Ozzy is a 3-year-old cockerspaniel that would growl, bark and bite if approached with a brush.
Employees at the Animal Welfare League were almost afraid to brush the golden, curly haired dog, even though it had tangles in its hair.
Master dog trainer Brian Gagye figured the dog previously had bad experiences with grooming. Ozzy had learned that, by going on the attack, it wouldn't have to suffer the same experience again.
"When he bit, he wasn't playing," Gagye said.
And he would know. Ozzy bit him twice, once to the bone. But Gagye kept working with Ozzy.
A dog's memory is designed completely different from a human's, Gagye said. And if scared, it's either flight or fight.
But Gagye knew he could change Ozzy's behavior - by having him unlearning the bad behavior and being taught good behavior.
Gagye worked with Ozzy over 20 days. By Thursday afternoon, Ozzy no longer was curling his lips a lot, barking or attempting to bite when Gagye approached him with a brush.
"It is a process, it takes time," Gagye said.
Gagye grew up with dogs his whole life. In the Marine Corps, Gagye was a sniper. The Marines were also taught dog behavior to help protect themselves should an enemy send out attack dogs. From there, Gagye's interest in working with dogs grew.
When he got out of the Marines, he worked in Michigan with police dogs. But a trainer he was working with had techniques that Gagye didn't think were acceptable.
"It was, honestly, when I woke up, I was working with this trainer and he was choking this dog," Gagye said. "I thought it was abuse. I thought there had to be a better way."
The dog training facility was trying to fix dogs' bad behavior with obedience, and that was not the key. There is a science to getting a dog to behave right.
Gagye has a friend who is a canine neurological scientist. He consulted with her and other specialists. He learned to educate the dog owners as well as training the dogs. He really wanted to understand the mind of the dog.
Humans tend to treat a dog like they're human. While a person's feelings and emotions can be seen in their face, a dog uses its whole body to send messages.
Choking a dog does not solve a problem. A dog can hear a heartbeat five to seven feet away, and makes connections through sounds and touch, so there are better ways to get a dog to behave correctly.
"It's an ongoing learning experience. Anyone who says they know all there is to know is full of it," Gagye said.
Gagye previously had a business in Florida. Three years ago, Gagye and his wife moved to Cromwell to be closer to his family. They incorporated their business in August, Special Obedience Protection Service K-9 Academy, or "Special OPS" for short.
"As far as the animal shelter, the big thing I see is our humane societies, the Animal Welfare League are overcrowded because people don't understand their dog," Gagye said.
In one session, he can show a dog owner how to get their pet to behave better if the owner follows the rules.
"They work because they're based on science, not because I dreamed it up. I want to save their lives ... Our biggest drive is to keep them out of here," Gagye said.If a dog does end up at the shelter, he said, he wants to give people a reason to adopt the dog.
For the past four months, Gagye has been going to the Animal Welfare League one day a week. He offers discounted dog-training sessions. He gives back to the shelter by working there with the dogs they house.
Gagye has been training dogs for 20 years, professionally for the past 15 years. He said he's studied the mind of dogs for the past 12 years, and rehabilitating them for about the last dozen.
He does in-home sessions, as well as boards and training.
"The majority of people want to understand their dogs, and I'm cool with that," he said.
He offers affordable training and caters to people's pocketbooks and what they want, he said.
If anyone needs proof of how effective Gagye's methods are, just look at Ozzy. Gagye has posted the videos of him training Ozzy on YouTube, which can be found by links on the Special OPS website.
To contact Gagye, call 260-466-8929, or e-mail bgagye@hotmail.com The Special OPS website is at www.specialopsk-9academy.webs.com
