My fiancé, Bill, and I talked about Cholula long before we had her. She’s the first dog either of us has ever had, and we were ecstatic to welcome her home through Korean K9 Rescue during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

They let us know she’d need confidence-building because she’s fearful, so we tried to prepare ourselves as best as we could.

However, early on, we knew we’d have to work incredibly hard to boost her confidence. With Jason’s help, persistence, and lots of love, we continue to watch our fearful Cholula turn into a confident and happy gal. 

Because of the pandemic, our first four sessions with Jason were virtual. When we first got Cholula. she was reluctant to come out of her crate. She would hide in the far back and wouldn’t come out, even for food. For our first session, Jason gave us strategies to help Cholula come out of her crate. he quickly realized she was not food motivated, so the leash was our main form of communication and our key training tool. Cholula didn’t respond well to the clicker because of the sound, so we began with (and continue to use) verbal cue markers.

There were days when it took almost two hours for Cholula to come out of her crate. It was stressful for all of us and there were moments when Bill and I wondered if we’d ever get Cholula comfortable around us. She seemed absolutely terrified of us, our home, and everything we offered her.

Our training sessions, phone calls, and text messages with Jason during those first few weeks gave us hope and encouragement. Jason assured us that Cholula would get over her fears as long as we helped her through them. I remember one pivotal moment during our second session with Jason when I shared some feelings of discouragement. Jason asked, “If we wanted Cholula to live a life full of fear or if we wanted her to live a happy and confident life.” We knew we had to put in the work to help Cholula become the happy dog she deserved to be instead of allowing her to live in fear.

We used gentle leash pressure, food trails, and honestly, loads of patience, to help ease her out of her crate. We learned that patience truly is a virtue and that when we ignored Cholula and gave her her space, she wanted to spend time with us. Eventually, she was coming out of the crate on her own when she wanted to be near us and there were even a few tail wags!

To help Cholula continue to feel more comfortable with us, Jason encouraged hand feeding her meals. We were most successful with the Honest Kitchen Whole Food Clusters a Stella and Chewy’ Savory Salmon & Cod Meal Mixers (very stinky).

Cholula began making more eye contact with us and learned those good things happened outside of her crate, too.

She began to make positive associations with Bill and I and we could begin working on other things once she was more comfortable out of her crate.

One major thing we needed to work on with Cholula was her confidence outside. Initially, taking her for a walk was stressful for everyone involved.

Cholula was scared and she planted herself in one spot. Jason encouraged us to use some leash tension to keep her moving, but Cholula was just spinning around away from the pressure. With Jason’s advice, we switched Cholula to the K9 Lifeline Transitional Leash and we made incredible progress after a learning curve.

Jason talked us through the positive conditioning that we needed to do with the leash. It did take a bit of time to get Cholula comfortable on the leash, but with some tasty treats, practice indoors and outdoors, and plenty of “baby steps”, Cholula now runs up to us when we grab her transitional leash to take her for a walk. There’s still plenty of work to do to get Cholula completely comfortable outside, but we’ve seen such a huge difference in her.

Jason continues to encourage us to get her used to loud noises outdoors, so we continue to practice having her in a calm sit position when we encounter triggers.

When COVID restrictions lifted slightly, we were lucky to have some outdoor walk sessions with Jason. He showed us the big difference subtle leash pressure can have to calm Cholula down. With Jason’s help, Bill and I felt comfortable handling Cholula on the Transitional Leash which, in turn, helped Cholula feel more comfortable on it. We began by practicing walking indoors and we sent Jason many videos for tips. He encouraged us to keep practicing inside and when she was ready, we could try outside. 

In the beginning, Cholula kept pawing at her Transitional Leash, but we kept at it and did our best to keep her calm through it all. It’s incredible how our own confidence in handling her leash impacts how she is on the leash.

After a few months, we got Cholula to a point where she was comfortable inside and outside of her crate and she began exploring more outside.

However, all of a sudden, Cholula hated her crate. She tore through her blanket, her primo pad, and even began biting the crate itself. Because we couldn’t get Cholula out of her crate in the beginning, we seemed to have given her too much freedom outside of it now. Many tears (on my end) and several phone calls later, Jason helped us through it. Jason reminded us of the power of crate games and “baby steps.” We had to help Cholula re-learn that her crate was a good space.  

We began again with crate games and only leaving her in there a few minutes at a time, at random times throughout the day. Jason assured us Cholula needed to learn that her going in the crate didn’t mean we’d leave her alone. With more patience and work, Cholula began trotting back into her crate and she now waits for her “break” cue to come out. Cholula’s best treats and all her meals happen in the crate. She’s learned “good things come to those who crate!” 

Jason also helped us understand and implement the 3 D’s for the “Place” cue: Duration, Distance, and Distractions. While it’s not perfect, Cholula’s made incredible progress with the “Place” cue. Jason helped us create positive associations with the “Place” cue that comes in handy when we’re traveling, vacuuming, and when we need Cholula to stay calm in one spot.

We continue to build her confidence with either a daily obstacle course or a towel game. We’re trying to incorporate more “sniffles” into Cholula’s life to keep her active, engaged, and confident!

It’s been a whirlwind with our spicy gal and we wouldn’t change a minute of it. With Jason’s guidance, we’ve helped Cholula build her confidence which we know will help her live the best life possible.

These days, Cholula has been incredibly playful and she even plays with rope toys! She has her evening zoomies, afternoon cuddles, and constant tail wags. Cholula truly is the joy our lives needed. Bill and I have had many conversations where we wonder what kind of life Cholula would have if we didn’t train with Jason. We know we wouldn’t have been able to get her to where she is today without Jason’s expertise and never-ending support.

Through working with Jason, Bill and I learned how to best advocate for Cholula to help her live her best life.

We’re incredibly thankful for the many “baby steps” Jason helped us make and we hope all dogs get to experience them!

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