I was verging on desperate when I finally decided that my husband, Adam, and I needed to seek some additional outside help with Ranger, our 1 year old mixed breed. Among displaying many other negative behavioral issues, Ranger, was turning our walks into very frustrating experiences by throwing frequent “fits,” complete with leash biting, growling, and endless tugging. I was very upset that our pet was developing into more of a problem than a lifelong friend.
Having already attended a local training class, I contacted Carolyn. I immediately felt confident in Carolyn’s expertise and knew she could give us the tools we needed to get Ranger on the right path. By the end of her visit, we were outside walking Ranger at our side and the leash problem was already beginning to become a distant memory. A few sessions later, Ranger had improved by leaps and bounds. Seeing the potential for even more improvement, Carolyn suggested we begin working with an e-collar and educated us on how to use this often-misunderstood training tool.
We couldn’t be happier with the progress that we have made with Ranger at this point. He is now an awesome jogging partner who has even participated in organized 5k races with me! Everyone at these events loves asking questions about him and Ranger loves all the positive attention and praise. He frequently joins us at our family cabin where he swims tirelessly in the lake and plays off leash, while remaining responsive to our commands and respectful of our boundaries. We are also able to hand feed him now, and he politely waits for the kibble to be placed into his bowl.
Recently, we moved back home to California, so we were not able to continue our training with Carolyn, but she still helps us from a distance, as we often email her with questions when we need advice. We are proud to say that Ranger has become a dog that we can enjoy each day and are very glad that Carolyn helped him to become a true southern gentleman during our time in Georgia!
Adam & Kelly Burke
Columbus, Georgia/California