We have had other dogs, and we know, more or less, what to do when you get a puppy. But, when we got Norman, just a tiny, little ball of loving energy, we fell in love and lost any thought of logic and education we ever had and we basically did everything wrong.

When people came to the house, we would let him run to them, like a furry, mad demon and play with them crazily. People would be a little overwhelmed by the hectic fur ball but he was a tiny puppy and they simply laughed it off. Norman, on the other hand, learned that people meant crazy times and tons of fun.

The fact that he likes humans is good, but the crazy part is a problem. Once grown, he was a furry creature weighing over 100lbs and coming at people like a mad thing. People weren’t as forgiving then. When he would rush at them in delight, they were terrified. And poor Norman was confused. By then too, he believed that going nuts was the only way to greet people and we were unable to change his mind.

We did the same thing with walks. Norman would walk and we would follow. Well, that was fine when he was a stumbling little puppy. But it wasn’t very nice when he’d pull us behind him because he saw a squirrel. A couple of times, he almost dragged us and himself into traffic. In winter, we’d slip and fall on the ice and snow and hurt ourselves. And trying to get him to stop was impossible. We tried every leash, harness and collar available at the local shops and online. Nothing worked. We were defeated. Last January, after a particularly bad walk in winter where I fell twice and hurt my shoulder, I had had enough. It was time to get some sort of help.

I went online and around to find someone to help us and I found someone. Now, I’m not doing a plug for someone or an agency here. I believe there are many amazing places to train dogs. I am not recommending this particular one over another. We just used this one and it worked wonders for us: Grassroots K9.

We got Jenn (see above) to help us and I mean us, because I needed the training more than Norman did. Jenn explained things and showed me how to encourage good behaviour and discourage bad antics.

It wasn’t easy. There were days when I was sure we weren’t accomplishing anything and I wondered what we were doing. But then, I started to see results. Norman was able to sit and stay for a while. He could walk at my side and turn when I turned in the house. He was able to wait for his dinner, then my command to go out even though the door was open.

The real break was one day, when Jenn said I could walk him down the street. That had always been our Everest. Squirrels, people, other dogs, everything and anything would change Norman into a jumping, maddened creature that nothing could control. But this time, one pull of the leash and he settled back at my side.

I honestly couldn’t believe it.

Now, Norman is still not perfect. He has moments where he still tries to get away with his old habits. But he lets me cut his nails (first dog that has ever done so), he lets me brush him and he walks calmly at my side no matter what squirrel or other distraction comes our way. He’s not a super-trained police dog, but he’s so much better than he was.

I share this long-winded story with you, my gentle reader, because I wouldn’t have believed he could change this much unless I had seen it. Every video, contraption and gimmick we had tried with him had failed and he only became more determined to have things his way. And, yet, here we are. He’s by no means perfect, but, for us, he’s amazing. Training does work.