Rolo is 5 years old and all things chocolate labs are supposed to be; hyper, fun, goofy, lovable, etc. But, he was also stubborn and unruly. We had tried puppy obedience classes when he was small, he pulled so badly we couldn’t get him into the classroom and inside, he was too distracted to learn anything. The classes didn’t seem to help at all and to be honest, I’m not sure we “passed” them. We had a private trainer in two different times over the years, we learned basic obedience, but Rolo was dominant and stubborn, it took him weeks to give in to the down command. I tried books, videos and searched the internet for help. We had different collars, leashes, halties and harnesses. Over the years, we’ve adapted our lives around Rolo’s issues. Moving across the street away from other people and dogs while walking, not taking him to places like the lake or the park, keeping him fenced in the yard because he’d run as soon as he’d realize he wasn’t leashed, and putting him outside or in another room when company came because he’d jump all over them. It was embarrassing to have people in, it was embarrassing to take him out. The last straw came when we had to take him to the vet and his behavior landed us in a private room away from everyone else. I was feeling desperate to have some control over my life and this dog, and found Ted from Unleashed Potential during one of my internet searches. Ted came to the house and gave a demonstration, explained his methods and left all the information I needed. At first, I was very skeptical, I had tried a lot of things so far and wasn’t convinced this was going to work. But, after talking to Ted some more, I decided to go ahead, and the results have been amazing. Rolo now plays in the front yard while I shovel snow without a fence! He’s been skating with us for the first time and never once wandered off, not even when two large dogs showed up. He has been learning to greet people without scaring them, and has advanced enough to take him off leash in Point Pleasant Park. We still have a lot to learn, but I’m confident we can master it. We even made it to the vet without being removed from the waiting room!! Ted from unleashed potential K9 is awesome, he understands what each dog needs, he’s available whenever you need him and is always encouraging. I have never felt embarrassed over my dogs behavior with Ted and am impressed on how quickly the results were seen with his direction and support. I’m really looking forward to summer, cottages, lakes and beaches, Rolo is loving his new freedom!!
Holly Flemming
Halifax, NS
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Well, it’s hard to believe that Flint is now two years old. Time sure flies when you are having fun, and we are definitely having fun with Flint, thanks to Duke. Flint is a local dog, a Border Collie who was born and bred in Lot 16 and our daughter Maia was lucky enough to get first choice (the veritable pick of the litter) when the puppies were born. We were well warned in advance that Border Collies are very energetic and would demand a lot of training and attention, but this was not our first dog and we thought we were more than ready to face the challenge. I guess we were wrong. Flint’s herding instincts and strong personality soon had everyone on edge. His constant heel nipping, chewing and what seemed like bullying behavior were intimidating our 8 year old, not to mention the adults. There was no quit in him, and just when you thought he would be down for the night he would start up again. Finally we placed a call to Duke, and the next day had our first consult. Amazing… is the word to describe the change in Flint after applying the training techniques shown to us by Duke. Puppy Management was the answer we had been looking for. Almost immediately the heel nipping and aggressive behavior ceased, and soon after that there wasn’t even a hint of leash pull during our walks. For our family, the natural progression from Puppy Management was to Ultimate Obedience Training. Once again we learned skills that have made our relationship with Flint outstanding. We can take Flint anywhere and know that he will always be the best behaved dog. And it is pretty awesome for Flint too. He enjoys his morning walk unencumbered by his leash, and almost every day strangers take the time to tell us that he is the best behaved dog they have ever seen. He also enjoys fly fishing and although his technique isn’t very good he more than makes up for it with his enthusiasm. See picture of Flint fishing
