May came to me from the west end of Ottawa with her large (95lb) GSD/mix Walle. She was discouraged that her dog was getting more reactive on leash and had a history of attacking other dogs. She had engaged other trainers to help her, but still felt she lacked the confidence to manage her dog with other dogs and people around.
There were two parts of her training with Walle that we put together in a program that addressed the following issues: Convince May, that she could be more confident in controlling (big) Walle’s behaviours and build up her confidence to manage him better changing his reaction with other dogs around. After that, we wanted to teach her better timing, body language and leash work to handle Walle in a calm and confident manner. May needed to be in control and stay calm when he tried to lash out. So, I gave her exercises to practice when out on the street and others approached. The second part of her program was to attend pack walks with other clients and their dogs out in the real world, with everyday outdoor distractions, including 25 other dogs and people. This truly help her confidence and made a significant difference because she was learning it in real time, with real distractions.
This is what May had to say after bringing her dog Walle to us at Awesome K9.:
Walking is so much calmer now (both dog and myself), Walle improved on leash walking tremendously! Focus games really helped with a closer bond, more trust with my dog and mentally stimulated my dog more. Walle knows how to sit and wait now!
I Really liked the well-balanced approach Nancy used that made training very effective. Nancy will base your next training session on how your week went before and what needs improvement. So, expect to put a lot of your own time and training outside of class to truly get the most out of it all in a very quick period of time if you do your homework! The pack walks are not only a huge part of Walle’s training and on-going maintenance, but fun and enjoyable to be part of. I didn’t believe that dogs could be that sensitive to how you are feeling. I learned how to be mindful of my feelings and body language. Nancy is great with making you aware of this which is a vital step to changing and getting better results with, when training your dog. Nancy is very personable, confident at her job, and has a lot of experience!
So Now May can spend more time out with her dog anywhere in Ottawa, having relaxed fun, less aggression issues and is a regular “pack walk member” to help her continue the maintenance to keep up her training and just keeps getting better. I am happy to have help this big happy go lucky dog out. He did great and is so much more approachable now. Yay, Walle!