Dawn Warner
5 years ago
I have what I thought was a very aggressive German Shepard, Kei and an out of control rescue Great Dane, Pepper. Kei was picked up of the streets and had such severe post-traumatic stress syndrome that it took her 2 years to trust and l ... See More
I have what I thought was a very aggressive German Shepard, Kei and an out of control rescue Great Dane, Pepper. Kei was picked up of the streets and had such severe post-traumatic stress syndrome that it took her 2 years to trust and love me. She has been a member of our family for 7 years now but continued to regress sometimes. Pepper has been a part of our family for 4 years. I looked at all of the different training sites on-line. I read all of the reviews and found that Sam Ivy K9 Consultant’s clients had the same issues that I had with my girls. I called and made an appointment. I am now and will be forever grateful to have meet with Claudia and our earth angel trainer Jackie. At our first at home meeting with Claudia, she took very extensive notes about us, our behaviors, our dogs' behaviors, and our concerns. I specifically asked for a male trainer since our Kei seemed to be especially aggressive towards women. When Claudia told me that we would be working with a woman trainer I almost cried. I didn't want the female trainer to get hurt (how naive of me). When our earth angel trainer Jackie came to our house for our first meeting, she went over the notes Claudia had taken and discussed our concerns, my anxieties (which were many!) behaviors, etc. I explained how many times I had fallen walking while walking Pepper and I showed her my road rash scars and discussed how aggressive Kei was toward people. Jackie told me that she knew exactly how I felt and what I was dealing with since at one time she was in the same position as me with her dog. Jackie explained what tools we would be working with, assured my son and I that no dogs are perfect but that we would be able to walk Kei and Pepper without either of them pulling, lunging after people, other dogs or squirrels (a few of their triggers). I explained how I had panic attacks thinking about walking and while walking our girls, that I would get up at 5:00 a.m. every morning to walk them just to avoid people or other dogs, that at night I would go out of my way to avoid people and their dogs. My anxieties about walking Kei and Pepper also had a very bad effect on my relationship with my son. Living with constant fear and anxiety is not a good way to live. Jackie taught us how to properly hold a leash, how to properly use the other tools provided and gave us lots of homework. We practiced inside and outside with our girls. Jackie explained that this is a process and to have patience with ourselves and our girls. After our training started, I was walking Pepper, she saw a squirrel before I did but due to my training with Jackie, I instinctively went into 4th position the moment I felt her move forward and instantly I was able to keep her from launching me into the air while she tried to get the squirrel. Pepper is very stubborn and it took some time to get her to sit and lay down but Jackie hung in there with us. Kei is now so much happier, we can walk past people without incident. Kei is even calm when we have friends over. Jackie made herself available at all times for questions or concerns either by phone or text. Jackie celebrated our successes and helped us with the corrections that needed to be made. When it was no longer safe for Jackie to come to our home due to the shelter in place rules, Jackie explained that Sam Ivy K9 Consultants offered video training. Jackie gave us the option to continue with our training via video or that we could suspend training until the shelter in place rules were lifted. We choose to continue with video training and Jackie was able to be with us even when she couldn’t be there in person. We will now be graduating on Saturday and it is very bitter sweet as Jackie said. I have gained so much confidence, I am mentally and physically stronger now because I can take my girls on nice long walks and to the park without being fearful and we walk any time day or night. I have become the alfa-mama of this pack. Through Jackie, I learned to change my fearful behavior and among the many, many things Jackie taught us, I learned that 90% of dogs aren’t aggressive, they are just afraid. Mr. Ivy, this is my “thank you” to you for Claudia who matched us with our earth angel Jackie and for all of the incredibly hard work Jackie put in with Kei, Pepper and us. We are graduating on Saturday, a day that Jackie was always confident that we would achieve. Jackie, to you there are not enough thank you’s for giving me the gift of confidence, peace, a better relationship with my son and my girls. I know no longer wait until my son can help me walk the girls, I just do it and it feels so incredibly good to have that confidence. Jackie, you are truly one of the sweetest and most confident women I have ever met. So, with happy tears in my eyes because I our training is coming to an end, I would say to anyone who is in the position I was in before I called Sam Ivy K9 Consultants, to please do not hesitate to contact this absolutely wonderful organization to help you and your fur babies have the best quality of life.