I have been beyond pleased with my experiences with Rush Lake Kennels. From beginning to end they…read moreexceeded my expectations. I adopted my dog Bohannon when he was eight weeks old, and from day one he was very loving, but also very headstrong and high strung. Unfortunately, as he got older he became more aggressive with my roommate's dog, much more territorial with our apartment and me specifically, and he wouldn't obey when we told him to stop doing a bad behavior. It was causing a lot of tension between my roommate and me, and his aggression towards any unfriendly dog I passed in my apartment complex was getting to the point where I was worried I would someday be facing a lawsuit and having to put him down.
I looked at different training places online and talked them over with a coworker who used to train dogs for a living. He said that Rush Lake Kennels sounded like the kind of training he used to do, and he said that their price was incredibly fair. I also noticed that their prices were actually much cheaper than other places who trained and boarded the dogs for about half of the time that Rush Lake Kennels does. My biggest problem was the distance, which was over an hour away from where I live. I called Don and had him talk me through his program, which he was more than willing to do, answering any and all questions I had. In the end, I decided to go with them despite the distance, and I couldn't have made a better decision.
It's not like I have a different dog now. Bo is still as full of character and life and energy as before. He still loves scrapping with my roommate's dog and could play fetch for hours on end, but if we tell him to calm down or to stop doing a specific behavior, he listens. My roommate and I can watch TV with both our dogs out and about without having to constantly worry. He no longer pulls on his leash when I'm walking him, and he actually walks past other dogs without stopping, growling, barking, or any other bad behavior. And when a dog is aggressive towards him, I'm able to tell him not to act on his instincts to become aggressive back. It's incredible. I knew that I needed him to be trained, but I don't think I fully realized just how much stress and anxiety I'd been carrying around because of his behavior until I no longer had it. I can now take him out in public without fear and anxiety about how he's going to behave, which means that I'm able to do so much more with him.
Aside from that, both Julie and Don were a pleasure to work with. They were accommodating to my weird schedule, were always available to answer in detail any questions I had, and not once did I feel like I was trying to be scammed out of my money. Before the program, I was a little worried that Bohannon might suffer emotional trauma being trained, but whenever I came to visit, he seemed happy and was never cowering or giving me any cause for concern. And when Julie came to my apartment for the home visit a week after the program was over, Bohannon was super excited to see her and get some love and attention from her.
I definitely recommend this program. I feel like Don and Julie are good people who make their living by helping others. This program has changed my life in such a wonderful way, and I know that I'll be taking any future dog I own back to them to be trained.
