Bark Blog

Sir Murphy came to me like most of the dogs that come to me; an owner in tears while the dog is wagging his tail and running the show. Katrina, his owner, was really at her wits end trying to house break Murphy, along with breaking him of all the bad habits he/they had developed since the day she took him home from the breeder. Sleepless, in tears, and looking for relief, she dropped Murphy off to Perfect Pooches for the week for our Doggie Boot Camp.

Boot Camp is tough on first time dog owners. They miss their dog after they have gotten a little sleep and tend to fall back into old behaviors and habits, so as expected, Katrina called and text messaged me nearly daily, wondering how her puppy was. While it was fine with me, I reminded her that was a part of the problem. It’s good to miss your dog, but you’re the leader and need to be strong and dominant for the dog.

Murphy, on the other hand, settled in relatively quickly. Within 48 hours I had him on a schedule for eating, going to the bathroom outside, and for exercise and training. His demeanor was changing rather quickly and my eight-year-old nephew was able to walk him without any pulling or issues in just five days.

I sent Katrina a little video during Murphy’s stay and during one of his training sessions and she could not believe that was her dog.

“Oh, my God, Tim! That’s my little buddy! I can’t believe how good he is being! Thank you soooo much! – Katrina, Milford, PA

The easy work was done; Murphy has the tools and we laid the groundwork for him to continue down this well-behaved path. The hard work comes into play when you have to train the dog owner.

Katrina, like most others, has a very busy schedule, so helping her understand the importance of the routine for Murphy was the key to his training. Murphy wants to be the king and if given an inch, he’ll take a foot, so in order for his training to truly be successful, it’s up to her to be diligent in being able to be strong enough to not give in when he’s cute and to enforce the training regimen.

A few days after she had picked him up, I checked in to see how things were going.

“He is still barking in his kennel at night, but he is peeing and pooping outside,” she said.

I had to ask her what she was doing when he was crying and barking at night – and to my suspicion, she needed to be more stern with him and be the boss. I gave her a pep talk and checked in a few days later.

“He is quiet now! Oh, my god, thank you!!!! I finally got some sleep!”

Murphy is a good dog, but he needed a little more discipline and direction, as did his owner. Nearly a year later, while they have their ups and downs, Sir Pees and Poops A Lot is not having any inside accidents and sleeping peacefully in his kennel.