A Better
Way Dog Training!
A Better
Way Dog Training!Home / Success stories
Cowboy (the black
Lab)
In June of 2006 we almost had
to put down our beloved family dog, Cowboy. Not because he was sick, or old,
it was through our own ignorance of dog behavior that our 6 year old lab had
become so aggressive that he was a liability we no longer felt we could
control.
You see, we treated him as a friend and child instead of treating him as a
dog. Because there was no “alpha dog” in our house, he was confused and
stressed about his role. Therefore he was constantly stressed and in
protection mode for our children. It was to the point where the kids could
not even swim around him because he would try to pull them out of the pool.
There was no place to board him, as he detested other people and dogs. We
were sick with what we thought we had to do. You see, this dog had so much
heart in him. With advice form our vet, we found the Doghouse, LLC. That was
a turning point in our life with Cowboy. I can honestly say it saved his
life.
He lived with Carrie at
this facility for almost a month. It was quite an
adventure for all of us. I had to learn how to be an alpha dog. Cowboy
needed to be completely trained again. We had been to classes before, but
this was intense work to retrain his behaviors, as well as our won. As the
month wore on, I began to meet Carrie, Ivan and Cowboy at different places as well
as the Doghouse, LLC facility, to learn how I was to work with him when we
were on our own. When ready, he dame home and Carrie met us at home to make
sure the new behaviors were transferring to life at home. It was a life
changing experience for us all.
It is now July 2007 and we have a wonderful relationship and understanding
of our dog, Cowboy. He is well trained and most of all happy!. We all
definitely learned the importance of dog psychology and the importance of an
alpha person in the home for the dog. Cowboy loves to go into what we call
training mode and be worked with all his commands. It is obvious this
exercises his mind as well as his body and reminds him he does not need to
be in charge. We look forward to many more wonderful years with Cowboy as we
continue this very special relationship with him. We are so thankful for
Carrie, Ivan and the Doghouse, LLC for saving this important member of our family.
Hildy (the Australian Shepherd)
We
have two dogs, both 21/2 years old; one is a black lab mix named Sasha, and
the other is an Australian Shepherd mix named Hildy. One could consider this
to be both ends of the dog personality spectrum, with Sasha being more
laid-back and easy-going, and Hildy being wound up nearly 99% of the time.
Being our first dogs, we had no clue what we were doing, and for two years
went through two previous trainers, one being very well renowned
locally-neither methodology worked whatsoever.
Over time, Hildy’s behavior became problematic, in that she became insecure
around young children and began to chase them at will-this, in addition to
birds/cats/anything that ran past her line of sight. We knew this couldn’t
continue (chasing Children, etc.) and we met Carrie and Ivan through a
referral of a friend who had put her dog through the three-week boot camp
dog training program.
I cannot stress how impressed we were from the onset, wherein we spent
nearly 4 hours interviewing with Carrie to help her understand Hildy’s
behaviors=down to what she and when, etc. Carrie knew exactly what she was
dealing with, and we determined we would in fact take both dogs through the
boot camp-the results literally speak for themselves.
As of this writing, we can execute any number of commands to control both of
our dogs- Hildy in English, and Sasha in German, to prevent confusion. The
methodology works perfectly (although Hildy is quick enough to pick up on
the German commands now), and thanks to Carrie’s constant attention after
their initial stays at the Doghouse, our leadership has only continued to
grow. I can say without a doubt that Hildy is much more at ease now,
realizing she’s a working dog and has a job to do, and knows when to do it;
she understands that we are in charge, and we understand more about how
important it is for US to remain consistent with her training. No longer
does she feel she must bark and chase everything, and Sasha is no longer the
lazy stubborn mule she was before…Overall, it’s like night and day looking
back-the day we watched Hildy from the car for the first time in two weeks
was so overwhelming to witness, it literally put shivers down our spines. We
only wish that we’d gone to
Ivan and Carrie from the start, and saved our
time, efforts and money on previous trainers that didn’t work; I cannot
commend them enough for their dedication to helping us with Hildy and
Sasha-constant phone calls and emails, even when on the road-it’s dedicated
personalized training at it’s very best, and anyone who isn’t a believer is
more that welcome to come see our girls in action.
Brian and Lucretia Junge
Land O Lakes, FL
Pepper ( the Lhasa Apso)
We cannot say enough about The
Doghouse, LLC. When we were at our wit’s end with our dog’s behavior, we
finally turned to them for help. They took our dog into their three-week
“boot camp” program, and he came back a totally different dog.
The Doghouse staff was very thorough in teaching us how to discipline our
dog and effective ways of dealing with unwanted behaviors. It was as much a
school for us as it was our dog. But as soon as we had the proper tools, our
dog responded in textbook fashion.
It has now make for a much smoother life for all concerned. Our dog’s crazy
bark at the front door is now replaced with his calm demeanor, staying on
place position, with a greeting and halo anyone would be proud of! With
reinforcement, his other behaviors are right on target. Most importantly, if
our dog tried to test the limits, we know exactly what to do, thanks to the
efforts of Ivan, Carrie, and Laurel.
We are so grateful to have found The Doghouse, We will continue to partake
in their
refresher classes, or doggie day care, since we feel they truly
love and understand our four-leafed friends of the world-and the two-legged
ones!
Phyllis and Pete DeFonzo
Lithia, Florida
Dear Carrie, Ivan , Laurel I had so
much fun and learned so much during my three weeks of "doggie boot camp". I
loved
play time with my other dog friends however I always looked forward to
working with Carrie best. I just love to show Mom and Nanna what I goo dboy
I am by heeling attnetively by their side and ignoring the pesky yippy
barking puppies at the end of the street. Mom is amazed at what I can do now
: sit, stay, down, place and most importantly come when I hear the whistle
blown. You all would have been so proud of me as just the other
morning mom blew the whistle and even though I wasn't quite ready to come in
I ran to her side and she rewarded me with a great big hug and a treat!
I've only gotten in trouble once, but with the firm "pop, pop" I am careful
not to do it again!
I miss you all and can't wait for another visit to the Doghouse sometimes.
Just thinking of the yummy hotdogs from Carrie's pocket is making me drool
Miss you,
Winston dog!
If you would like to submit your Doghouse success story or just add a picture let us know.
The Doghouse, LLC
Cowboy and family
Hildy, Sasha, Lucretia and Brian
Pepper
Winston dog