Signing our dog up for Flash Dog Training was one of the best decisions we ever made. When we adopted Ollie from a shelter 2 years ago, we quickly realized there would be many issues to work through. When left in his kennel, he would incessantly bark and try to chew through it. When at the dog park, he would “bully” certain dogs. When out for a walk, he would bark and growl at any dog he saw across the block. And when we took him on hikes, he would only come back to us when he felt like it. We signed up for a positive reinforcement training in Seattle and after almost a year of little improvement we asked ourself “Shouldn’t this be working by now?” We were left feeling overwhelmed and helpless and wondered if this was the life we’d have to get used to with him.
When we stumbled upon Flash Dog Training, we were initially hesitant because it was so far away, and so different from everything we learned so far. But it became clear that balanced training has so many more benefits for actually building communication with a dog, and that Kerry’s training had worked magic for many others. Retraining Ollie’s habits away would be a round-the-clock deal, and Kerry’s team seemed so streamlined to make every day count as much as it can.
We’ve had him back for a week, and are amazed at all that has been possible with him. He isn’t a robot — he’s still clearly the same dorky little dog, but with much more confidence, trust and presentness with his humans. He doesn’t get nervous when we walk to another room and is happy to spend time with himself. He loves his kennel and will often go into it without being asked. He stays by our side when we want him to, and can even be walked past another dog on a sidewalk without a reaction. Yes, it takes work from us to help him keep this up, but Kerry spent multiple training sessions with us when we picked him up that have helped us understand all that we have to do from this point forward.
Flash Dog Training has opened up our world together, and we couldn’t be more grateful. When we get another dog, we won’t hesitate to drive the 6 hours back to Bend. Thank you so much, Kerry and team!
Sincerely,
Catie and Dan
Washington
