We took our dogs, Auggie and Blue, to Flash Dog Training when they were both a little over a year old. After months and months of “do-it-yourself” training, we realized that much of what we were doing was not working. Auggie, a stubborn and happy-go-lucky field golden, pulled like crazy on his leash and his recall was great until there was a distraction like a bird, other dog, or squirrel. He also could not control his excitement when other dogs or people would show up to our house or we would encounter them on a trail. Blue, a more nervous but highly energetic collie mix, had trouble relaxing and didn’t like to do anything that she was told to do. On leash walks, she used to love grabbing the leash in her mouth, shaking it, and trying to escape from it. Of leash, rather than getting in the car after a hike or ski at trailheads, she would race around barking at us and refuse to come. Similar to Auggie, we thought her recall was great–until it wasn’t because of something she wanted to do more than come to us. Ultimately, we knew that based on our lifestyle, both us and our dogs would be happier if we did some sort of formal training.
After doing research, we landed on Flash Dog Training and submitted a form online. Ali, the Head Trainer in Colorado, quickly followed up on our inquiry, explained the training process, and answered our questions. We were immediately impressed with the program that they offered and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. After dropping our dogs off, Ali was communicative and responsive if we had questions, and filled us in on progress as the training progressed. One thing that stood out the most about Ali and Flash Dog Training was the individualized approach they took with each dog. Auggie was highly food motivated and wanted to please, and the Flash Dog team used this as the foundation for his training. Blue, on the other hand, was not food motivated and highly skeptical of anyone telling her what to do. For her, the Flash Dog team focused heavily on building her trust and formed a relationship with her before getting deep into the training. Ultimately, the outcome was the same for both–they came home happy and in many respects it is still hard to imagine how much they learned in their 3 weeks.
Both now love to learn and thoroughly enjoy refresher trainings (both with us and Ali). Their recall off leash is amazing and we trust them anywhere–distractions or otherwise. It is hard to emphasize to those who don’t have e-collar trained dogs the freedom it brings to both you and your dogs. But once you have them you will never go back. They can enjoy themselves off leash, explore, and do dog things, and you have the piece of mind to know that even if a squirrel, moose, or other dog pops out on a trail your dog will come back to you when you call and ignore the distraction. It takes work to get here, but Ali and the Flash Dog team lay the foundation for it. Additionally, both dogs now understand and enjoy walking on a leash. We can take them anywhere dogs are allowed, like the hardware store, and they will heal throughout, ignoring other people and dogs. Further, the work Flash Dog does with commands like place help give you dogs a better chance to relax at home. The best example of this is when we have guests or other dogs come over, our dogs now wait on there place for the excitement to subside before we release them to say hello. This simply would not have been possible without Flash Dog Training.
I don’t think either of us imagined that a dog training program would change our lives and relationship with our dogs as much as Flash Dog Training did. We will be forever grateful for Ali and the Flash Dog Training team. They do amazing work and we recommend them to all of our friends, many of whom have taken their dogs to Flash Dog Training and now have seen the results for themselves first hand. If you are looking to train your dog, Flash Dog Training is the best out there. We hope that everyone can experience the transformation that we did.
