Alfie’s story,
I’ve been training dogs professionally for close to 20 years. It’s been an evolution as I’m always looking to better my skills so I’m always up for a challenge. I took on this dog, Alfie, as a project from another trainer about year and a half ago. Alfie is a powerfully built Pit Bull. I knew she was human and dog aggressive.
Very little progress had been made with her. I started slowly to build a relationship and before long had her trust, but the reality was Alfie was making very little progress in her human reactivity.
I threw everything at her that I knew to do at this point as from my experience and point of view this dog is dangerous. Alfie had good obedience, I could use her obedience commands to control her emotional outbursts, BUT her mouth was still a real problem. When Alfie was frustrated, she’d redirect (attempt to bite) her handler which was me.
I’d been playing around with teaching dogs to fetch and hold as a strategy to control their mouths in these situations, but my training efforts were incomplete.
About this time, I met Roxanne on a dog training Facebook group. I wasn’t getting much input or help to from the group, but Roxanne commented, and we quickly had a phone conversation. During our hour-long phone call, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. But the conversation with Roxanne intrigued me as she had trained with Margot Woods, of Applewoods Dog Training, for nearly 5 years AND Margot’s business was based on training aggressive dogs that either got the training or were euthanized. Part of Margot’s training included the use of the retrieve as a way to control the dog’s mouth.
I was hooked!
I had to know this information inside and out! But Roxanne told me I had to take her FOUNDATION Course before she’d accept me taking Alfie into her Retrieve Course. Hum. I had already been through and believed I had a good understanding of the KMODT. However, as it turns out I learned things in Roxanne’s FOUNDATION Course that changed the way we train with our clients daily.
And her FOUNDATION Course really was essential to building the relationship with Alfie so that we could progress through the RC. Without doing the 10 weeks of FC, we wouldn’t have made it.
We did graduate and went onto the Retrieve Course. Mind you, ALL of this is 100% online.
Honestly, when I started the Retrieve Course, I really didn’t foresee being successful with Alfie. I just wanted a good understanding of the information and I thought, “If I can put a retrieve on this dog, I should be able to do anything!”. So, we took the Retrieve Course and in the end Alfie and I graduated it! This dog that would chomp, bite and snap, now successfully retrieves on command and holds an item with steadiness, even in the face of things that would have blown her mind before the Retrieve Course.
It’s a tough course and I seriously considered bailing out a couple times (which I’ve never done before). But Roxanne’s commitment, her example of working through the tough spots, her gameness, her no quit attitude and her constant encouragement, kept us in!
The information is broken down in such a way that helps you and the dog to be successful with each step during the process. The attention to detail in this course is amazing as Roxanne won’t let you get it wrong.
Roxanne’s FOUNDATION and Retrieve Courses have had a HUGE impact on my training and what I can offer my clients. But, more importantly to me is the change in my relationship with Alfie and the way Alfie now views the rest of the world. That has been the biggest surprise result.
Thank you, Roxanne! I highly recommend your online training to anyone willing to learn.
Please feel free to share this letter of testimony and my contact information should a prospective student want to talk with me one-on-one.
Nate Shepherd, Dog Trainer
217-502 -3885
NateShep5@yahoo.com
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