Wednesday 15 September 2010

Corsos are cool!

There is no other way of putting it. I have owned dogs all of my life and loved every single one of them. I’ve had a German Shepherd, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Great Danes, Dachshunds, Shetland Sheepdogs and many mutts. Of all of them I’ve not met a more versatile and smart dog as Tiesto. Of course, one could argue that I was not the dog trainer and communicator that I am now. Okay, I’ll buy that for a dollar.

I have always maintained that there is a dog breed out there that is my perfect match. With my Staffordshire Bull Terrier, I thought I had found it, or gotten extremely close and her death devastated me. Tiesto is ever closer to that perfect match! He is easy going in the house, rowdy in the yard and loves fetch(something Tigger never did), he works so well with me when we are training together and he loves people and dogs. He is just 10 months old so a lot can change and I know that but given our last few weeks together I’m guessing it would take a lot.

First, my health went south with all the speed of the shuttle re-entering orbit and I ended up hospitalized for almost a week and recovering for about three weeks before we could really work together again. He picked up where we left off like I was never gone.

Secondly, we had been working again for about a week when a stray dog in my yard attacked him. I thought for sure that Tiesto was going to be ruined forever! Shortly after this attack we were in PetSmart trying to meet a small dog when his prong collar malfunctioned and hurt him! I was sure he would blame the small dog for it! I feel now like I stressed for no reason. The Ballards reassured me that he would be fine because of all the hard work I had put into him before, however, I wanted to know for sure! Tiesto remained great friends with his Corso buddies at the Ballards, however, I was concerned that smaller dogs would make him nervous. My awesome, PetSmart Trainer, Judy, arranged a meeting of Tiesto with two very awesome small dogs and Tiesto took it like a champ! He was ready to play after only a brief introduction! It was crazy! As a result of the prong collar malfunction I am a Gentle Leader convert! Tiesto is in his flat collar at home and when we are training at home. When we are out and about working he is in a Gentle Leader.

Finally, we have resumed his training in the intermediate class and he is amazing! So quickly picking up on what I want him to do! I have more health issues to get through but I really feel that Tiesto is going to be just fine. Every step of the way I have been communicating with the Ballards and with our Trainer, Judy. This has really taught me an important lesson.

Find a breeder of the Corso that you can talk to and ask questions of. Make sure that they love the breed as much as you are going to love your dog and that they are willing to make themselves available to you when you have any questions or a panic moment. I called Ana as soon as the dog attacked my Tiesto and let her know what happened and immediately began asking about how to get him away from this experience. She answered my questions and pointed me in the right direction! It was 8pm and she called me back to find out if Tiesto was okay and if I was okay and to help me! That is what I mean, a breeder that cares about your dog and you not just your money.

Find a trainer that you can talk to and get help from outside of class time too! That is where Judy at PetSmart comes in! I emailed her and let her know what happened and asked her if she could help me get Tiesto away from this experience. She responded immediately! We are even friends on Facebook so she is an email away when I have problems or questions!

Tiesto and Joshua are getting along swimmingly. Joshua brings Tiesto his ball and bones. Tiesto lets Joshua sit on him and waller him around. They are adorable together!

I will have to let you know how the intermediate training goes as we just started. Until next time, socialize, socialize, socialize!

1 comment:

  1. Hello, I know it's been 4 years since you have posted, but I would really like to be in touch with you. I see you are a Christian first of all and I also love PSALTY! I also love dogs and am a mother and interested in purchasing a cane corso. I also look forward to training him. I would really like to talk with you about your experience with this breed, as I am very nervous about it because it can be a dominant breed. Anyway, I hope you will get this message....

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