Napoleon – 6 month old Golden Retriever/ Chow Mix
Napoleon is a rescue dog who survived a car accident that broke both of his back legs when he was 12 weeks old.
His owner couldn't/wouldn't pay for his surgery, and he was going to be put down, until Laurel Pet Hospital came to his rescue, took ownership of him and performed the necessary surgeries and rehab for this little guy.
After 3 months of healing, Napoleon came to me for training to prepare him to be adopted.
The first thing I focused on with him was socialization. He hadn't been in any situation outside of the vet hospital so he was scared of people, afraid on the leash and terrified of cars and anything new.
We spent lots of time on "mini-walks" getting him more and more comfortable with people and cars. We also began working on house manners – especially house training - which can be difficult for an older dog. Napoleon is an exceptionally eager student, and he soon advanced to basic obedience starting with attention skills and moving on to sit, down, stay, come, and no street (stopping at curbs before crossing).
He is still a little nervous on busy streets but has made tremendous progress to overcome his fears and is now a very well behaved little puppy who is ready to go to his new home!
Melissa Perrot
Los Angeles, CA
Belle: 1 yr old German Shepard
Belle is a very sweet girl who is just over a year old, she has been with us since she was only 8 weeks old. She is extremely sensitive and eager to please. However, Belle has some bad habits that we are working on breaking her of right now.
She likes to jump on the counters and steal food. We are taking special care with Belle in her training so as not to upset her because she doesn't respond when she gets scared. But Melissa has been working with us to use penny cans to safely startle her when she gets into trouble and have been working on 'setting her up' so that we can catch her in the act. This is a critical piece of her training as it is ineffective to punish a dog after an event has occurred.
Belle has made lots of progress and is now moving onto more involved obedience tasks.
Regina Marta
Philadelphia, PA
Griffin: 7 year old male Siberian husky
I rescued my dog Griffin when he was 15 months old. He had an eating disorder, screaming when he smelled food and gobbling up the food so quickly that he vomited every time he ate.
He also was aggressive towards men. I was so upset because I didn't think I would be able to keep my dog. I heard that Melissa worked with huskies so I asked her to help me address these behaviors. Melissa tried a bunch of different approaches until she found some that worked.
She taught me how to be consistent with my dog. I am happy to say that Griffin is seven years old now, he's a good eater, and he no longer scares all the men away!
Nicole Coppola
Kennett Square, Pa.
Red: 9 year old male Siberian husky
Red is a sweet Siberian Husky who was a show dog for the first five years of his life. Because he gets a little anxious, he was never very successful in the show ring and retired at four years of age.
Red had no basic obedience training and very few good habits. He was housebroken but other than that, he was trained only to stand at attention in the ring and was well behaved for grooming tasks such as nail clippings and baths.
Red went to Melissa first, where he spent 2 months in 'boot camp' living with her full time before he went to live with me. While there he was successfully socialized for some of his issues – i.e stealing or marking or making a mess in the house. He was also taught to play nice with other dogs.
Red was an eager learner and took quickly to most tasks. The second part of his training focused on basic obedience skills like walking like a gentleman on the leash, sit, stay and come. Red has been with me for over four years and is a super sweet dog.
Edward Rosenthal
Los Angeles, CA
