| Therapy Training?
This might be a little long so bear with me. My mother has had a fear of dangerous dogs all her life. This somewhat of a contradiction because she will take in almost any stray that comes across her path and find it a new home. She is an avid walker and carries a large stick when she walks, just in case. The day I brought home my first rott Isabelle 9 years ago she begged my wife to make me get rid of "that thing". Isabelle was socialized and trained and eventually my mother changed her mind on the breed in general and understood that dangerous dogs were the result of irresponsible ownership. When I moved to MN, my mother took Isabelle in for a year until I found a place to live that would allow a rott. She now loves the breed and thinks my Serena is a "beautiful dog" after originally thinking that rotts were ugly.
Getting to the point. My mother is still afraid of dogs. About two months ago while out walking, my mom was attacked by a dog that got off his chain. It took a large chunck out of her arm that required skin grafting and 20 stitches. So now mom is even MORE afraid of dogs.
Mom watches my kids while I take Serena to classes on MOnday nights. When I came to pick up the kids tonight my mother expressed concern for the kids with Serena. Serena is of great temperment mind you but we have issues around other dogs. The reason my mom mentioned anything is that Serena was trying desperately to go play with my mom's 11 year old Border Collie\GSD mix and I was working hard to prevent it. Even at 40 lbs, Serena can be a handful when she has her mind set on something.
So here's my question for you guys... I'm thinking about repeating basic obedience to give Serena more experience around other dogs. As well, I'm thinking about asking mom to go come with me and do the training so that she is as comfortable as me when it comes to controlling Serena. Also, it will get my mom around some more dogs and maybe help her with her fear, so what do ya think?
Bill  |