|
Previous Clients |
|
| Some previous clients have been kind enough to provide their story for this page. I congratulate them for their hard work and perseverance. Behavioural modification is not a miracle, it takes dedication and commitment but the results speak for themselves; Zach
The programme Claire gave us was followed religiously and involved determination, commitment and hard work. The outcome has been outstanding and I am both relieved and proud of the results as I now have a different dog, who is calmer and sociable with dogs and people, who can at last enjoy the pleasures of walking freely but best of all I have my best friend back which makes all the hard work more than worth it." Paddy
Chibi
Hollie
Hollie was a very nervous Jack Russell who attended puppy classes. She was wary of people and dogs and though she improved considerably during her course, as she grew up she started to show fearful responses towards people while out on walks as her owner describes: "Hollie is now 10 months old. She got into the habit of barking as soon as she left the house and could be heard all the way down the road barking at anyone who dared to walk past, as well as at places she felt threatened by. Claire introduced us to clicker training. Hollie took to it very quickly. First we had to click for quiet behaviour in many different situations where she may bark, for example : someone coming the other way, a cyclist on the road, a jogger in the park, a lady pushing a pram, and many others. At first we had to click while the person was very far away and while Holly was relaxed. If Hollie did not bark when they walked past we would also click and treat again. We also got Hollie to focus on us prior to situations of barking by getting eye contact. As time went by Hollie would bark less and less and would automatically look to us for a reward if she walked past someone without barking. We practised walking up the local high street on a daily basis and let lots of people walk past, rewarding Hollie by using the clicker. There were days when Hollie would still have periods of barking at people, some times we felt the progress was "one step forwards two steps back", but gradually they became less frequent. This has taken some time (months rather than weeks) to achieve, but we can now have relaxing walks. We can now walk past all sorts of situations such as people bouncing a ball in the park, or a single man without her batting an eyelid !!! We continue to use the clicker in and out of the house and feel it is a positive way of training a dog." Hollie has also managed to attend a local dog show and actually was brave enough to be entered into a competition where she won a rosette- well done to Hollie and her hard working owners. If you have used this behavioural service for your pet or attended puppy school classes, and wish to have your pet feature on this page then contact me.
|
Home Page |
"When I initially took Zach to Claire for a
consultation he was a dog out of control. His behaviour had culminated in a
series of events that had caused me great concern as in true Border Collie style
he wanted to chase everything cars, cyclists, runners and worse of all children
and had begun to show aggression to other dogs which made him unpredictable. At
the time I sought advice and was given a range of opinions and options on how to
deal with his problem from re-homing, electric collars and even having him put to
sleep. It was therefore a relief to find someone who shared my hope and was
prepared to give the help, advice and support Zach and I needed. 
Paddy
was referred to me for general nervousness, over grooming and fear of going
outdoors. He was a rescue cat and obviously had some baggage from his old life.
His new owners have provided the love and care he required and with work, Paddy now
enjoys his time outdoors and is much more relaxed. He brings a lot of joy to his
new owners..jpg)
A
sudden, extremely painful experience after a jump from his owner's lap left
Chibi physically unharmed but very fearful of being handled. For weeks he had
avoided people, he was off his food and had no interest in playing with his
long-time buddy Gomez. His caring owners were obviously very distressed by his
changed personality. A careful, positive plan was put into place and helped to
rebuild Chibi's confidence in interactions again. Several months later his owner
reports that Chibi is "going from strength to strength. They play almost solidly
from morning till night and they seem so much happier (as are we). We are
thrilled with Chibi's progress - he's just like his old self. It's wonderful!"