Wonders of Training

Training can transform an aggressive and possessive dog into a friendly and loving companion. Here’s a real life case file of a dog named Swami who was trained by Rajesh Bhat to become a more suitable companion.

Case history

Ritika and Rajat, on their way to work, spotted a lil’ pup on the road. They stopped their car to put him aside, but the pup came running back to them. Ritika immediately loved him for his big eyes. They started looking for a new home for him but eventually decided to keep him at their home and named him Swami. Rajat was little scared of introducing Swami to his two Dalmatians – Joey and Cheery but all went well. All the three dogs became our family members but over a period of time, Swami started behaving negatively. He became very aggressive, dominating and possessive about his toys and chew sticks. While eating or playing with his toy, if anyone came near him, he would suddenly snap. It first started with growling and then he started biting as well. It became difficult to even put a collar around his neck. They consulted a few doctors, family, and friends but the repeated advice that they got was to put him down or abandon him. They got him neutered but that also did not help. Then, they read about Rajesh Bhat, a trainer, who was very positive about Swami and felt that he could solve the problem.

Rajesh’s viewpoint

Swami was ferocious towards strangers and would try to attack them. It was difficult to control him. He was very aggressive and did not let even his owners pet him. It started by growling and then went to biting. He overtly wanted to be at control of everything. It became difficult to take him out too. Abandoning the dog will not solve the problem. If puppy is taught discipline from the very first day, he grows up to be a lovely trained dog.

Involvement of the owner

Swami’s parents were very positive and really wanted Swami to change for the best. They had full commitment towards him. They followed what Rajesh told them and hence there were behavioural changes in him since day 1. Lots of people never get involved in training sessions and the dogs end up taking training from the trainer and refuse to listen to the owner.

Solution

Swami’s training commenced under Rajesh’s supervision and Ritika’s full involvement. First month: Rajesh first had to gain trust as a stranger and then correct his behaviour. This was done by initially playing with Swami. Then the next few weeks were marked with teaching him few basic commands. Swami needed to be taught behaviour since he was very possessive and would not listen to anyone. For the first month, he was taught basic commands. There was progress in his day-to-day behaviour. Second month: Swami now started accepting Rajesh as his leader. Training helped in building a bond of trust. It also helped in strengthening communication, understanding and respect between the two. That’s when Rajesh handed him over to Ritika. Now, it was the time to train Swami to accept Ritika also as his leader. By now, Swami was almost a completely changed dog and Ritika was also gaining confidence in him and started taking him out. With her increasing involvement, Swami finally accepted Ritika as his pack leader.

Swami’s reformation

Today, Swami is a complete turnaround. He is not aggressive about his toys at all though he is still little possessive about his food. Whenever they give him food, they leave him on his own. All the three dogs get along fine. Joye is perfect with Swami but Cherry is still keeping her distance cause once during their meal time, Swami snapped at Cheery. Perhaps Cheery is just taking her time to get along with him. The training is still going on and they are aiming much better behaviour with time. (Rajesh Bhat has been training dogs for almost two decades. Right from childhood, he was fascinated with dogs and this made him take dog training as his profession. In cases where the owner was ready to abandon the pet due to behavioural problems, Rajesh solved the problem, giving a new lease of life to the pet & the family. He has worked with trainers in Germany. He is best at training dogs for security purpose and solving aggression symptoms. He can be contacted at Ph: 9810964472 (Kennel 1).)