[Baryonyx]

Well, my experiences with our wolfdog, Tyr (Ayak od Divisu), were the following:

1.) We began training him at two and a half months. He was a bit devious and mischievous
at first. He was, to be fair, difficult to get going, but not because he was untrainable,
but because he always figured out better solutions or workarounds to commands or games.
These dogs are, without a doubt, brilliant. I respected that about him, and catered to
his need to be "challenged." And he returned the favor by picking everything up quickly.

2.)We started with light training, on and off leash, and by 6 months had him in full
scale working dog training. He was so well trained at that point, he was moved from basic
classes to advanced classes by the trainer, who is a nationally known trainer. He so
loved Tyr and, in his words "his intelligence and trainability," he offered to buy him.
The trainer said "I can do so much with him. He could be a Schutzhund champion." When Tyr
came home from this trainer, he was, I am proud to say, almost flawless behavior-wise and
training-wise.

3.) It was not until the cancer began taking over large portions of his brain, and
affected his behavior centers that he had any difficulties with people or with training.
Had he not suffered from brain cancer, he would still be alive today, and still be the
loyal, well-trained dog he was as a puppy.

I hate to hear that these dogs are untrainable. If lions, tigers, whales, bears,
elephants, and the like are trainable, why would anyone feel that these dogs are not? I
feel that, to be sure, some dogs are harder to train than others, but this breed is NOT
untrainable. Indeed, Kamila and I worked very hard on training him, and spent a ton of
time with him (we could, since it was senior year of college) to ensure he was always
active. But, when we were "done" with his initial training, he was a well-trained dog, an
amazing companion.

Sincerely,
Chris Behrens