Dear Caroline,
I wanted to email you to let you know how much I appreciate you and all that you have taught, not only Tito, but me as well.I had dogs as a child, which were kept outside all year long. They were fed and sheltered but were in no way a part of our family, they were just there. .
Then one day, I find myself in love with the most beautiful little dog I found. It was a Chichucha. If there is ever a dog with a “yelpy, bad” reputation, it is a Chicuacha.  
I had a 1 year old daughter and a husband who dislikes ALL dogs, EXCEPT the ones that you can borrow when you hunted. As an adult, I had never owned a dog. I didn’t even know where to begin potty training a dog.

I knew I needed serious help with this little 1.5 lb animal . I wanted this dog to be part of our family, so if I could somehow manage to convince my husband NOT to divorce me over this dog and have the dog trained in the meantime, I might be able to keep “Tito”.

I checked a popular chain pet store….they train dogs. Nope. The class was huge, all the dogs were barking. The young man in charge of the training recently passed his “Dog Trainer” certification class. No, I needed to get this training thing started asap and I wanted one on one attention with a truly experienced person.

At our Veterinarian’s office, I inquired about dog training classes. The Developing Canine came highly recommended, so I called. At that time my expectations of the “Dog Trainer” experience went like this: I would pay my hourly fee ( by the way, was more than my husband knew I was spending) and the Trainer would train my dog to be good and not pee in the house. That is all I wanted and needed. That is what I was paying for. Or so I thought………

When I met Caroline at the Developing Canine, she went over the basics of dog training. Things I had never thought about were brought up. Like the importance of walking properly on a leash. You mean I could stroll the baby and have my dog keep pace and stay by my side? Cool, I could bring him to the park.Caroline went over the importance of respecting people when they walked in the door. Dogs are NOT supposed to jump on people when the walk in. Yikes, I could stop this little dog from jumping on my baby, sounds great!

Long story short, the list of things I could and should train Tito were more than I had even thought about. Things that were needed to make my little dog a good citizen, my life easier and increase his chance of my husband not giving him the boot. I could take the dog with me places and not worry about him being the “crazy chihuahua”. I was all in and ready to start my weekly classes.

I took it very seriously. When Caroline showed me a new command, I practiced it. The 15 minutes I took daily to practice with Tito, began as an after baby bedtime ritual. I then started practicing a few times through the day when I had time. During breakfast prep time, while bathing the baby. Just anytime. My daughter was even starting to say “Sit, Tito”.

I began to see that these little bits of time invested in this dog were proving to be a huge reward! People would be amazed to see me walking a stroller and a dog that was perfectly behaved. They would come up to me and want to see him, he is pretty cute! It was even more fun to explain to them that he is a great dog but it was because I immediately invested in his training when I got him. I would proceed to show off our sit, lay down and “stay” by walking away a few feet. I would always hear the same thing: “ I didn’t think these little dogs could be trained, because I had a friend who had one and…..”

Then something both exciting and sad happened. We needed to move across the country, but I could not bring Tito right away. So, a family friend volunteered to keep him while we got settled.
After two months of not having Tito, he finally came home! While at our family friends house, Tito had forgotten quite a bit of family rules like using the bathroom outside, no jumping on the furniture and no jumping on the baby. He also picked up a couple new bad habits like begging for food at the table and growling/barking at other dogs when he saw them.

Had I not had my “Developing Canine” experience behind me, it would have been a miserable experience welcoming Tito back into our home. Instead I felt empowered and confident. I immediately put the commands back into action. Fortunately, within 3 weeks he was back to his old self again! Thank you Caroline!
I did not know this but California is the MOST dog friendly place on the planet. A person can bring their dog almost anywhere. Dogs are welcomed by sales people carrying treats and dog bowls, it is fabulous! I walk proudly everywhere with Tito, he is just a perfectly behaved addition to our family.

Now…when I go over to someone’s house or take a walk and see people struggling with a dog, I want so badly to walk up and say: “Your dog does NOT have to behave like this!”

All it takes is the right Trainer, patience and willingness to learn. Once you learn the command techniques, life with your dog becomes easier and more fun! 

I am so very grateful I used the Developing Canine to train both me and Tito! Thank you so much for everything!

Sophia Osborne
Columbus, GA