Case study: The terrier terror + PDF handout

Max couldn't help himself.

When the 7-month-old terrier mix saw his family come through the front door, he ran  to them and jumped on kids Sam and Grace. They started yelling at him to go away. Their mother Jane stepped between the children and the dog, exasperated. "No, Max! Get down!" she said.

But Max just clung to her sweater, tearing a hole in it. Grace tried to give Max a treat and asked him to sit, but Max jumped up at her and scratched her hand, causing her to spill the treats all over the floor. The family's older Golden Retriever, Joni, came over to gobble up the treats, and then she and Max started squabbling over the food. It was pandemonium in the house.

Jane tried to get control of the situation, but it was hopeless. Finally she gave up and shouted in frustration: "Max! Sit! NOW!"

Max briefly glanced up at Jane and then went right back to being a turd.

"I have no idea what to do with this dog," Jane said to her mother on the phone that night. "He's just not trainable."

Jane was at her wits' end. The family seemed doomed to live in chaos – until they worked with a professional trainer to put together a behavior modification plan.

Check out the training plan for Max and get your free PDF handout on teaching a dog to keep his feet on the floor.