This is a video of Yuliya and her Kerry Blue Terrier, Brandy, otherwise known as The Beast". Brandy had a terrible aggressive desire to eliminate all small dogs from the world. Her owner went through three other trainers, none of which gave her a plan which resulted in success. One even seemed to make the problem worse. At last, through online recommendations, she found Margot Woods of Applewoods Dog Training in Maryland about a year ago and a half ago. The two made a plan that made sense, and then they went to work.

This dog was trained by her owner during wee and late hours. She was worked by Margot's assistants, as she coached them during daily boarding sessions, using small dogs carefully as distractions along the way. She was taught all the basic Novice level exercises, and then later, started working through Open level skills. These included the working retrieve (vs. play retrieve, as many teach today). This helped Brandy learn other ways to control her own behavior, and most importantly, her jaws.

Eventually, Brandy was trusted well enough to enter her into competition. This would help the team prove to the world that Brandy had learned another way of life, and with three unbiased judges scoring their ability to closely follow a standard. She scored well, earned ribbons, and also even had judges looking for her later to tell her how much of a pleasure it was to see her work.

I should add that while earning her first leg of Novice competition, I believe it was, another dog broke up the line of dogs during a stay exercise, stirring the pot by encouraging other dogs to move as well. One dog playfully bumped into Brandy, but this terrier focused on her duty and kept her rear planted. Her training had prepared her to handle such distractions.

Is this dog still aggressive? Margot reminds us that she always will be. But does this mean a life behind bars, or euthanasia? Not necessarily, because in this case, the hard work, dedication, and yes, even financial investment of her owner has provided proof that the two can find a safe place in their community. Yuliya will always have to be careful, but she gets to keep her dog. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of her in the ring in the near future.

For more history of the "Taming of the Beast", read from the links found on this blog. Then watch this video of Yuliya and Brandy in the Novice ring. Beautiful.

Do you know someone who has an aggressive dog? Solid, results-based training can help, but it isn't for everyone. It does require hard work, time, dedication, consistency and support by the whole family, and likely, some financial investment to ensure success. But it is possible, as you can clearly see.