[lengel]

I used to foster rescued dogs. Those selected for police dog training had very specific personalities suited to the work. None of my own dogs would begin to qualify for that kind of training and I have some wicked smart dogs.

And now, a cautionary tale. Once upon a time there was a beautiful purebred papered Labrador Retriever named Bramwell who was sent away for training because his mom didn't have the time to train him herself. The mom expected short-term, permanent results and researched facilities which could provide her with this. Bramwell was well-behaved for the first few weeks after he returned home but quickly sensed that his mom was not going to follow up on the training he had received. He had also started acting fearful in everyday situations. Pretty soon, he was backing his mom into a corner when all he wanted to do was go outside to pee.

Bramwell and his papers wound up in rescue when he was one and a half years old. He was adopted. After he jumped a fence and cornered his new dad's neighbor in her garage, he was returned to the rescue. I transported this dog on an overnight trip to get him some help. He was pathologically needy, had no boundaries during play (which he initiated) and announced his need to pee by standing in front of the hotel room door, growling and snapping at me.

No one ever told me what actually happened to Bramwell. The last I heard was that if he didn't improve shortly, he would be put down. Pretty sure that if this was a success story, I would have heard.

Again, Bramwell was a Labrador Retriever.