There was the dog who taught me not to take it personally; the dog who did bite the hand that feeds him while feeding him; and the dog who patiently waited while I learned that choke chains were not my training tool of choice. But there is one dog who taught me more than most, the one to whom I owe my dog-training career. That dog is Roy. Roy was an Akita mix whom I adopted when he was one year old. I had just purchased my first house, had a well-paying job, and was ready for a dog. Although I had grown up with dogs and had volunteered for the Humane Society during college, I knew nothing about dog training. Roy was a very handsome, energetic, lovable boy—a perfect jogging companion who soon became my best buddy. Despite all the fun we had together, Roy wasn’t as easy as the dogs I grew up with. He tended to get carsick. He was a picky eater. He was obsessed with chasing Frisbees and kids on skateboards. But what concerned me the most was Roy’s aggressive behavior toward other dogs and other people.
