On Good Behavior Clients Share Their Dog Training Success Stories

 

“When I first adopted Daisy Mae, I was overwhelmed by her energy and spirit. I didn’t understand a whole lot about training a dog and I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage with this little fireball of a puppy. Anne’s guidance made it easy. First, we enrolled in Puppy Pre-School, where Daisy learned to socialize with other puppies while learning some basic manners. From there, we continued through Intermediate Obedience and, to my surprise, on through earning Daisy’s Canine Good Citizen Certificate in less than a year. By gently guiding us through some frustrating times (also known as adolescence!) Anne gave me the confidence to keep working hard and have fun with Daisy at the same time. I feel lucky to have trained with Anne and I’m looking forward to a bright and happy future with Daisy Mae!”

Rose T, Manville, NJ

 

 

“My pug, Nigel, was 8 years old when I first contacted On Good Behavior. I was fairly certain that he was too old and not bright enough to be trained, but I called Anne Macaulay out of desperation. Over the years, Nigel had developed a habit of attacking my older pug, Venus, who was now paralyzed and could not defend herself. Whenever I picked Venus up or prepared her food or whenever Nigel felt frustrated, he ran over to Venus and bit her. In the past year the problem had gotten worse and now Nigel was attacking Venus several times a day, often leaving her bleeding. I would yell “NO!” or chase him around the house in an effort to get him to stop, but nothing seemed to work.

I was sure that, after meeting him, Anne would say that he had emotional problems that would take months to fix if they could be fixed at all. But I was so worried for Venus’ health that I was willing to try anything. After her initial evaluation, Anne showed me how to teach Nigel to touch my hand with his nose in order to get treats. This would, she explained, get him accustomed to the idea of training and to the idea that in order to be rewarded he had to exhibit positive behavior.

When she left my home the first day I was extremely skeptical about Nigel’s ability to learn even this simple behavior. He was very spoiled and I had never asked him to do anything for treats. Much to my amazement, within 15 minutes Nigel had learned to touch my hand to get a treat. By his next lesson he was learning how to sit. And then how to stay. But most importantly, he was learning that good behavior equaled positive reinforcement from me.

It has now been only six weeks since Nigel and I began our once weekly training sessions and Nigel no longer attacks Venus. Instead, he sits and stays while I am handling Venus or preparing her food. Not only does he no longer attack Venus, he also seems happier, as though he prefers to have some self-control. All these years I thought I was doing the right thing by letting him do whatever he wanted when, in fact, he really craved a way to deal with his frustration and excitement. The training with On Good Behavior has given him that. What I like best about Anne is that she didn’t just teach me how to get Nigel to do “tricks.” She helped me to understand where his behavior comes from and how to understand him in order to help him channel his energy into positive activities. She helped Nigel become a happier dog and helped me become a much better and happier dog owner.

Nigel and I have enjoyed the training process so much and he has done so well at it that I am planning to enroll him in an intermediate class with On Good Behavior this summer and then in the Canine Good Citizen class so that he can become a therapy dog. I can’t believe that the eight-year-old dog I thought was untrainable is now listening to me and is actually on his way to becoming a therapy dog.”

Elizabeth S., Princeton, NJ

Postscript: Nigel did go on to earn his Canine Good Citizen certificate. He lived peacefully with Venus until her death and he is now the big brother to Lucille the Pug (CGC) and Ivan the mini-Dachshund.

 

 

 

“Tiki and I started taking agility classes with On Good Behavior thanks to a friend’s recommendation that the small classes would give us the individual attention we needed to progress. Anne is focused on helping each team succeed and she gives feedback after each activity or sequence. This kind of structured, systematic approach is just what a high drive Aussie like Tiki and a newbie handler like me needed to kick things up to the next level. As a result, when we do something right it’s no longer a lucky accident, but by design!”

Lori M, W. Windsor, NJ

 

 

 

“Anne’s Canine Good Citizenship Class was awesome! Not only did we work with our own dogs, but week by week we helped each other prepare for all the sections of the test. Passing the real thing became a breeze.

Anne draws on a wealth of knowledge and personal experience to make training fun for you and your dog. She keeps up with the latest in dog training technique and equipment and she's not afraid to take your input and try something new for the particular needs of you and your dog. It's great to have that kind of determination and creativity on your side.

As a timid dog, I thought Dezray would have problems remaining on stay for a whole three minutes, but the practice week after week really paid off. I was very proud of her!” 

Toshi O., Griggstown, NJ

 

 

 

“Having a puppy and a new baby at the same time wasn't the best Idea I ever had but I did the best I could. I used to look at people with their dogs and wish my dog was as well behaved as that. I would never take her out because I was always afraid she would run off or I would not be able to control her. It was like that for 12 years, and then one day she had trouble standing up, it wasn't long before she was gone. Now when I think about her I realize that she had so much potential and I did nothing with it.

A year had gone by and our lives just did not feel complete so we decided as a family to get a new puppy, we call her Roxy. I made a promise to myself that her short life will mean something and that she will be that well behaved dog that other people wish they had and in order to achieve this I would need help. I called several dog trainers and Anne was the one I thought was right for me. At first we had a private lesson to help with just the basics and also things like the puppy biting on the kids socks and cloths (those puppy teeth are really sharp on little toes).

Then we had taken Anne's beginner obedience class and Roxy was well on her way. I did not want to end her training there so I was very excited when Anne had her beginner agility class coming up. We had taken the first class and we learned much more than agility, we learned kennel exercises and the proper way to reward your dog for a job well done. Anne not only teaches agility in her class, she also teaches obedience and gives you the self-confidence that you need to keep going. I decided not to stop there but to take the next class and so on. It wasn’t long before I realized that Roxy not only had the knack for agility but she was having fun and we became a team.

Anne has inspired me to do more than just have an obedient dog, she has inspired me to do something with that obedience and to have the courage to lead my dog out in a field in front of strangers and do agility. I now realize that the sky’s the limit. Today Roxy and I passed the Bright & Beautiful Therapy Dog test, now her life will mean more not only to me and my family but those who need a little companionship in their day.

Thank you Anne, thank you for your professional approach and for your persistence. Without that I don’t think Roxy and I would’ve ever come this far.”

Anita Q., Kendall Park, NJ

Postscript: Roxy works regularly with a pet therapy dog group. Her agility training leads to some great tricks and you can see her here politely holding a down stay while children practice petting and grooming her.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BJio0f_Tyw