Management Skills for the Difficult Dog Testimonials

September 27, 2010

I was a student of the inaugural Reactive Dog training course taught at Performance Plus Dog Training. I had no idea what to expect. I came into the class with a dog that had attacked other dogs and there was a certain amount of embarrassment and lack of hope associated with my dog’s behavior. Nancy put my mind at ease and assured me that although my dog’s issues were life-long, there was hope for both of us.

I was very impressed with the attention that was paid to the safety of both the dogs and the students. The number of staff available to assist, the barriers used to shield the dogs and the care in which the dogs were moved around all contributed to a safe and secure environment for everyone. Nancy and her staff were very knowledgeable and I liked that Nancy used staff that have their own experiences with reactive dogs so they understood our issues. Everyone worked to build the confidence level of both the owners and the dogs.

Nancy incorporated a variety of skills and techniques into the class. An example of this was the nose work exercises. My dog loved that so much that she could care less if another dog was around. We have continued doing nose work and have actually been accepted into a “regular” class with other dogs. This demonstrates just how far we have come over the last few months.

There were a variety of dogs in the class, all with different issues but all reactive. I was amazed not only at the progress with my own dog, but with the progress of the other dogs in the class as well. The most important thing I learned was that my dog’s issues will not totally go away, they are life-long. It is up to me to be my dog’s advocate and to protect her from situations that would cause her to react in a negative manner. Nancy teaches the skills you need to achieve that.

After taking the Reactive Dog course, my dog is much more relaxed (probably because I am!!) and is enjoying her life as a dog. I highly recommend this course to anyone with a reactive dog.

October 12, 2010

“We had just adopted a 4 month old Border Collie/Pyrenees mix. At about 6 months we noticed she was developing a reactivity issue toward strangers when they approached her, jogged past her or just looked at her wrong. I knew we had to do something to help her overcome her fear or it would just become a bigger problem. So I did some research on the internet and that is how we learned about fear based reactivity in dogs. So I ordered several books that were recommended. I started to notice that a lot of the info I found was confusing and different sources often contradicted one another. I was completely overwhelmed. We discussed it with our vet and she recommended Performance Plus because they had trained several of her dogs. We put Delilah in Basic Obedience because we thought that would help build confidence and that would help with her reactivity. At the beginning of her second session of Obedience classes I found out they were starting the first Chill Ubu class. I immediately asked Nancy if she thought the course would be good for Delilah. Nancy evaluated her and decided that she would be a great candidate for Chill Ubu. The class was amazing. The class trained us, to recognize what puts Delilah into a reactive state, how to identify when Delilah was about to have a reactive episode and how to diffuse it before it begins. That was the key!!

I was very anxious at the start of the classes because Delilah’s reactivity was towards new people. So I was picturing her attacking everyone in the class. But after the first class my fears were gone. Nancy was able to identify the best way for people to approach Delilah to help reduce her anxiety and thus leading to less reactivity. Most if not all of the assistants in the Chill Ubu program have reactive dogs of their own so they totally know what you are going through. That really eased my mind. Which come to find out really eased Delilah’s anxiety too. We had such great success and progress with the first session that we signed her up for another.

Delilah’s improvement has been amazing. We spend the summer with family down the cape. I was so stressed out the beginning of the summer wondering if Delilah would be able to handle all the new people that would be coming and going. I wanted her to be a part of everything and not have to be separated from the activity. She ended up doing great. We utilized the tools we learned at the Chill Ubu class and Delilah had a great summer and met a lot of new people. I am so proud of her. She has come a long way.

Dianne & Jon Cook