Hi, my name is Robert. I have a 10 month-old 80 pound female German Shepherd dog named Eva. Eva has an imported German-line pedigree and is a dog with a real attitude. Eva had many behavioral problems, two of them so severe that I didn’t know if I was going to be able to keep her. She was “out-of-control.”
Her first major problem was that whenever someone came into my home, or if she would come up to a person while we were out, Eva would jump up, sometimes knocking the person to the ground, then would lick and paw the individual. This behavior was so severe that my neighbors and even my mother stopped coming to my house.
Eva’s second misbehavior was that whenever she saw another dog she would non-stop bark and pull on her leash as hard as she could to go over to visit the dog. Eva is so strong that I was unable to control her while she dragged me behind her. This caused fear and concern on the part of the other dog owner, since they misinterpreted this as aggressive behavior. This constrained me from taking Eva to the vet or pet store and even taking her for walks. I dreaded the possibility of encountering another person or dog.
Eva also had other behavior problems – picking up and shaking my cat Henry.
My initial attempt to correct these problems was to enroll her in an eight-week pet store obedience class. This was a total and dismal failure. The corrections I was instructed to give Eva with just a leash and collar were insufficient to overcome Eva’s gratification in continuing these behaviors. Eva disrupted the entire class. It was a fiasco.
In a desperate last attempt to salvage Eva, I telephoned my veterinarian for advice. He suggested I call Toni Drugmand, Director of DOG-ON-IT. I spoke with Toni that day and we made an appointment for her to come to my home and evaluate Eva. As expected, when Toni arrived Eva jumped up on her and went bonkers. Toni said that together we could fix these problems and explained her extensive dog training experience. She also brought her Doberman, Stetson, with her and gave a very impressive dog obedience demonstration. While witnessing the demonstration I thought to myself if only Eva would obey like that, what a joy she would be.
Toni explained that she offers two kinds of training: (1) individualized, at-home private lessons and (2) a group class. One thing that really impressed me was that unlike other dog obedience classes where you purchase a fixed number of sessions, DOG-ON-IT has no fixed number of lessons. You are instead purchasing results, and her training has a life-time guarantee. I don’t know of anyone else providing training on this basis. Toni stated that she would continue to come to my home until all of the obedience problems have been corrected to my satisfaction and that we could attend the group classes for as long as we liked.
Toni told me that during Eva’s training we would use an electronic remote collar to get her attention. I decided to enroll Eva in both the private and group lessons. The private lessons in my home to concentrate on the jumping problem, and the group class for the leash-pulling dog distraction problem. The cost was very reasonable and less than I expected.
Eva and I began training together about a month ago. In addition to Toni working with Eva, Toni has taught me to effectively train Eva between lessons. This is extremely important. Almost immediately there was a positive change in Eva’s behavior. Within two weeks these problems were cured. We are now working on more advance obedience training including heeling, sits and downs, come, stays and “going to your place” (this is really cool!).
In this very short time, Eva has become the dog I always wanted her to be. She is now a dog that I am very proud of; no longer embarrassed by. She is much calmer, more affectionate and seems generally happier now that she understands the rules. Henry now plays with Eva without fear and they have become pals.
I give Toni and DOG-ON-IT my highest possible recommendation. DOG-ON-IT has lived up to all its claims and exceeded my expectations. In addition, Toni is a very nice person to work with. I am looking forward to continuing working with Toni and her group to keep achieving. One of our goals is to have Eva become a “therapy” dog. With DOG-ON-IT’s help, I know we’ll make it.
Sincerely,
ROBERT BRAUN
