Mr. Clyde is a 70lb pit/boxer/shepherd who is a sweetheart, absolutely gentle and almost maternal with itty bitty foster kittens, and eager to please - but also bouncy, excitable, a super sensitive energy sponge, loves to bear hug, and could probably outpull a Mack truck. Since moving to San Antonio two years ago, he's also increasingly dog reactive, especially on leash. It doesn't help that we were jumped a few times while on walks by loose or stray puppers, and my own history of ptsd, which can make it very hard to stay calm and self regulate for the sake of the delicate flower you're walking with.
Anyhoo, I had finally gotten to working with a trainer, we were making progress - and my job started changing my hours/commutes to where I would need to find a dog walker. But I was worried Clyde would rip somebody's arm off or break through a fence or eat some stray dog's face off or who knows what. What I REALLY wanted was a person who did, for lack of a better term, training walks, someone who could check their ego (there's a lot of that in the dog training world) and support the work I was doing with the trainer we were working with. They would have to be strong, calm, consistent, and communicative. Surely this animal did not exist...
Matt is all of those things. A freaking dog training walker unicorn.
At our first meeting he listened intently, asked appropriate questions, and when we took Mr. Clyde out for a few minutes of "see, this is what he does" and not only didn't get his arm shoulder dislocated, but got Clyde to sit and be pretty calm I let out a huge breath of relief.
Matt worked with Clyde pretty regularly for several weeks, and I noticed big changes in him immediately both when I got home and when we went on our walks. It was wonderful to actually start enjoying walking with my dog again.
Then my work hours changed once more, and even though Clyde didn't work with Matt as much, he was always happier and more calm the days he did - and I could breathe easy knowing Clyde was in great hands.
Matt never flaked on a day he was scheduled, he was attentive to the weather and how it would affect Clyde, then adjust their outings accordingly. Also, recently I lost one of my cats to sudden heart failure, and my other cat (they were adopted together as kittens and never separated before) has been completely distraught any time I leave with Clyde. He would howl and cry so loud I could hear him across the street, and after a week of poor Clyde not getting a proper walk because of poor Blue I was desperate and reached out to Matt, who was able to come that same evening and give Clyde a much needed romp and me a much, much needed break.
Now I'm moving several hours from San Antonio, and I'm already very vexed that there will be no more Matt to help with Mr. Clyde :/
If you need a trustworthy, reliable person to train-walk your beast, then I highly recommend Matt. read more