Episode 7

The handlers were getting fatigued from the weather, the new environment, from the constant physical challenge placed on our bodies to do something unfamiliar. Our brains were jello from the constant barrage of information. This was apparent at the line-up for the shit run that next morning. The drawn faces, lack of persistent vulgar banter, tempers easily flaring, everything pointed to soldiers in training. The instructors pushed us as hard as they could because we had a mountain of techniques to master, and a short timeline in which to accomplish this.

We ran with our dogs, stretched out along the right side of the road in front of the kennels, down to a turn around point, where we (you guessed it) turned around and came back to the start point along the opposite side of the road. This created a situation where dogs were passing face to face while running. Some of the more reactive dogs were barking and lunging in passing, creating a situation where we had to apply leash pops to keep the dogs moving in the right direction and focused on the task at hand instead of all the other dogs. Fama was doing very well on the run, trotting along at my side instead of pulling as she had on the previous day, until her buddy Chatsi came along.

Fama exploded towards Chatsi without any warning. I gave her a good pop on the leash while saying "Foei," and she turned right around and lunged at me, her teeth snapping just short of my arm, and then ran on as if nothing happened. I finished the run in deep thought, with emotions ranging from anger to confusion. This behavior could not be allowed. I had to work through this with my dog, and I had some ideas on what needed to happen, but I thought it best to bounce it off a trainer first and see what course of action they suggested.

After the run, I gave Fama's feet a quick inspection, got her some water, and put her up in her kennel. I immediately went to find Heath to discuss the situation, as he had previous experience with Fama and could possibly share some insight on the subject. I found him up by the office having a smoke break.

"Hey Heath, you got a second?"

"Sure buddy. What's up?"

I hesitated here for a second, wondering what the outcome of the situation might be. Although we had some issues to work through, I definitely didn't want to have Fama taken away from me in lieu of another dog. I told the truth, figuring Heath would understand that I wanted to address the issues, not trade out dogs.

"Fama has bit me a couple of times, and she lunged at me earlier on the run when I gave her a small correction."

Heath smiled. "That bitch. You just can't let her win, ever, and you will be just fine. You have to be ready to take the fight deeper than she will. It won't take her long to learn who is boss." He added a final admonition, "Now don't injure her. You can't go kicking the crap out of Fama. Can you handle this?"

"I got it Heath. That's exactly what I was thinking, I just wanted to clear it with you before it went down. Thanks brother."

Now I had the tools, the desire, and the permission to handle the "Big Bad Bitch." I just had to wait for the opportunity to present itself, and I didn't think I would have to wait too long.

The first training venue of the day was a short road clear along the lane beside the pond at the kennels. This was the first time we had worked our dogs outside and we were excited to see what it was like. The first dog team came up to the lane and got ready to go, with their 30 foot leash hooked to the harness on the dog's back. The handler, Sean, sat the dog , Fil, next to him and listened to Gary give a brief description of how the search was generally supposed to go. Sean raised his hand and gave the search command. Fil lept to the task, quickly scampering out ahead of Sean, working left and right, searching for odor, occasionally circling back behind Sean to recheck something. In less than 15 seconds, both Fil and Sean were tied in knots that a boatswain's mate would be proud of. It went from a bomb search to an inter-species game of twister with a leash thrown in for fun. Sean was hopping and twisting, trying to get untangled while Fil continued to trot this way and that, cinching the triple half-hitch deeper at every opportunity. Gary finally called a time out and grabbed Fil by the harness, giving Sean the time necessary to free himself from Charlotte's Web.

Fama and I didn't fair any better. It was strongly suggested that we wear gloves while working on a long line, which is handler speak for the 30 footer. I had the impression that gloves were for wimps, so I headed up to the training problem with nothing but a smile and Fama, on her long line. Gary returned my smile, and nodded in permission for us to begin. I gave Fama the search command and she took off like Wile E Cyote getting launched from a slingshot. Luckily I still had a bandage on my hand, so I only got blisters on 3 fingers. About 30 yeards down the road, she circled back behind me and then headed back out. The resulting loop in the leash, around both my feet, combined with the pull on my upper body from Fama, resulted in the most beautifully choreographed, slow motion face plant. I hit the ground with a thud, and Fama came back to see what was holding up progress. She was just staring at me. I could read "douche bag" in her doggie eyes. The whole group, trainers included, burst in laughter. I couldn't even help from laughing. I noticed when we were finished that several video cameras had appeared in the crowd of observers, hoping to catch the next one for the archives.

After we all completed the road clear, it was time for lunch. We decided to head to the local Chinese restaurant for some grub, and the group of SUVs headed out of the parking lot, jockeying for position in the buffet line. The truck was bouncing around the parking lot again, with Fama in full form, excited by all the passing vehicles. I decided I would get her out and give her a break before we left in hopes that she would settle down before the car ride into town. I was running out of Advil. I reached her kennel and opened the door to let her out, and she lunged right at me. I got a hand on her collar to get some control, but the fight was on.

We went down to the ground, with both of us fighting for the best position. She bit me once on the arm, but it was just a small bite with her front teeth, and I quickly got my arm back. I rolled over on top of her, maintaining a death grip on her collar, and straddled her body with my knees. This took the fight to an entirely different level. She was just testing me before, but now she was pissed. Her teeth were snapping as she was lunging off her back, trying to get to my face. My ground fighting training took over, and I dropped a big elbow along the left side of her head. I got another small bite out of it as I was pulling back, but I really didn't care. Heath said win, and I was going to win, whatever the cost. She then grabbed my arm that was next to her face, the one holding her collar, which gave me the opportunity to land another elbow. This one landed with a solid THUNK, and Fama decided she had enough. She started to struggle to get away instead of struggle to bite me. I immediately eased up on her and allowed her roll over onto her belly, and began gently petting the back of her neck, praising her gently in a soft voice. After we both settled down, we were visibly shaking from the adrenalin, I let her up and she came right over and kissed me on the face, with her ears back and tail wagging. Her eyes were softer than before. She was apologizing and showing submission to me, acknowledging me as the boss. I had won a hard fought battle, without beating my dog. We were finally a team. I got a big Fama hug before heading off to lunch. It was a good one.

Fama is pronounced like family without the lee. She came from Holland with the name.

I'm thinking of getting a GSD puppy for competition, and I am excited about it. There will never be another Fama, but there are a lot of amazing dogs out there, and I love them all.

Fama is currently doing fine. I will keep tabs on her throughout the rest of her career and hopefully adopt her when it's time for her to retire. It was hard to give her up, but she belongs down range saving lives. I'd like to think that she will be a little easier on the next handler. She is a different dog now than what you have read. We came a long way in the year we had together.

Yet another odd coincidence, Logan was testing me today. Didn't know sit from down or stand, what's that? He was motivated, there was no lack of drive, I know he knows the commands...just plain @$$. I said sit, he downed, I said down he sat...etc. I said sit, he tried to snatch the ball, I corrected him he bit me. I corrected him again he sat....staring at me. It took several more to get the point across, luckily there was no fight. Now he's happily waiting for a weakness. I know why he did it today.

Hey I got a pup for you, Logan X Fama pups. j/k

That's why I use an E Collar, too old and slow to wrestle a furry demon spawn or throw down a 95 Lb bruiser like my Drago. I had Erika get a little testy with me when I ignored her. Drago is all mouth, so far....

A real dilemma I had in this situation is that I knew I could work through this in a non-confrontational manner if I was at home, where I controlled the environment and stimulus of the dog, but in the training environment, there was no time. I didn't have a month to work on it. It had to happen now, and it did

Dennis, I understand you brother.

Tresa, Logan is just one of those Dutchies. They are amazing, and infuriating all at the same time. I read through your dominance thread for some background, and Logan is definitely more landshark than Fama.

I definitely can't post the results I got for the term "Landshark" LOL Could you clarify that for me?

LOL.... I'll have to give that search a try myself.

Logan is sharper than Fama, more willing to bite you, like a shark, but on land.

OK gotcha! I got some odd definitions.

Sometimes he even test-bites me when I'm not paying attention, then looks at me like "well"...manipulative $***! LOL

You have your hands full for sure!! I love dutchies!!

Wow, I had this thread "remindered" for days to read, and finally I did! I'm so glad!