We had the opportunity to meet Lana through a referral from Hug-N-Pups while getting our dogs groomed earlier this fall. When we inquired about dog training for our neurotic 8 month old Maltese Yorkie mix, they kindly explained that the dog trainer they had been working with was M-I-A but that they had someone new...
Like Cesar Millan? Nope- Lana Sandvik. Synonymous they explained.
With waning patience and little hope that our pup would outgrow this wild side, we somewhat desperately called.
Now, Lana isn't exactly what I would call "traditional" and her business is somewhat reflective of her personality. When we first reached out to Lana it became clear that we were in for something much more than your run of the mill Petsmart 'bring 'em in, take 'em out' training package.
Asking for a quote over the phone, Lana was adamant that we we would need to meet her prior to providing a quote, or accepting this as a job (did she think we had a T-Rex hiding in our garage?).
The first meeting with Lana was great. She came in, talked about her program, spent nearly an hour getting to know our dogs and then, and only then did she quote a price. One that to this day, I still tell her was too low. She also convinced us that this wasn't a one dog and not the other type of experience. Which honestly, couldn't have been better advice. I'm still not sure which dog benefited more from the training...
Now, her clear lack of experience as a car-dealer salesperson comes out when you go to sign up. She offered us the opportunity to think over the program during the week and then call back when we're ready. Um, yeah, no... crazy dog = instant commitment. We're in. Do you also have a teleporter to skip the next 6 weeks so we can just get to the end result? (Turns out that's a no... bummer).
So here we are, 6 weeks later. I've gained about 4 pounds (what, it was Thanksgiving!), and our wild child puppy is acting like; well, a more controlled, somewhat calmer, and certainly more appropriate version of her prior self. And the other dog? Well he just can't wait until Lana shows up with some treats so he can show off how much he's learned.
We're lucky to have found Lana and her Dog Leadership Training of Arizona. Her commitment to animals, and her genuine desire to want to help you make the most of your relationship with your dogs is fantastic. And while her approach at times made us laugh, and at others frustrated the heck out of me since I couldn't get the dog to do some basic task she has assigned, undoubtedly changed the course we were on and at times makes me wonder whether she made more of an impact on us or the dogs... read more