It took one session. One, and Harley learned to look to us for direction when she saw another dog or squirrel immediately instead of becoming a crazed, prey driven beast.
I almost emailed Mark after the first day, because the change was so incredible. On our first encounter walking, she got one reminder from me and that was all it really took. Not only did she start walking behind me on our walks, she looks at passing dogs, looks at me, and then just keeps going - zero fuss. We've stopped and watched squirrels calmly and she no longer vocally alerts us to passers by from her couch perch. My husband is thrilled with how well she is behaving in the yard and even had her sit calmly next to him while he pet a passing dog over the fence. She and the other dog even "met" through the fence, with no hackles or teeth and calm, wagging tails. We're both in awe of how quickly and well it worked when we committed to it and have been consistently owning the space and reminding her she can count on us to be in charge.
I know she will test us, but we know this works and will stay vigilant. We're so happy to see how successful we've been so far and how relaxed she now is just hanging out without having to be on constant alert. Thanks Mark!
It took one session. One, and Harley learned to look to us for direction when she saw another dog or squirrel immediately instead of becoming a crazed, prey driven beast.
PermalinkI almost emailed Mark after the first day, because the change was so incredible. On our first encounter walking, she got one reminder from me and that was all it really took. Not only did she start walking behind me on our walks, she looks at passing dogs, looks at me, and then just keeps going - zero fuss. We've stopped and watched squirrels calmly and she no longer vocally alerts us to passers by from her couch perch. My husband is thrilled with how well she is behaving in the yard and even had her sit calmly next to him while he pet a passing dog over the fence. She and the other dog even "met" through the fence, with no hackles or teeth and calm, wagging tails. We're both in awe of how quickly and well it worked when we committed to it and have been consistently owning the space and reminding her she can count on us to be in charge.
I know she will test us, but we know this works and will stay vigilant. We're so happy to see how successful we've been so far and how relaxed she now is just hanging out without having to be on constant alert. Thanks Mark!