My name is Nate.
First off my wife and I bought an Australian cattle dog puppy for my son’s birthday. When we got there the lady selling him informed us that a bigger dog had attacked him and permanently maimed his ear. We still wanted the dog as he was the overlooked runt we were willing to bet on. When we first got him home, he was fine but then just a month later he started having issues. At first he was just experiencing separation anxiety but it quickly turned into being over protective of us. We decided to get him into training and quickly shelled out hundreds of dollars for group classes at a another training facility because it was close. The methods they used worked for awhile but ultimately drove a wedge between us and our dog as he began to perceive that as a direct attack on his freedom and this was unacceptable. We foolishly kept giving them money with promises of results but before that happened we had to rush our dog Russ to the ER.
Thousands of dollars and two weeks in the ER and Russ was coming home, but with an even bigger attitude. The two weeks in the kennel made it to where he was afraid of the kennel and would attack when we tried to get him to go in (he previously loved his “den”). On top of this he was aggressive from being operated on and having multiple IVs so he was not even accepting pets.
We were at the end of things when I fortunately came across Ani’s business promising results no matter what and with the consultation process and a one time fee, I had to just try. I just thought “if the other trainer couldn’t help no one can” and I was wrong. Ani’s first visit was to observe Russ and see how he reacts to her presence and kind of get a feel of him and his issues.
When we went through the sessions we were given a packet with Ani’s methods of training as opposed to traditional methods. Ani’s approach was more organic, she saw what Russ’ issues were, she knew all about his breed, and she began to give Russ “jobs”.
She brought puzzles and games with treats to mentally stimulate Russ, we set up an agility course which he delighted in, and we even knocked down some huge mental barriers he had like putting on a collar with my hand still in tact. He couldn’t even be around another dog or stranger without completely going crazy. Last weekend Russ went on a group walk in a semi busy park with other reactive dogs and did not even bark once.
I’m terribly sorry for the length of this, but I just can’t describe Ani’s methods in just a matter of a few words. She’s a miracle worker that teaches you as well as your dog. Her methods don’t create a master/subject type relationship but instead one built on mutual respect and care. Russ now frequently will just come up to us wanting to be pet, or sneak up and lick our faces. To me that’s a miracle. The process will work if you are patient and practice her methods and ideas. Again, I apologize for the length but Ani feels just like you do, she will not give up on your dog. Animals are her life and it shows through her work.
-Nate