We got a call a couple of weeks ago from a couple who wanted to book a reservation (good), but wanted to bring their dog (not so good). Normally, we don’t allow pets, but bookings are down so we decided to make an exception. They assured us that the dog was well behaved and didn’t bark.
Surprise! They were telling the truth! Their dog was a cute little terrier or bichon frise or spaniel or shih Tzu or some other breed (I’m not too good at keeping them straight). They brought it in on a leash, and it stayed right with them…just as calm as could be.
When I complimented them on how well behaved their dog was, they said that it hadn’t always been like that. They said the dog used to snap and bite at people and bark all the time. At one point they thought they would have to put down the dog. Then they found a dog trainer in Austin, Texas (their home town) that came to their house. The dog trainer taught the dog not to bite or bark.
They said the dog trainer used a “submission hold” on the dog to help it realize that it was not the Alpha Dog of the house, and therefore did not need to maintain its “dominance” over all the people in the house.
They said that the dog became a pleasant companion after only a couple of dog trainer sessions at their Austin house.
I will remember the “submission hold,” as it could come in handy with some of our other guests.
Tags: Alpha dog, Austin, Dog training, Pets