We adopted Callie from the animal shelter as a 7 pound puppy in late July. Her mom had been a pregnant stray and had given birth to 8 pups at the shelter so a concrete floor and crowded cage was the only life Callie had known. When we brought her home she very laid-back and relaxed. Within 3 weeks, she had become very hyperactive and aggressive, biting us hard when angry or playing. Callie also wanted our 12 year old German Shepherd mix to play roughly with her and was constantly bothering her. Callie was obviously very strong-willed, intelligent, and independent, and a DNA test determined that she was a coon hound mix along with other mixed breeds including Akita. Coon hounds are working dogs known for their high energy level, and we realized at that point that she was also going to be a large dog. We were beginning to have fears of whether or not she would ever be manageable enough to live in our home, and neither my wife nor I had ever had a pup with her personality. When we mentioned her rambunctious misbehavior, people would scoff and say she was "just a puppy" but it went far beyond that. Our veterinarian recommended Bark Busters and the training has helped immensely. At the age of 4 months Callie now weighs 38 pounds and is still growing. We work with her at home and take her to doggie day camp 3 times per week so she can socialize and play with other dogs in her age group. We also walk her twice a day so she burns some of that high energy naturally. She still has her moments, but from the first day of starting her Bark Busters training, she became part of the family. We love her and enjoy her very much these days.
We adopted Callie from the animal shelter as a 7 pound puppy in late July. Her mom had been a pregnant stray and had given birth to 8 pups at the shelter so a concrete floor and crowded cage was the only life Callie had known. When we brought her home she very laid-back and relaxed. Within 3 weeks, she had become very hyperactive and aggressive, biting us hard when angry or playing. Callie also wanted our 12 year old German Shepherd mix to play roughly with her and was constantly bothering her. Callie was obviously very strong-willed, intelligent, and independent, and a DNA test determined that she was a coon hound mix along with other mixed breeds including Akita. Coon hounds are working dogs known for their high energy level, and we realized at that point that she was also going to be a large dog. We were beginning to have fears of whether or not she would ever be manageable enough to live in our home, and neither my wife nor I had ever had a pup with her personality. When we mentioned her rambunctious misbehavior, people would scoff and say she was "just a puppy" but it went far beyond that. Our veterinarian recommended Bark Busters and the training has helped immensely. At the age of 4 months Callie now weighs 38 pounds and is still growing. We work with her at home and take her to doggie day camp 3 times per week so she can socialize and play with other dogs in her age group. We also walk her twice a day so she burns some of that high energy naturally. She still has her moments, but from the first day of starting her Bark Busters training, she became part of the family. We love her and enjoy her very much these days.
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