I packed my work box with the customary puppy-training handouts and headed out for my first appointment of the day. I was going to a busy area downtown to meet a 4-month-old Vizsla puppy. After circling the block a few times, I finally found parking in the bustling, revitalized neighborhood. My client, Jack, lived with his pup on the third floor of an old historic building that had been turned into loft condos. Jack met me as I got off the elevator, and we talked about his pup as we walked down two long hallways to his loft. He had heard about clicker training and was excited at the potential his pup presented for training at such an early age.
The pup – we’ll call him Hugo – met us at the door, wiggling and jumping all over Jack…until he saw that someone else was coming through the door. His ears flattened, his tail disappeared, and he ran to the opposite side of the one-room loft, leaving a small trail of urine behind him. “He’s pretty shy,” said Jack. “I take him everywhere, but he’s really scared wherever we go. I’ve only had him for a week, though, so I’m sure he’ll get better.”
Maybe, maybe not.
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