We are a four-dog household and always had the mantra, if you don’t like it, don’t come to visit. We existed with chaos at the door any time someone came by….or even a car in the street. Walks were full-out wrestling matches on a good day. Time spent off-leash in the woods, often ended with porcupine encounters or lost dogs. Then, in October 2020, Ferguson (Golden Retriever) and Oso (Columbian Street Dog) were mere steps into a pack walk with one of our other dogs, when Fergus, seemingly out of nowhere, viciously attacked Oso.
I feel we came very close to losing a dog that day…if not via injuries, surely by a re-homing. We had always had a multiple dog home mixed with rescues and purebreds and had been fortunate that we had never experienced serious issues, up until that one day last fall. We had been lulled into a sense of safety and structure that didn’t exist. Our home was shattered in mere minutes. After everyone got stitched up and treated, it started to sink in that real professional guidance was needed and it was needed sooner than later. We reached out to Ted and we immediately started receiving structure and guidance. While we were not clients yet, Ted took the time to walk us through what our future may look like. He used his experience in these matters to calm us and gave us the info and guidance we needed to at least keep the fighting dogs separated temporarily and invited us to come in so he could meet everyone. So, off we went to see Ted and Amy, with all 4 dogs in tow!
The main concern was Fergus and Oso. Fergus had an obvious issue with Oso. Fergus would growl lowly and go very stiff at random times when Oso was nearby. After the big fight, we had lost trust In Fergus to be around any other dogs and honestly, he made us nervous period. It’s not over yet, but with Ted’s work, in a very short period, we have turned things around and feel confident we are on the right track. Not only has Fergus and Oso’s relationship improved and they are living happily in close quarters, but Ted has managed to bring a semblance of order to all four of our dogs. Among many other improvements to our pack, the dogs are now capable of calmly walking on a leash, while maintaining their attention on us and not on outside distractions. They have also significantly improved how they greet people at the front door, and we have not had any porcupine incidents now in over 6 months! Our time with Mango Dogs has opened our eyes to a long list of behaviours we no longer want our dogs practicing and when we go to parks, we now see a huge difference in how they all behave…they look for permission to play and greet, they give other dogs and humans space and mind their manners and practice recall…it’s such an amazing feeling!
Not only did Mango Dogs shape up our house of dogs, they just as importantly gave us the tools and confidence we were lacking to ensure that in the future, but we will also be better positioned to identify issues and help the dogs in our home now and any who come in the future to lead a safe and active life. We have been dog parents for a very long time and have been through all kinds of training and all kinds of issues and found it often easy to justify behaviour that really never should have been allowed. I would hope that people would seek out Mango Dogs right from the start to train their pups properly. It has for us, and would for anyone, make a huge difference in everyone’s life and has been a very worthwhile investment.
And if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself at the end of your rope and living a nightmare with fighting and aggression as we did, I wouldn’t hesitate to call Ted ASAP. It will change your life for the better and may save your dogs. We have a long road ahead of us but are fortunate to have Ted, his team and his dogs to help us along the way. Shaunessy and Jesse (and Oso, Ferg, KC and Navi)