our beds, steals stuffed animals, chews shoes. -Chase

When the kids are playing outside with their friends, he follows them around and jumps on them. Our kids would love to have friends over without the dog ruining their play time. - Carter

When I walk in the door, I don't want the dog to jump on me. -Chase

He goes in the bathroom and wants to play when we go to the bathroom. -Chase

He runs into our children's rooms while they are sleeping, jumps onto their beds, and steals their stuffed animals, most of all Big Ducky.

He is annoying and barks for food during social gatherings.

He digs in the yard and barks at passerby.

Despite our attempts at training him not to do these things, we haven't reached mastery on it.


Please describe any reactiveness you have seen between your dog or dogs and strange dogs and/or humans.
He is mostly reactive to strange people and other dogs that give off bad vibes - dogs that are known to be reactive and aggressive. Walking him feels like Russian roulette because you never know which dogs you pass that he's going to react to.




Does your dog have anxiety or fear issues?
Occasionally in unfamiliar situations


Have you received any professional training help with your current dog or dogs referenced in this questionaire?
Yes - we have taken an adult puppy course with Dewey and also had a professional trainer help us at our home.


Please describe the frequency of leashed walks, unleashed exercise or dog sports that your dog(s) are currently involved in.
He gets 2-3 walks a day. Usually 1-2 are on leash and the third is a woods walk/run off leash.


Please describe the socialization and family activity experiences that your dog or dogs have experienced to date. (ie vacations, hikes, parks visited, strange houses visited, or commercial retail stores visited).
He has gotten a TON of socialization early and often. We live next to a large field complex and there are dog play groups almost all day long. We took him there early on until he started becoming reactive to certain dogs and not picking up on the social cues when dogs didn't want him to play with them.

We also don't trust him off leash in the field. He needs work on recalls.

We take him on hikes, vacations and other outings, but now, because his behavior is such an annoyance, we are boarding him during family vacations and other events where a behaved dog would be otherwise welcome.

Our previous dogs were never boarded and came everywhere with us.


What type of environment does your dog or dogs live in (ie house, apartment, outside, kennel)?
Single family home on a half acre in a neighborhood setting. Our road connects to walking paths so it is a high foot/dog traffic road.


What items has your dog destroyed inside or outside your house?
It's probably easier to list the things he has not destroyed. But, he has not destroyed any couches or anything too expensive.

Shoes is the main thing. We now have to leave all shoes on our three season porch and keep the door closed. He still sometimes gets out there and will chew the straps off shoes.

We don't crate him anymore, but that means sometimes we close him in our bedroom for social interactions, but he scratches our doors and walls and barks.

He has stolen and chewed countless kid toys, dug holes in the yard, eaten hostas, peed on the garden vegetables. We also have to keep our toilet paper in a drawer because he steals and destroys the roll if left on the toilet paper holder.


Which service are you most interested in?
K911 Board and Train Program


What days and times are best for you to take lessons or leave your dog wiith us?
Week days, 9:30-12:30


If you were referred by someone, please let us know who.
Google


Would you like our newsletter sent to you?
Yes