Zahra and I were referred to Kerry from another trainer in town who told us she was THE expert in e-collar training. At the time, while I was head over heels in love with my adorable new border collie puppy, I was also losing my mind trying to manage her incessant energy on my own. While I consider myself a pretty active person, Zahra came in to the world like a lightning bolt of nonstop energy and engagement. She was whip-smart and ready to learn/play/work ALL DAY LONG – and then some. I knew that I needed to find a way to combine Zahra’s exercise with mine if I was going to continue managing my busy work schedule and her needs, so I wanted to take us both on long hikes every week. Fortunately we live in gorgeous Colorado, so the mountains are literally our playground!
Last year I enrolled Zahra in Kerry’s 3-week e-collar board and train program while I was traveling over the holidays, and I honestly am not sure I’ve ever spent better money. Zahra gained SO much freedom through her e-collar training, and I gained a sense of safety and control over my dog. Today, when she sees me pull our her e-collar, she starts leaping with excitement because she knows it means that we’re going outside on some kind of adventure, and usually one that involves her getting to run at top speed to her little heart’s content. Watching Zahra run and leap in the mountains is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen. She’s like a blur of white fur – practically flying and barely touching the ground!
I Iive in a VERY busy part of Denver, but with her e-collar on I can also let her off-leash in the middle of a nearby city park, and have full confidence that she is safe to play Frisbee with me without EVER running towards cars or other dogs. She just gets it. It’s amazing. I can’t even feel her recall level on the e-collar! We do this a few times a week when things are busy and we can’t make it to the mountains.
Kerry also installed a much-needed ‘off’ switch in Zahra – and my favorite of all commands, “Place!” I can’t even say enough about how much this changed our lives. Having the ability to tell Z to calmly stay in place while I have guests over, or need to work, is amazing. She also helped Z learn to LOVE going into her kennel, where she can also rest and turn off. Z screamed in her kennel for the first 2 months of her life so again, I can’t express how much relief it brought us both for this to stop being such a challenge.
Finally, Kerry helped me learn a ton about feeding Z a raw diet – and we’re now forever fans. Several vets were unable to fix Zahra’s sensitive tummy issues and 2 AM diarrhea episodes – once we had her on a the raw diet recommended by Kerry, her fur got shinier, she started liking eating, and she hasn’t has ANY tummy troubles since!
Kerry will forever be family to me and Zahra and I’m so grateful to call her a friend as well as an incredible resource.
Jen K.
Denver, Colorado
