Pumba came to me from CA. My mom, who was working for the public library in Orange County at that time, found him in one of the book drops. Someone had dropped off what looked like a shar-pei puppy along with the books. Knowing that I was in search for a dog to adopt here in NC, my mom decided to send this puppy to me since their search for his owner proved futile. So, named by my brothers after the warthog from The Lion King, Pumba traveled across the country and into my humble apartment in NC.
Sadly, despite all my experience with dogs growing up, I was not equipped to handle a dog with dominant and aggressive tendencies. Little did I know that I nurtured those unwanted behaviors myself by babying him too much and not providing him with a strong pack leader--yes, I've been watching the Dog Whisperer and I'm adopting Cesar's vocabulary. That man is my idol.
In the seven years I had lived with Pumba prior to meeting Michael, my dog trainer, I had gone through group classes and private training sessions with various people. The Puppy Kindergarten instructor had told me at the end of the class sessions that I was more suited for private training sessions due to Pumba’s disruptive influence on the other dogs. He mentioned that Pumba and I would probably not do too well in the group Beginners Obedience class that was offered to Puppy Kindergarten graduates. It was sad to hear, but I understood. I didn't spend as much time as I should have reinforcing some of the lessons we learned in class. For the most part, Pumba would actually do well when we're home training with me, but when he was working with my then boyfriend (now ex), he was stubborn and preferred not to. I guess he knew something I didn't ;)
So we hired a private trainer. And that was a luxury I really couldn't afford. I was a graduate student making slave wages in UNC. My live-in boyfriend at that time was making a little above minimum wage. A lot of things were going on the credit card, but I thought Pumba's training would be worth it. I'd like to have a dog that wasn't jumpy or barking at my friends. I'd like to have a dog that I could have other dogs come and play with. After all, eventually, I wanted more than one dog.
The private trainer referred to us (I'd forgotten her name it feels like it was so long ago) was nice. We did a lot of treat oriented training and reinforcing of the commands like "sit" and "down." But in the end, we didn't really get to deal with what I wanted dealt with--Pumba's aggression towards new people and other dogs. The trainer kept saying that eventually she may bring a couple of her dogs to see how it goes, but it seemed like a long way aways...and I'm getting poorer and poorer.
It was just too expensive. And I gave up.
A couple of years passed before I attempted another training class with Pumba. This time, I did some research and found a class that specialized in dominant / aggressive behavior. I was actually feeling pretty optimistic about it. The behaviors they described fit Pumba to a T. The first class was just with me and not Pumba. I was there with about five other people and we were all discussing our experiences with our dogs. In the second class, I was able to bring Pumba for a one on one session with the trainer. I held Pumba's lead throughout this session and the trainer seemed...okay. Rather, he said it was going to be okay and that to bring Pumba to the next class--the one that has all the other dogs going to. That third class was the heartbreaker. Pumba and I were sent out to be isolated in another room, because he kept trying to lunge and bark at all the other dogs. Finally, the instructors just asked us to leave. On my way to the car, the assistant told me that it might be a good idea if I saw a dog psychologist who can prescribe some medication to my dog. And also...to consider maybe the best for him would be putting him down because of his aggression :( I have to admit that this soured my outlook of attempting to train my dog any further with the help of outsiders.
So for a few more years, I had resigned myself to my life with Pumba.
It was a life where I rarely invite people to my house due to my dog’s somewhat frightening behavior with new people. In fact, there was an incident when Pumba had chewed the trimming on my front door in his attempt to attack whoever it was in the other side.
I had accepted the fact that owning nice things may not be an option because Pumba would eventually get to it and find some way of destroying it.
But I loved my dog, so yes…I had resigned myself to this life.
It was a life where I rarely, if ever, went home to my family in California for Christmas because boarding Pumba was not an option. I was advised even by my vet that boarding him may be detrimental to his mental health due to his highly aggressive nature towards other dogs. He would literally attempt to eat through the crate or the kennel in his attempt to attack the other dogs he sees around him. In-home pet visits were not an option because I had gotten to the point where I only trusted my dog-loving friends and myself to take care of Pumba as he was also people-aggressive. I’d declined work-related travel because I can’t trust others to take care of Pumba. But more importantly, I couldn’t trust Pumba to behave himself well.
I have to admit, it was quite an isolated life that was ruled by my dog’s behavior. I rarely took him out for walks farther than my backyard because I’d gotten to the point where I was both scared and embarrassed whenever we encounter other people and dogs in our walk. He would tug and lunge and growl menacingly while I ineffectually yanked him to another direction.
Vet visits were a nightmare. We had a routine where I call my vet whenever I arrive at the parking lot for our appointment. I enter the facilities with Pumba through the backdoor so as to limit any encounters Pumba might have with other dogs. I had to muzzle Pumba in order for the vet to be able to properly examine him. But even then, we had also agreed to give him an injectible sedative as none of the previous oral sedatives (including Valium!) had had any effect. Pumba looked so pathetic and the vet visits so expensive, that I had finally limited them to once every three years (for the rabies shots).
It wasn’t until a show called The Dog Whisperer aired on TV that I began to have a faint glimmer of hope. I told myself that if only I could find myself someone like Cesar Millan, then maybe Pumba and I could have a somewhat normal life. And so early this year, I once again began the search for a dog trainer here in North Carolina. Before finding Michael, I’ve talked to a few…and most of them had basically told me to just continue what I was doing. Due to the nature of Pumba’s breed, they had told me that I was lucky not to have been sued and that I should just wait it out…After all, Pumba was already seven years old. At most, he may just have another seven years to go.
Rationally, I understood where they were coming from. Their advice seemed the safest and most practical way to go. It was disheartening, however, especially after having seen some of the rehabilitated aggressive dogs in The Dog Whisperer, but part of me expected it.
Despite all this, I kept watching the show and once in awhile, an episode will inspire me to keep looking for other trainers out there. It helped that I had a new and very supportive boyfriend. He was very hands on in helping me with Pumba and he encouraged me to look and never give up hope.
And that’s when I found an ad for the Dog Academy of NC.
When I first contacted Michael, he had suggested that I bring Pumba over for a free evaluation. I was hesitant to do so, as I try to never bring my dog into situations or places that I am unfamiliar with. Michael, however, convinced me that it would be a great way for him to evaluate my dog by seeing him react to his other dogs (over ten of them!) for the first time. I finally—reluctantly—agreed. So, I packed Pumba into his gear: a double leash attached to a collar and a harness and off we went to the Dog Academy of NC.
As we entered the driveway, I can see all the dogs with Michael in the yard. He had powerful breeds like German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, and Boxers surrounding him like a pack. I slowly got out of the car and glanced at Pumba in the backseat. He had already started huffing and growling. With great trepidation, I wrapped both his leashes around my wrist and let him out of the car. My arm felt like it was being pulled out of it socket as Pumba tugged in his attempt to lunge at the dogs from behind the chain linked fence. I could barely hear anything Michael was saying from behind the fence because of all the barking.
Finally, Michael issued a command to his dogs and all of them (but one) went into their shelter. Michael came back and walked outside the fence to greet me. The first thing that impressed me upon meeting him was how calm he was given how Pumba was growling and lunging towards the one dog left on the other side of the fence. Michael asked me a few questions regarding Pumba which I attempted to answer while ineffectively trying to control my dog.
Then surprise of surprises, Michael asked if he could walk my dog for me.
Really?! I mean, REALLY?! I've gone through other private trainers, and I think the last one to get even a foot close to Pumba was back before he even turned a year old. And here was this trainer, asking if he could walk my dog. I remember looking at Pumba and then back at Michael, and wondering what's the likeliness of my getting sued if Pumba decided to bite him. Lucky for me, Michael convinced me to let him take Pumba and, after he helped me untangle myself from the three leads I had, he proceeded to walk Pumba around his property.
And that was my next shock. Pumba was actually walking beside Michael instead of yanking him the way he did me. He wasn't biting Michael or growling at him. He was being...extremely well-behaved. My then boyfriend (now fiance) and I hugged each other upon seeing that. We were so overwhelmed.
I was sold. I signed up for a three week training with Michael and I haven't looked back.
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