Dexter, Kipper and Charlie the cat

Meryl and Dexter

Sally you are a lifesaver – literally! I seriously doubt we would still have our dog, Dexter if it wasn’t for your intervention. Your help and advice plus patience and perseverance have meant that we still have a gorgeous little tinker as part of our family. Not to mention his big brother who preferred to walk on his own rather than the pack!

Dexter KipperDexter’s behaviour had really got out of hand, he really didn’t like being told to do something he didn’t want to do and showed it with growling, snarling and ultimately biting me which meant a visit to the A&E. This was only on rare occasions and the rest of the time, he was an affectionate and sweet little boy.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t risk his behaviour becoming worse and were worried that we would have no option but to have him put to sleep. Our older dog, Kipper, was pretty well behaved but did like to run off on his walks and would only come back when he felt like it. We worried that he’d run off and not come back or maybe run into a road and get hit by a car so we needed to sort this out too. They both pulled strongly on the lead, this wasn’t good as I have back problems and this meant I often could not walk them so they were even more boisterous at home. Dexter Kipper & Charlie the cat

The first time Sally visited us she couldn’t come into the house without the dogs going mad and trying to jump up at her. Once in the sitting room it took nearly an hour for the dogs to stop barking and calm down. Dexter, on the lead showed his stubbornness when he was told to sit, he refused, and started snarling at you. I was very worried that he would be un-trainable and we would lose him but after following your advice and techniques, he now walks very well on the lead and DOES sit now! Kipper, although still enjoys running ahead when out walking in the fields, he is much more aware of us and does return when called. That is just the tip of the iceberg, their behaviour in general is so much calmer and having them as part of our family is a joy not a nightmare. With calmness, patience and firmness Dexter has learned to stop and think and best of all to change his behaviour for the better.

The icing on the cake was while we were on holiday last autumn and were walking our dogs to the beach. A woman with her dog on a lead looked at ours, turned to her own dog and said, “Why can’t you behave as well as these”?

I know we still have more work to do and we hope we can continue our training as soon as possible.

Meryl

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