1) The reason you came in for training initially?
Dogs were crazy.
2) What changes have you noticed in your dog’s behavior since you started applying and practicing your handling skills?
Dogs are not crazy.
3) Any additional information you would like to make us aware of or pass onto others considering training with us?
In January we got a second dog, (all hail) Watson (a Sheppard/Lab mix) hoping that he would help tire out our energizer bunny, an Austrian Hound coincidentally named Sherlock. I know, you’re all thinking, don’t get another dog for the sake of a dog, but come on… …there’s only so much running I can do to keep up with him, I only have two legs after all!
Well, they hit it off great and from that moment on have been inseparable.
Unfortunately, after a few weeks we noticed that Watson started biting Sherlock to the point of making him bleed. (Dun Dun Dun!) We were very concerned with this type of behavior (immediately assuming that it was some sort of aggression or dominance, thank you internet!) and started seeking help immediately.
After trying some group dog training (lucky for you we won’t give out your name; which clearly did not work for us), I stumbled on Nancy-Lynn’s website. I completed her form and received a response almost immediately. She offered to come over and meet with the dogs for an assessment.
The assessment was more than I could have ever imagined, that alone was worth it, and if any of you are reading this, by now, you should be filling out her form because I should have convinced you! BUT… …for those of you who still are on the fence, might as well keep reading, you’ve made it this far! If you’re filling out the form, you can still come back and read this after.
So where was i? Ah yes, she reassured us that this was normal behavior. Our dogs, it turns out, weren’t crazy! Goofy yes, crazy? Well not completely crazy anyways… (for those of you wondering it turned out to be very sharp baby teeth, who knew right? Not like i was going to put my hand in Watson’s mouth to check!)
She gave us a magnitude of tips on how to manage the situation to keep the biting, bleeding, and rough play to a minimum; and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! She had so much passion it was infectious! We were hooked… …we wanted more!!!
So, we signed on for the 6 weeks training. She made us write a list of things we wanted help with and technically it would appear here –> [ LIST ], but I may umm have lost it… …or my dog ate it. I have to say it’s the best investment we’ve made on our puppies. Watson and Sherlock absolutely love her, her methods are very effective (if you do your homework and persist of course) and she explains the logic behind everything we do during the training. We never did something because “That’s how it’s done”.
But enough about the dogs, the real magic is how she trained us. Once we learned how to compose ourselves, the dogs naturally followed in our footsteps it was magical! (Think rainbows and unicorns). Nancy-Lynn showed us the proper posture (we got to watch ourselves in front of mirrors.. ..not the most flattering thing i know!), tone of voice (thankfully she didn’t record us) and most importantly, helped us boost our confidence. In a matter of weeks we saw big improvements in both Sherlock and Watson.
Now when we go to the park we often get compliments about Sherlock and Watson’s behavior and it’s nice to hear (even though we still think there’s room for improvement he he he). But if i can leave you with one thought, it’s that we always look at the person across the street walking his/her dog so perfectly and we aspire to be like them, it’s nice to finally see what it’s like on the other side.
Thank you for all your help!