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Testimonials Hello Heather, I was so sad that today was Toby's last class. I tried to post something on your website and was not able to so I will send it this way. Maybe you can post it when you have some spare time...... yeah, right :) I have just recently adopted a rescue dog. A Jack Russell Terrier we have named Toby who had NO idea how to walk on a leash, let alone have any calm or obedient manners. We immediately enrolled in Heather's Basic Manners class and the improvement in this little dog has been wonderful in these last six weeks. Heather's patient instruction and guidance from the beginning has been an amazing and positive force for me as I sincerely needed to know "how to" properly train my dog. It has been my first official training class and I probably enjoyed it more than Toby. (although he got all the treats and I had to read all the homework assignments :) Heather, right away at the first class, informed me of the right leash I should buy for Toby. As well as all the ins and outs to teach this little terrier what he should and should not do. I am happy to report, there is no more tugging or struggling on walks, thanks to Heather's suggestion about the gentle leader. Both Toby and I now enjoy our walks without any difficulty. Easy walking is such a pleasure. Of course, the occasional squirrel may try to sabotage our plans, but I get Toby quickly under control and we start again. Toby and I have mastered a wonderful sit. He is improving with sit-stay and down-stay which we consistently practice. At first his attention span was non-existent, but is steadily improving. Heather told me a little practice every day will pay off. She was so right. And the training continues... I so look forward to the next class that we will sign up for and can only imagine what Heather will have in store for us then!! With appreciation, sincere gratitude and lots and lots of licks, Toby and Linda Hi Heather -- Jay and I just want to tell you how much we enjoy your classes. We love your positive reinforcement and praise approach. This is just what we've been looking for, for Remy to learn and be happy doing it. We also appreciate, very much, your taking the time with individual owners and dogs after class to address their personal issues. This will be a big help. We stopped on the way home last night and got some cheese for Remy. Today on her trail walk, Jay used the cheese and got her attention like you showed us. She had an excellent walk, and everybody was happy. They also practiced walking in between some big boulders at the end which went well, too. The cheese is working very well, more "valuable" to her than the Buddy Biscuits. We'll use that for classes, and I think she will do better. I was just amazed last night that Jay got her to walk to another dog and owner, do a sit, and walk on with no barking! The barking-at-dogs thing has been our biggest problem lately. Now we've been able to avoid it out in the "real world", too. Just getting her to focus seems to be a magic pill. We are practicing that a lot on regular commands around the house. Amazing what a difference the right approach can make! -- I know Remy may be the only small dog in class (unless Sawyer comes back), but we actually like that. We seem to meet more big dogs out on our walks, so it's going to be great to get her used to being with them in class. -- Thank you so much for all your help and advice. It means the world to us. We want nothing more than to do the right thing for Remy, and I'm sure we will learn this from you and your way of training. Just wait till you see her next week after a week of practicing with that cheese!! -- thanks again. Bonnie, Jay, and Remy Good Morning, I want you to know that I am so grateful for your kindness and understanding. You gave me the confidence to continue with Shadow and his training or should I say my training. I did put the gentle leader on him a couple of more times and managed to take him for another walk last night. So much more comfortable. He tried to be a little rascal and take the gentle leader off but with correction he stopped. My husband did read the paperwork you asked me to have him read and he did agree that everything made sense. I believe I'll be doing most of the training. I had the kids make Shadow sit this morning rather than his usual jumping. In fact, when I gave him the hand signal to sit.. he did. No more sit...sit...sit. When he woke up today he jumped up on the couch and I told him off and to my surprise he got down. I had him sit and then released him and let him sit on the couch for a few minutes of attention. Our usual a.m. routine. He did try to sneak onto the couch again but the off command worked. I'm excited that it looks like Shadow can be well behaved with allot of work and consistency. I believe he is a smart dog. It's me who needs the confidence that I can do this. You helped with that. Have a great day. Donna and Shadow |
Obedience is not just the responsibility of the dog...
