Pet Boot Camp

One morning I was watching the news and a special about disciplining dogs came on. It enrolled four dogs in the Washington DC dog training to try and reform them. Each dog was treated individually and taken through a series of exercises. Dog clicker training was a main focus of the program A command would be followed by a click, and if the dog obeyed it received a treat. Eventually, if the dog heard a click it would do the command. I was astonished at the progress the dogs made in such a short time. They went from bad to good in a matter of days.
Had they held auditions for the program, my dog would have been a shoe-in. Jesse, my dog, and I have a very rocky relationship. As it seems, he wears the so called “pants” of the family. I didn’t think dogs could wear pants, but Jesse has showed me differently. Jesse has always been spoiled. I have spent countless nights sleeping on the couch because Jesse wouldn’t share the bed. Any pillow I have must be tested and approved by him first, and if he likes it, he might choose to take it for himself. Jesse takes it upon himself to taste-test every meal, whether or not I allow it.
I feel like I’ve done all I can to try and reform Jesse. I tried using tips from a book from my brother-in-law; called Good Masters make Good Dogs. I followed this book to the t, child-locking my kitchen, putting shock systems on things, but nothing seemed to work Jesse just out-smarted it all. I was at a loss. I then asked my veterinarian. He outlined a plan that always worked for his other patients. I’m not sure if Jesse is a genius or a dunce because it didn’t work. Jesse seemed to repel any type of constructive reformation.
This special seemed like my only option. If it could turn dogs that bit people, barked viciously and ate furniture around I was confident it could help Jesse. After all, Jesse was harmless at heart, he would never hurt anyone. He just needed some expert discipline. After watching the news special, I ran to the internet to see if I could get Jesse into the program. The news station website had a contest entry form for a sweepstakes that could land Jesse a trip to D.C. for dog training. I am normally not the type to enter contests, but I was hopeful.
Three weeks later, I got a message on my cell phone from a Washington D.C. dog facility I was quite surprised because I had almost forgotten about the entire things. I was to bring Jesse to the training center in two weeks on a Thursday ready to work. In anticipation, I had Jesse groomed and checked by the Vet, for posterities sake. Now that he was presentable, I loaded Jesse into the backseat of my truck, even though he’d move up front soon, and set off for D.C. Jesse made a complete transformation by the end of the program. He sat in the backseat on the way home, slept on his dog bed for the first time, and started a new diet void of human food.