I cannot recommend Dog Over Breed highly enough. Mo and Vic are a Godsend. By the time I reached out to them, I was convinced I would never be able to vacation or have strangers into my house.
Let me start at the beginning. My daughter talked me into adopting a pandemic puppy. When we rescued our Rookie, he was only about 8 weeks old. This was our first ever puppy. We were given a lot of bad advice in the beginning. We were told only to bring him to the vet and not introduce him to any other dogs until he was fully vaccinated. Due to COVID, when we went to the vet, we were not allowed to enter. They would come to the car and get him and then return him. When I took him back to the vet for his last round of shots, he started freaking out. He was terrified. He was so scared, they actually had me walk him in.
Shortly after this, I took Rookie to his first puppy social. He was scared and acting in an aggressive manner. The trainer told me that he was suffering from fear aggression and due to his age, he missed his biologically opportunity to be socialized. She suggested finding a good trainer ASAP. I found a trainer and she helped me with socialization and basic obedience. This was helpful, but Rookie was often times taken away from the pack because they had too many dogs to work with mine. During this time I also struggled having people in my home because Rookie wasn't comfortable with this. By this point, Rookie was 80lbs. He is a Shepard/pit mix and can be very intimidating when he is barking.
Due to some issues at the vet, I ended up switching vets. When I requested Rookie's records, it appears there was an incident at the vet that triggered his fear and nervousness. After reading his vet report, along with all the negative reinforcement I had received from several trainers, I was afraid of what my dog would do. I was not afraid at home, when it was just us, but definitely did not want to bring him around people. I was not willing to give up on Rookie. If I had surrendered him, he would have been put down. I resided myself to the fact that for the next decade, I would be tied to my house with my sweet, scary looking dog.
After a few months, I really needed a vacation. This is when I started to research trainers and boarding that work specifically with more challenging breeds. Dog Over Breed came up in my research. Based on the reviews, I decided to give them a call. Mo answered my call. He asked me what I was looking for. Instead of answering his question, I started to explain Rookie's story and he immediately stopped me. He asked if he could meet Rookie and form his own opinion. He said he did not want to know anyone else's opinion before he met Rookie. We made an appointment to meet up.
We met in the parking lot of his place. When I got there, Rookie was going ballistic. There were all kinds of people walking by and Rookie was not comfortable. Mo stood back and just ignored Rookie. We chatted a bit as Mo stepped closer and closer to me. Rookie was calm as Mo never acknowledged him. Mo put his hand out for the leash and I freaked out a little, but I handed over the leash. Mo walked away with Rookie. He gave Rookie all the basic commands and Rookie listened. At this point Vic arrived. Rookie was a little bothered at first but quickly calmed down. Mo and Vic both said Rookie was a good, well-trained dog. They said he was not vicious, but he was nervous. They said my fear was a large part of the problem. I completely agreed with them. It was then that my training and Rookie's socialization began.
We have been going to Dog over Breed for about 10 months. We do daycare and overnight boarding. In that time, Rookie has become more comfortable around other dogs and people. We can now have company over and I have been to Hawaii twice. Mo and Vic have taught me so much. The most important lesson they have taught me is that Rookie will never be a mellow, easygoing dog. He is who he is and that is okay. It is okay to not bring him around everyone that comes into my house. It is okay if he is uncomfortable to put him in his crate. It is okay to trust myself with Rookie.
Dog Over Breed gave me back my life. Mo and Vic and Chris are phenomenal with Rookie. They are good and what they do and I feel fortunate to have found them. read more