Hi and sorry I'm really late in the game here....and just skimmed through the thread...
What behaviour caused you to need to send her away for two weeks in the first place? What was she doing that was so awful that required offsite treatment?
And I guess, the next question is: just exactly are your expectations for pup? Heaven knows that my pups are not perfect - they bark at the doorbell, they tug at their leash if the smell something delicious, they even sometimes ignore me when I call them! "You talking ta me?"
Reading this thread, it all just seems extreme....but I guess I missed the precursor as to what started all this in the first place.
I do not expect Ellie to be perfect. I expect Ellie to do something that she is totally capable to doing when she is asked to do it. I expect Ellie to listen to me and follow my directions instad of taking all matters into her paws and her making the decisions on what she can and can't do and what she will or won't do. A lot of the times it is for her own safety and ours. I don't think it's extreme to ask her to sit and stay when the front door is opened.
Ellie was sent to a board and train because she was biting us. When we came in and out of the front door she would spring up on us and bite us in the arm or the leg. She also bolted out the front door at will. She was also sent because no matter how we tried, she would not walk on a leash properly. My husband is legally blind. When he tried to walk Ellie, Ellie was literally endangering them both by pulling them into the street and thrashing and twisting and lunging and growling whenever she saw another dog on a leash, or trying to get to a car driving by or a dog in the neighborhood barked or whatEVER
she deemed as dark and dangerous. Totally out-of-control. She was also sent because whenever the dog next door comes out into the yard, Ellie would literally throw herself against the fence and go completely balistic, biting the fence. She has gotten splinters in her paw and FACE from doing that and she also ripped one of her pads and it bled severely. The dog next door has literally pulled off the planks of the fence and stuck her muzzle through the fence to get to Ellie. I was luckly enough on those ocassions to get to the fence before Ellie and Mia could make contact. If they ever do, someone is going to get majorily damaged.
It was an incredibly difficult decision to send her to a board and train. I did exstensive research on the trainer. We met her twice (with Ellie) before we made the decision. I asked her a THOUSAND questions on her methods, techniques. I called references. One of the main reasons she was chosen is because she owns, breeds and rasies Shelties and has for over 30 years. She is also a competitive obedience trainer and winner with her own Shelties for over 30 years. It was not a decision that was lightly made. Ellie is a very difficult dog. The trainer said in the 500 or so dogs she has trained, Ellie is in the top 5 in smarts--but also in stubborness.
We made the decision because Ellie was (and is) outside my expereince with Shelties. I have had two Shelties before Ellie and both were completely easy to train. Both very smart, like Ellie, but very, very happy to please us---unlike Ellie. Ellie is TOTALLY outside any experience I have ever had with a Sheltie.
We love her madly and would never, ever think of re-homing her. We want her to not have to worry about so many things. We want her to relax knowing that WE can take care of whatever comes up and WE will protect her.
So, our expectations for Ellie are: She comes when she's called, she sits and stays when she is asked to, she doesn't jump up on people (my mom is 82 and walks with a cane and is frail), she doesn't BITE people, she doesn't throw us into traffic and she doesn't injure herself trying to attack another dog or doesn't get killed inviting another dog to attack her by her actions. Not too extreme.
