Enzo Gets Shipped-off to Military School
$3,000! Seriously? How could this possibly be worth three thousand dollars?
My wife and I met Rebecca several months ago at a two-day dog training workshop. She is impressive. Not only is she a skilled and experienced trainer, she is also personable and communicates well with the humans. It's one thing to be able to teach dogs, but it's another to convey thoughts and techniques to the owners so that all the training she's done with the pooch is not quickly forgotten and lost. Rebecca does this well.
When we were ready to take the plunge and invest in getting our dog professionally trained, we turned to her. One of the main draws for us is her training philosophy of positive reinforcement. I didn't want our precious dog beaten, screamed at, choked, or electrocuted; I didn't want his spirit broken. But, we needed him to learn some basic manners so he would be a better companion. By using positive reinforcement, Rebecca teaches the animals to willingly comply; it becomes their idea to do what is asked of them instead of doing it out of fear. This method takes longer to get results, but in return my dog is happy, mentally healthy and stable, and our bond of trust has not been broken.
Our dog is a pure bred Brittany; he's a 42-pound neutered male and was 11 months old at the time he entered Rebecca's "military school". He turned one year while with Rebecca. He is high-energy, intelligent, curious, craves human attention, and needs lots of exercise. My wife has been diligent at getting our dog, Enzo, well socialized, and consequently he is at ease in many different situations. But, he's also spoiled by our loving attention and does not perform well on a leash (pulls hard). He does not come when called, and like any "child" he wants to be the center of the Universe - no impulse control.
We turned Enzo over to Rebecca for one month. We had no contact with him during this time. Rebecca would send information, updates, and pictures every few days so that we could follow his progress.
I picked him up after the month, and Rebecca provided me with 30-40 minutes of verbal instructions on how to maintain the training. She allowed me to video record her so that I could share the instructions with my wife and allow me to periodically re-review them. She said that most of the month was spent working on impulse control.
My first impression of Enzo on the drive home, which is over 2 hours, was that he's the same dog. He was happy and healthy, but if he learned anything, it was not overtly apparent to me.
It's now been one month since I picked Enzo up from Rebecca. And, my first impression was flat wrong. Much to my delight, he has learned a great deal and I see his progress every day! Surprisingly, by following Rebecca's instructions, Enzo continues to improve; the training was not just a one-time deal. He is now learning from me and my wife; he's a much better-mannered member of the household and gets better the more we work with him.
One of the key things Rebecca has instilled in Enzo is impulse control. That's not to say he doesn't get wild impulses. He does; he's still that same dog. But, with the training she provided along with the everyday reinforcement at home, he is learning to listen to us and he actually obeys (most of the time).
Another key principle that Rebecca taught me is about expectations. Enzo will never be perfect. Nor will I for that matter. She helped me to understand what can reasonably be expected of our dog. The goal is not to have a perfect dog; he's our companion, not a show ring master piece. The goal is to have a dog that is mostly well-mannered. He is that now. He was not before. He no longer pulls on the leash (mostly), he comes when called (mostly), he doesn't run through the door in a mad dash anymore, he stops digging into gopher holes when asked, he doesn't pull like a bunch of wild horses to get to the dog park gate anymore, he doesn't jump on friends and other new people when being greeted anymore (mostly). Rebecca taught him to better control his impulses, and she has given us the tools to help him maintain it. I now see that he is a much better dog.
Was is worth the cost? Oh, heck yes! Without this training, it would have been years (well into Enzo's middle age) if ever before he could have possibly mellowed so much on his own. Our puppy has his whole life ahead of him, and he is now much more well-behaved that he ever would have been without Rebecca's intervention.
The progress Rebecca made with Enzo in one month is amazing. She knows what she is doing, and I am extremely pleased with the results. read more
