Small Dog Receives Prize, News Story for Biting

http://www.theprovince.com/life/Kobi+wins+dubious+prize+Naughtiest/2104851/story.html
Kobi wins dubious prize as B.C.'s Naughtiest Dog
'He has little-man syndrome real bad'
By Ian Austin, The Province

It's official: Kobi is B.C.'s Naughtiest Dog.
The tiny terror beat out all comers to take the dubious honour in Bark Buster's search for Canada's most cantankerous canines.
"He's pretty sucky, but when it comes to food, don't get your hands in the way," sort-of-proud owner Lesley Johnson says of her nine-year-old Shih Tzu-Lhasa Apso cross.
"He has little-man syndrome real bad." Yes, Kobi's attitude is far greater than his altitude, and he thinks nothing of taking on taller, tougher dogs. Kobi learned the hard way — duelling with Kacey, the Johnsons' much larger, much tougher Rottweiler-Labrador cross and landing in pet hospital for his troubles.
The common expression is good things come in small packages — in Kobi's case bad things come in small packages.
"Kobi has bitten almost everyone," laments Johnson, 32, a Langley materials manager.
"He's so cute, but he can be a devil in disguise.
"My sister loves the dog, so I decided to turn a negative into a positive." So, by his bad behaviour, little Kobi has earned some dog-discipline training from Bark Busters, which received 170 naughty-dog entries from across the country.
The international dog-training firm will send out master trainer Rob Scheel to try to turn naughty Kobi into a nice dog.
Scheel says that, in some ways, it's the owner that needs the training, not the dog.
"A person who puts a human spin on the dog doesn't get it, because the human world is confusing to dogs," said Scheel.
"Often the dog think it's the pack leader, but in the human world that doesn't work." Scheel says dog owners have to learn to look bigger and more dominant, and the "no" command simply doesn't cut it in dog language.
"I get the dog to see that we're in charge," says Scheel.
"There's a growl that means 'no' in dog language.
"I will growl to tell the dog that the behaviour isn't right. We're connecting in their language." So Johnson is hopeful that Bark Busters can mend Kobi's naughty ways.
"Kobi is a very good dog — as long as you don't don't taunt him or have food near him," she said.
"His bark's definitely bigger than his bite — he doesn't have much of a nip."
E-mail: iaustin@theprovince.com