Chubbs' Retirement

I hardly ever write on my dogs' blog, but I have a sad announcement. Because of his recent health problems, Chubbs will no longer be accompanying me on lessons with my clients. While Muggsy was the inspiration of the business, Chubbs has always been its lifeblood. His calm demeanor has made him irreplaceable. He has played with puppies, corrected rowdy adolescents and walked calmly along beside me while numerous reactive dogs have learned to tolerate others. Dogs who have wanted to kill other dogs have learned to tolerate Chubbs, and one reactive dog even wanted Chubbs to be his boyfriend (Chubbs would like to interject at this time: Hey, I'm very good-looking. And awesome.).

I have so many stories of Chubbs behaving flawlessly in training lessons. I also have stories of his success as a therapy dog. One of the reasons Pawsitive Partners can be so successful in reactivity training is that I have lived with a reactive dog. While it may seem odd to specialize in aggression and therapy dog training, I have been successful as a therapy dog trainer because I went through all the steps myself with the fabulous Chubbs.

Chubbs was a local celebrity in the South Bay. Children would run out of the local libraries, yelling "Chubbs is here! Chubbs is here!" People would even come up to me on the street when I was with other dogs and say, "You're Chubbs' mom, right?" Everyone knew him and loved him. He had a special gift for figuring out which type of comfort someone needed. When visiting group homes, he would buddy up to the one kid who was sitting at the back, not talking to the others. Watching these teens come out of their shell while calmly petting Chubbs will always rank among the most moving moments of my life.

Chubbs has presented me with many training challenges but so many more rewards. Training has not been the same without him tagging along. I don't know how long before my training lessons feel normal. Maybe that won't happen. But in the interim, I will be training Bammie to be the new demo dog. As he is a little dog-reactive himself, this will be a challenge, but the majority of the entries on the blog from here on out will be more about that. As I have the next month off from teaching, I will be giving Bammie a 30-day training challenge and begin to groom him into the next face of Pawsitive Partners. Chubbs will begin to enjoy a life of even more relaxation, and I will do all I can to make sure the rest of his life is as fabulous as he is.

Love, Melinda