Just wanted to update you on Simba.

We took a walk yesterday around the neighborhood and stopped at our friends house Darma. And her husband Mike for the first time ever gave him a snack. He said he never realize Simba had a black strip down his back. We said that is because you have never been close enough to see it. He still has to work more on strangers but, He has been doing great in the house doesn’t try to tear up anything and doesn’t bother the little guys running around him. We also don’t have barrackeds in front of the sliding glass door. He has only tried that once and I reprimanded him.

And I just gave him Bath for the first time by myself. Everyone that sees us on our walks compliments us on we have the best mannered dog. He seems so much more relaxed at home. He will try to say woof once in a while. But no barking. Even when strangers go by or come to the house. Carrie, I just don’t know how to Thank You and your staff enough. He is truly a changed dog. He is better than we ever dreamed he could be. You are truly a blessing to us. Thank You again for everything you have done. I know it wasn’t easy and it took a lot of time and patience on your part.

The last attempt at taking a walk ended is disaster. Gizmo had pulled her leash out of my hand, Morris pulled his head out of his collar to attack the dog walking across the street. I left a frantic message with the Doghouse, my dogs were aggressive to other dogs when they were on a leash, pull me when walking on their leashes, they bark at everything, chase birds, jump up on people and are totally out of control. Carrie evaluated them, and calmly said, they will Sit, Stay, Come, Place, Heel and Down after her program. My husband and I waited for three weeks for a call saying “they are untrainable, we give up, come get your little monsters.” Instead after three weeks of training our dogs and us, we can now walk daily with Gizmo and Morris heeling nicely, other dogs are ignored, they Sit and Stay, and we can take them out in public with pride. Our dogs are well behaved.

Chase was a great actor. When my wife and I saw him at The Humane Society of Tampa Bay, he was the only dog that was not jumping and barking. According to The Humane Society, Chase is half Boxer and half Tree Walking Coon Hound. He had been adopted and brought back 3-weeks later because he was ‘too active’. My wife and I looked at each other and said, “Him? Too active? I don’t see it.” He just looked at us with his big, brown hound dog eyes and we were hooked. Boy did he sucker us. We got him home and that’s when the issues started with chewing, breaking out of his crate, and overall lack of discipline. Thanks to Carrie, Chase is so much better after going thru training. While he still has a stubborn/hound ADHD side that he likes to display from time to time, my wife and I know how to correct him properly. I make sure to take him out for a walk every morning. After work, we go out to the golf course with a ball or Frisbee that he will play with until his nose picks up on something else interesting. Weather permitting; weekend mornings are spent at the dog park where he is a friend with everyone. Being true to his name, he often instigates the other dogs into chasing him around the park and then turning the tables and chasing the other dogs. Thanks again for your help.

Hi Carrie, Just wanted to tell you how great Ava is doing after her bootcamp with you!! I have being meaning to write you sooner but I’m so busy with work! Ava is such an awesome house pet, I know most of your dogs turn out to be titled/working dogs etc… but she is a perfect pet for us!! Thanks for your training all of her bad habits have not returned!!! I always have people telling me gave beautiful she is!! Thanks

Just wanted to give you an update on our GSD, Pig. She’s been doing great. I can’t believe what a difference your business has made for our family. Today I forgot to put her in her crate before I left for work. She was on her place. Four hours later as I was driving home, I recalled with horror what I had done and braced myself for the worst…house torn up, toys destroyed, piles and puddles. She is, after all, not even nine months old. We got home and she had not left her place. You can imagine how grateful we are for the training she got from you. What a good girl she is and a pleasure to have in our lives. Thanks again.

Our dog was out of control and we didn’t know what to do! Nola, our 5 year old mixed breed came to us with some quirky behaviors as she is a Hurricane Katrina rescue. When we adopted her, she was only 6 months old and everyone forgave those quirks because of her background. She was always very friendly with people and kids, however, over time she became increasingly aggressive toward other dogs. As Nola aged, instead of settling down, the aggression issue worsened. We do not have a yard and could only take walks when we were sure we would not see another dog. On those occasions when we did run into another dog, Nola became a snarling mess, lunging aggressively toward any dog, big or small, that came across her path. Vacations were always an issue because we could not do anything with her. We couldn’t chance having a pet sitter walk her, we couldn’t take her to a kennel and if we did take her with us, she had to stay in the hotel all day for fear of running into another dog. At times, she even attacked our older Aussie.

Clearly this was not an issue we could address on our own. We had tried the different methods on the dog shows without success. Thankfully, we were referred to Carrie by some other happy clients-we needed an intervention after several years of avoiding other dogs at all costs.

After consulting with Carrie, she educated my husband and I on what we were doing to contribute to Nola’s bad behavior. We decided to send her to the Dog House for full service training. It was a difficult decision to make, as it was the middle of summer and Nola was accustomed to air conditioning and sleeping on a nice comfy bed. But something had to be done. I dropped Nola off and spent a few days worrying about how she was handling the heat and being away from us. Then, Carrie began sending videos that astounded me. She was actually socializing with other dogs and appeared to be enjoying herself! When we met with Carrie for our training at a very busy dog park, it was truly amazing! She actually walked by other dogs and ignored them-with a loose leash! While this may not seem like a big deal to most, anyone who has been ashamed to walk their dog in public knows exactly what I am talking about.

The true test was when we brought Nola home. Carrie taught us to face the issues straight on, rather than avoiding them. I was very nervous at first, but followed her advice. We walked around our neighborhood and while Nola did try to test us, she quickly realized we were not going to be pushovers with her like before. Carrie trained us well. We have even taken her on vacation and over to friend’s houses. We can exercise when it is convenient for us, not when we know all of the other dogs in the neighborhood are safely tucked away. We can go anywhere and I am confident I can control my dog.

Our household is much more relaxed as Nola’s out of control behavior had an adverse effect on our other dog. Now, both are much calmer. Carrie also taught us other nifty tricks, like how to make our dogs “place” so they are not jumping all over guests. Now, they wait to be greeted.

The Dog House training we all received has had a positive impact on our lives. Most notably is how much more relaxed our lives have become. We do not have the aggressive barking every time a dog walks by, and there is no agonizing over when and where to walk the dogs in order to avoid a fight while still making sure they are exercised. I can even talk to my neighbors as they are no longer in fear for their dogs lives! The best part is that Nola is a much happier, calmer dog.

We still practice with Nola daily . The words “Carrie said…” have become part of our regular conversations as Nola is a bit stubborn and pushes the envelope when she can-after all, Carrie changed her behavior and not her personality. But, now we know how to deal with it, and that has made all the difference.

 had to send you another e-mail about Palmer, he’s doing SO GREAT! He’s heeling, sitting, “placing” and following all of the rules. We have been able to take him to so many new places, he walks beside us and we have been working off leash too!!! Today while I was walking him he made friends with a sweet Westie (girl) and it was the most amazing thing! He sat and wagged his tail until I released him, then he sniffed her and started playing!! I couldn’t believe it! He is now a frequenter of starbucks, petsmart, and I’m planning to take him to the dog park (only outside the fence to meet and greet) tomorrow morning. It makes all of us so happy that he’s a “good” dog now and again I just cannot thank you enough for your help! I’ve come to realize that he may not like every person or every dog but that he will follow every rule and that’s fine with us!  We have been working using the same correction method with our smaller dog, and she now heels and “places” as well. Please keep me up to date regarding any other socialization classes/anything you think would benefit Palmer.