Monday, December 15, 2014





The Christmas Dog
Jeanne Perciaccanto
Ultimate Dog Training NJ



This time of year always brings me back to a wonderful Christmas Eve phone call I received from a client whose dog had to re-learn how to live a normal life.

Many think that dog trainers only teach a dog to sit and stay and miss the deep abiding care and love we give to each and every dog.  A little piece of us goes with each dog.  Our hearts and souls become part of the fabric woven into the learning process.

Lucky was a 6 year old track Greyhound who lost his front right leg due to bone cancer.  The loss of his leg also took away his confidence in negotiating stairs.  Stairs he eventually would have to do upon moving to a new home in Florida.  Not just a few steps but getting onto and off a ferry. 

Climbing multiple sets of stairs into the house raised up on pilings.  Inside the house he would have to maneuver and conquer a long flight of stairs from the bottom floor to the upper level of the home.

Lucky was truly blessed with owners who sought how to make his life not only better but functional past his fears.

Much to big to carry.  No available home alterations would offer a fitting solution to change existing structure to make his life easier nor safe to navigate.

Our only potential was to eliminate his fears and re-teach how to trust in his own abilities maneuver on multiple stairs.

Having only three weeks to accomplish this, I started first with understanding how Lucky chose to adapt to his missing leg.  I attempted to find the nuance of his movements.  What was his point of balance and how did he brace to change direction.  When he sat, which of his back legs did he put the greatest pressure on.  Was it opposite his lost leg or on the same side.  Watching him in free play, were there moments of hesitation.  I used this information to build a game plan.

Lucky was not a treat or toy motivated dog but some gentle touches served to help him make choices. 
We started with simply having him place one foot on a piece of plywood laying flat on the ground.   I focused on one foot at a time.
 We moved to all four on the board, then added a slight angle, starting over again to one foot.
Increasing angles and adding greater and greater self determination, we eventually had him getting on and off a teeter board and built from there.  Each step was Lucky's to make.

Moving him up and over a kiddie bench/table play set until he did it on his own, we then moved to a few steps at a local business that very wide steps and the stirs at the beach boardwalk.  One step became two which eventually became a flight of stairs.  We found places to practice and challenge.  Finally at a friends house with a flight of front steps, Lucky climbed his Mt. Everest!

This was more than Lucky managing stairs.  This was a process of building trust in himself and his owner.  This was belief in his own decision making process and belief his owner would keep him safe.  Every small step was part of a larger self growth and creating a foundation knowledge about his interaction with the environment.  Lucky wasn't just climbing stairs but confronting those challenges in life and all the fear that held him back from advancing into a functional dog.

Our time together was complete and Lucky moved on to begin his new life.

That Christmas Eve morning I received a phone call from his owner.

"You will never guess who is standing next to me right now!" he said.

Lucky managed the ferry like a champ.  He went right up the levels of steps at his new home as though stairs were never an issue.  Due to the angle, narrow space and length, his biggest hurdle were the flight of stairs from the bottom to the top floor.  On this morning, Lucky had chosen to move his life along and accept his final challenge, the house stairs.  All by himself, he accepted the final piece of the puzzle and climbed.

We both cried a bit in the excitement of accomplishment but more for the joy Lucky would have at conquering his fears and willingness to find that point of balance.  No longer was the loss of his leg Lucky's defining moment in life.

A part of me stood at the bottom looking up and a small part of my heart climbed those steps with him.

Ultimate Dog Training
www.ultimatedogtrainingnj.com