Beauceronen Morris

In Trouble With The Beauce´s

Text Anneli Tiainen, Beauceron News oct 1997

"I have had a lot of experiences with other dogs so I thought I could deal with a beauceron" is a common statement that I hear from people who somehow find that they have problems with their Beauceron. Unfortunately they don't come to the right conclusions with that statement. They still think they are the dog expert, not the dog. But mark my words, how you train, treat and discipline your Beauceron throws back at you, just like a mirror.

I know because I've been there. When my dog was one years old he sometimes behaved like a roaring lion and I had to live in the lion's cage.

.... I had to change my whole view on dogs .... unquote

The plans and dreams I had when I bought my sweet little puppy were so distant they could have been from another life on another planet. When he was 1 1/2 years old I got a tip from a friend to visit a professional dog trainer. The trainer I saw was Eva Bodfäldt and she told me:
-Your dog does not trust you, you have to show him that he can.
-Your dog doesn't respect you, have to find a way so that he does.
She looked him in the eyes, turned to me and said, "He is not a hard dog so I think you will make it. If not, you'll have to get rid of him. One should not live in fear. But you must always remember his personality and stand by him. Don't give him more responsibility than he can handle! Never ever forget who he is, MORRIS. I wish you luck."

We returned home with a lot of training advice and my black roaring lion turned, inch by inch, into a black dog who could be handled, even by strangers. It wasn't a miracle, it was hard work 24 hours a day. After a year I showed him in an open dog show and he wagged his tail all through the judging. Even when the judge checked his teeth. My first battle was won! But I wanted more, obedience and working titles. At age three I neutered him (not common thing to do in Sweden) and went to obedience class. The summer of 1996 we started in obedience competition. Three first prizes and we won all three competitions (in lowest class) and got the title "LP". I was able to show him officially and he even won a CAC that summer. How could this be? Did I turn him into another dog? NO, he still has the same kind of personality, he is MORRIS.

I learned to look at him in a different way, the way he was. I learned what kind of "buttons" I had to push. I even learned that some buttons I had pushed in the past were just like declaring war. Don't touch those! It is hard to admit it, but I really have to be honest about this. I had to change my whole view on dogs. None of this happened in a minute, it took time and lot of effort. Worst of all, I wasted a lot of time on anger and despair. Anger at my breeder, previous trainers and people with "good advice". Despair because of my failures and my mistakes. However, anger and despair do not take you anywhere except deep down into a black hole. What you should do is to build a ladder out of curiosity, knowledge, humility and a desire to improve. If you look hard enough you can find people who can help you. Beware though of making the person who can help you into a "god". If you do that you will find that you don't think things through and that is not healthy.

I will not tell you how to train your dog or solve your problems because I am not a professional dog trainer and you should not settle for less. But remember this:
Do not take advice from people who have not seen you and your dog together.
Do not take advice from people who have not experienced what you have or who doesn't know what it is like to own a Beauceron.

Never forget that owning a dog is not about discipline, physical abuse or dominance. It is about friendship and mutual respect.

Learn who your dog is before it costs too much. The price I paid to keep my Beauceron was high. My boyfriend left me as well as some of my friends. Was it worth it? I will soon find out. I am getting my second Beauceron late in September. As for MORRIS, we will compete in tracking within a moth. Life goes on just as I planned.

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Mer...

In Trouble With The Beauce´s

Morris

Mina Krypin