Patience Wins Over Belligerence

This is seven year old Jade, an American Bully. She is currently with us for four weeks of Aggressive/ Antisocial rehabilitation.

This morning, as we were sitting eating breakfast, Robert and I were discussing her progress. He reported that Jade’s perspective seems to have progressed from, “these people will eventually go away” to “these people are meaningful and worthy of my attention.” That’s a big step, and very valuable for further progress.

When their infant became a toddler, Jade’s first owners re-homed her because they lacked trust in her behavior around their child. Her current owner, a thirty-year-old woman who, in my estimation has developed a highly co-dependent relationship with Jade, recently experienced an event that helped her make the decision to get help for Jade. A friend’s pitbull got away at the park and mauled another dog. While Jade’s owner couldn’t fathom leaving Jade with us, she has a supportive mother who helped navigate the situation. I am happy that Jade now has a much better chance at living her life without the anxiety she experienced daily for, what I assume, has been most of her life.

This morning we took photos of Jade to share with her constantly worrisome owner.

The most impactful image that I captured is the last one where Jade is looking up towards Robert. I suspect she has rarely had that sort of appreciation for a human. It comes from a new found trust and willingness to accept a person who wants to help her, rather than feeling as if she must control the world in which she lives, sans the benevolent leadership of a human. I’m hoping that trust will replace so much of the hollowness that I see in the other photos.

When Robert and I were discussing the next steps for Jade, I said, “A Trainer’s Patience must exceed the dog’s belligerence.” I thought it was a good concept to share in Tammie’s Common Sense Dog Advice.