We have two 5 year old Cane Corso mixes from the same litter, Bailey and Dozer, and after they got into a pretty serious fight we knew we needed help. We found René and honestly the difference in both dogs and how we handle them has been incredible.
Before training, walks were exhausting. They would pull, whine when they saw other dogs, want to go up to people, and get so fixated on things that nothing would snap them out of it. High value treats, walking the opposite directing, us talking, nothing worked. If our neighbor's dog started barking, they would run up and pace the fence. Bailey specifically had so much anxiety, she would pace, shake, or chew at her paws. They were behaviors we hadn't dealt with in our previous dogs, and behaviors that only got worse over time. Now both dogs heel, walk past people and dogs without reacting and Bailey has learned how to actually calm herself down.
The biggest goal for us was getting Bailey and Dozer back together after their fight, and we have. We can have them together in a controlled and safe setting without constantly worrying something is going to happen. We still keep them separate when we aren't around or if we are moving room to room because we don't want to rush it. But we are hopeful that with continued training we will be able to get there in time. René was very transparent about this during our consultation. Because of their history we want to make sure everyone is safe and we are bringing them back together responsibly.
The best "trust the process" moment for us was today at Bark in the Park. It has been a little over a month since they graduated from Fur Real K9 and we decided to take both of them. There were dogs everywhere, people, treats, barking, basically every possible trigger for a dog. They both kept their heel, held their down stays with everything going on around them, and even when dogs around them got into fights neither Bailey or Dozer reacted. I don't think anyone who knew our dogs before training would believe that. It is such a proud feeling being able to walk past so many misbehaved dogs pulling or not listening to commands and look down at our dogs and see them in a perfect heel.
René didn't just train our dogs, he taught us how to communicate with them, understand their behaviors, and actually handle them confidently. They both still have their... personalities at times, but the difference in what we can safely do with them now is huge. I trust René with my dogs and would recommend Fur Real K9 to anyone with stubborn, anxious, reactive, large, or just very opinionated dogs. I genuinely wish we had called him when they were puppies. read more