​I once had a woman at an event tell me that her dog was a disaster but that training him was such an “inconvenience.”  She had a family to care for, two young kids, and no time to invest in training her dog.  I understand that life can be busy, especially with young kids and a job, but I had to wonder… is this “inconvenience” worth resulting in a dog who can’t control himself around the kids, is destroying items in your home repeatedly, and that you can’t take out of the house?  To me that doesn’t sound like a family dog; it sounds more like a family having a dog because they like the appeal of having a dog around but don’t really understand what is involved in making the dog a part of their family.

During our first session together, this client was delighted to learn that yes, there is a better way – and it doesn’t involve intimidating her dog into submission or any kind of hitting or pain at all.  We discussed what was leading into her dog’s anxiety, how to teach him to cope with that, and how to use her own energy, body language, and clear direction to set him up for success.  We demonstrated exhibiting leadership based on respect, since dogs are living, emotional beings with feelings and deserve as much respect as any of us wish to have from others.  After less than 12 hours, my new client contacted me, thrilled, to share that she was already seeing positive results and a change in her dog’s behavior!