Please read this whole thing!
Jim is AMAZING! Before I get…read moreinto it let me tell you about my Lucy! Lucy is a rescued tri-pod and is about 3 years old. Lucy has a heart of gold, but when people first see her they would not know that. Lucy gets SOOO excited to see people, and even more so to see dogs. Her excitement however turns pretty quick into aggression, especially if another dog doesn't take her excitement well. She is food aggressive with my other dogs at home, and has a very dominant personality. I did not want Lucy to get more aggressive and we needed a fix. I especially wanted to be able to break that "tunnel vision" she gets, and make her pay attention to me, (and not look like she was going to attack someone).... which was almost impossible to do.
I spent WEEKS researching trainers. Jim's private sessions are not only cheaper, but when he called me back before booking, he spent an hour on the phone with me, asking me questions and telling me how he works. I knew then that he was the one.
First day of training Jim's excitement and positivity was contagious! Lucy trusted him right away. He gave her so much praise and love for doing something as little as sitting. Now she sits without me even asking! Then he did something that made my heart drop a little.... he brought out a prong (pinching) collar. I looked at him and thought no way. I let him give me the speech and then he put it on. Lucy magically stopped taking me on walks (pulling). The collar pinches. It does not puncture or hurt her. Lucy's demeanor did not change one bit! She was still happy and wanted to be there. She now walks with it everyday and it DOES NOT HURT HER!
So we kept coming to trainings, kept seeing progress and things were amazing! At home I am breaking her tunnel vision, she is sharing the water bowl with her siblings, and she is listening to me, and getting lots of love and praise In return.
On Our third visit, Jim asked if we were ready to bring his dog out. He warned me that with Lucy's aggression, we were going to have a battle here. He introduced the correction to us. When Lucy does not "leave it", the correction happens. This is a huge, quick jerk that brought my Lucy girl on the ground. Yes my heart dropped, and I wanted to walk away, cry and all the things ... but guess what, she got right back up and the next time we said leave it (to a dog aggressive dog looking at another dog), guess what she did.... left it. After she left it without a correction needed, Jim would love the heck out of her! "At a girl, good Lucy, yes!" Jim's wife stayed in the driveway, with their dog for an hour. Lucy did not bark, growl or try to fight. The correction worked.
The correction was hard, and I can't even do it right yet.... but that is the difference between her attacking another dog, jetting out into the street or at a person!
This is the only time Jim even raised his voice! Him does everything with lots of teats and celebrating. He takes the time to also corrects the human behavior, that may be confusing a dog. If I would have known that he was going to do that, I probably would have read the review and said OK never mind I'm not going. But let me tell you what a mistake that would have been. Every time I pull up to Jim's house, Lucy gets extremely excited. She knows who uncle Jim is, and she loves going there. Lucy is aggressive and that is the bottom line. But Lucy is going to be able to Live an incredible life, going to the dog park, playing with everybody, and not scaring people by lunging or bolting towards them and their dog.
I would recommend Jim To anybody! He loves dogs, he knows dogs, and you can tell he has a true passion that he has done for years. This is the place to go, I will never be able to thank Jim enough for everything I have learned.I now know what Lucy needs from me to flourish!
