Testimonials > 2007
Cliff, Terry and "the Girls", New Jersey Agility Seminar Attendees
Cliff and I have been talking about the weekend we spent with you ever since and we continue to have thoughts about how much fun we had and how much we learned about ourselves and our dogs. Cliff talked about how fascinated he was watching you work, not only with the dogs but the humans! Clearly, when we were able to get our act together, the dogs just naturally came along. You have a wonderful, positive way of working and you are incredibly affirming.
We looked you up on your web site and it makes sense that you are a social worker by training! I have been trained as a dance/movement therapist and work with lots of adolescents and women with eating issues, so I thought that my dance and dance therapy training would come in handy on this weekend. I found that it was like learning a new language. (a humbling experience!) We really had lots of fun and we thank you for your expertise, humor and compassion! Hopefully we'll see you in the spring.
Love,
Terry, Cliff and the "girls"
Emily Lorentzen and Brewski
Most college students come back from spring break with a wicked hangover as their souvenir. I came back with a puppy. This was not just an ordinary pup, she was the most beautiful three month old rottwieller/bullmastiff mix I had ever met and best of all she was free.
I was going to have my hands full. Given the tendencies inherent in my new puppy’s breeds and realizing that this dog would quite likely outweigh me and most definitely be stronger than me, I needed to be sure I was able to control it. This was precisely the time I met Sue.
We met at the park and I was incredibly impressed with how nicely her dogs walked next to her and sat when she stopped to talk to me. I got Sue's card and the next week met her at the Poochapalooza (Bark & Brew?) and had my free demo soon thereafter. I was completely sold on the idea of off-leash training and being able to get your dogs' attention without turning to physical means or a strength contest.
Brewski (the name my roommates and I finally decided on for my dog) and I signed up for the lifetime package. I was determined to have a polite dog and was surprised with how quickly we moved along. Before I knew it, a leash was optional in most settings. This is not to say that there were no bumps along the road.
A few months into our training, I relocated to Colorado for a summer internship. Brewski began to develop a bad attitude towards dogs, men, skateboarders, and other random things. By bad attitude I mean showing teeth, lunging, and barking aggressively. This attitude of hers scared me and resulted in Sue getting many distraught phone calls/e-mails/text messages. Yes, Sue was great at all forms of communication. Her answers to my questions were prompt and thorough.
The key for me, Sue explained, was to read my dog and predict these situations and then alleviate Brewski’s anxiety by giving her something to do (a command). We worked through all these issues with Sue in a manner that built up my confidence and Brewski’s.
Leesa Sample and Arden
I first contacted Sue about her ad for "Agility" training; I was looking for something new, fun and challenging for myself and Arden; a 2 year old Westie. The next class was not going to be held for a few months, but Sue mentioned the Dock Dog Training class, coming up in a few weeks. A Westie doing "Dock Dogs" this should be a hoot.
It was a fun class! Sue was very enthusiastic, helpful and encouraging to find ways to get Arden into the water. We were even able to get her to retrieve the toy. When the class was over I was covered from head to toe in mud and I now owned a Scottie!
What stuck out more in my mind that day was watching all the other dogs. None of the owners had their dogs on leads or leashes and not one of them was running off. All the dogs had remote collars. Here I was with a 9 foot lead attached to my dog, of course getting tangled up with her and my legs; quite a nuisance.
Arden and I had completed puppy, beginners and intermediate obedience training. She was fairly well behaved while her prong collar and lead was attached. When they weren't the true Terrier traits were definitely shown to the full extent.
I was very interested in understanding and knowing more about the remote collar and how it all worked, so I gave Sue a call a week or so after class.
Sue wanted to know exactly what training Arden had completed and what issues I was having. Arden had the sit, stay, drop and walking on a leash just fine. My issue of course was the lack of follow through on commands when the prong collar and lead weren't attached, running off if not tied up to chase whatever, maniacal barking when someone came to the door and jumping up on people or dogs. Most people find it cute for little dogs to do these things, it embarrassed me personally.
That phone call and first remote training session with Sue was the best thing that ever happened for Arden and me; the best call I ever made. Sue demonstrated the best way to use the collar and how to effectively change my way of thinking. It is a little different then what I had learned at all of the other obedience classes we had taken.
