I had done my homework and picked the breed I thought would best suit our family. Before the arrival of our pup, I read a few current books on bringing a puppy into the home and establishing boundaries. I made lots of notes and taped them to my fridge and memorized them. I have heard stories of puppies coming into the home and taking over. I was doing my best to prevent this. By 3 months old, he would retaliate to a “No!” by snarling and leaping at us over and over, leaving our fingers bleeding from his razor sharp puppy teeth. I tried all the techniques I had learned, but nothing stopped the behavior. I enrolled Turbo in a local puppy class. During puppy play time, he tried to dominate every dog there by relentlessly charging and leaping on the other pups and pinning them down. The instructor quickly lost control of the class and eventually couldn’t allow Turbo to play with the other pups. This was not play behavior; it was dominating and bullying behavior. I realized my puppy was unusual. I called a local and highly recommended trainer that comes into the home. I paid a one time fee that lasts the lifetime of the dog. The trainer seemed intelligent, very competent and did have a short period of success with Turbo. There was at most 24 hours of success, before Turbo would find a way around each strategy the trainer would come up with. I was on the phone daily with the trainer. He did make huge efforts to help me, but eventually I quit calling, because he ran out of ideas. Turbo was getting worse. Turbo soon became a 100 pound missile. He was still leaping and biting my family and me, dragging me down the street on a pinch collar, attacking and dominating dogs, performing commands only when he felt like it, and running after kids to knock them down. He would even attack us in the car while we were driving him to get ice-cream. I loved the dog and knew that I couldn’t give him away. If I did, I believed his fate would end up with euthanasia. He was so bad with biting that he would go right into attacking us within 5 minutes of being out of the crate, 90 percent of the time. I kept trying technique after technique until every darn thing available was exhausted. I know what it is like to feel hopeless over a dog. I wanted a dog I could take hiking, walking every day, swimming, strolls through the park, camping, visits to friend’s houses, and trips to pet friendly stores. I made every effort to give that kind of life to Turbo, but his life became one that was confined to the crate or on the deck, with us letting him out quite often in hopes that “this time he won’t attack us”. Turbo could only walk with my husband holding the leash. I am a strong woman, but Turbo could pull me to the ground at the sight of a dog, a child or a leaf blowing across the street. We did make sure he got walked many miles every day, but nothing wore him out. At the end there were times he would so aggressively grab and yank the leash from us, we would be in the street trying to find a way to get him home before he or someone else got hurt. The day before Canine Academy boot-camp was to begin, we took Turbo for our daily walk. In front of our house, Turbo snarled and ripped the leash from my husband’s hand. He was leaping and biting us so fiercely that we had no opportunity to grab the leash back. We lured him back into the house and left the leash on him until he calmed down enough to take it off. His play had to be indoors, because his recall was unreliable and I was afraid he’d hurt a child or another dog. He was so easily distracted that something going on 10 houses down the street would prevent him from hearing his own name spoken or a treat waved in front of his face. He couldn’t even sit with us while we watched TV or read. Playtime usually ended quickly, because he’d soon start leaping and biting us. He was so out of control that he was hurting the whole family with his constant biting. He didn’t draw blood, but he bit so hard it bruised us. Then I met Lisa from Canine Academy. She was confident, but I was doubtful that anyone could help Turbo. I turned Turbo over to Gretchen, Jaime, Staff, Tim and Lisa. He was in the off-leash camp for 8 ½ weeks. Turbo being a hard driven dog and having the long history of misbehaving with my family and I, gave me somewhat of a challenge when I took him home. They have been there for me every step of the way. The trainers at Canine Academy have changed my life so profoundly; I couldn’t possibly put it into words. I am about 1.5 months into my year of training and I see miracles happening right before my eyes. Now I can walk him in a heel past dogs and people. If the dog that is passing me is rambunctious, I can put Turbo in a down/stay while the dog passes. I can play with him in my yard, because he comes when I call him. He can join the family, because he is calm and relaxed. People come over and he keeps his little behind on the ground while he gets petted. I can “Place” him at dinner time and he stays right there until I release him. He waits to jump in the car until I give him the “Hup” command. He waits in the car until I tell him “Off”. I can throw him a toy to fetch and call him to “Come” midway into chasing it, and he will turn right around coming back to me eagerly, before finishing fetching his toy. I can put him in a down/stay and throw a toy he loves and he will stay in that down/stay until I release him. Instead of frightened stares from people I pass by, they are now commenting on what a well behaved dog I have. He has become loving to his family and a joy to be around. Through all of the misbehaver, I never stopped loving Turbo, but now an incredible bond has developed between us. I am finding such joy in seeing Turbo responding to me. It is so fun to have a dog that is a pleasure to be around. Things have so vastly improved in the 1.5 months since I brought him home, that I can only imagine what things will be like when I am finished with my 1 year of training. I am enjoying the process immensely. Don’t waste your money or time on books, TV shows or any of the other local trainers and classes. Go straight to Canine Academy and get it done right. You’ll experience jaw dropping moments that you never thought were possible. Once your dog graduates from boot-camp the fun begins. The trainers are always right there, every step of the way, guiding you to the next level. Thank-you Canine Academy, from the bottom of my heart, Evy
