Our 1-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier, Chubbs, was always a sweet
dog. But that was his problem: He was too sweet and friendly. Whenever
he saw new people or any other dogs, he would lose all control and try
to jump and lick and jump some more. Nothing we did could calm him
down. He got to the point where we couldn't take him out in public or
have anyone over to the house. He would whine in his crate, and he just
had his way. It wasn't a lack of trying on our part, but a big, strong,
heavy dog who is over-excited is hard to control.
We researched many trainers and decided to give Cris a try, not knowing what to expect. After one week of Chubbs being under her care, he was already a different dog. Just as sweet, but calm and submissive. Cris worked with us for several hours and showed us how to handle our dog. Amazing. Just the smallest, most simple things made the biggest changes. She also whipped Chubbs into shape by running him on a treadmill. He put on so much muscle, and he isn't as hyper. We even bought a treadmill to run him at home. I guess a tired dog really is a good dog. After two weeks with Cris, Chubbs was ready to come home. What a difference! He is an angel now. He listens even when he gets excited. He is still excited to see new people and dogs, but he is controllable. He doesn't go crazy, and he obeys commands. He also stays in his crate without whining now too. Thank you so much for helping our dog (and us) learn to live a happy, balanced life.
Jess, Jamie and Chubbs
-- Jess Levens Picture maker, story teller
Dear Cris- Thank you so much for turning our PROBLEM puppy into the family dog that we dreamed of. I don’t have to tell you that Roman was a major pain in the bum. He constantly kept pulling on the leash, barking to get attention, running away and not coming back when called, begging for food from the table, chewing everything in sight, and most importantly trying to act like he’s BOSS! Certainly all of these unpleasant behavior problems made us unable to enjoy the real Roman, the rambunctious, active and happy puppy. We simply didn’t know what to do, and seeing how he was a big puppy (weighing 76 lbs. at seven months) we knew that we needed to gain control as soon as possible before this escalated into a dangerous situation. He used to think that it was cute to run up to someone to say hello, sounds innocent enough, but the trouble is that his hello included jumping up on that person, like when he was a puppy, and licking them. It might be cute when a little Pomeranian does that to you, but it’s not so cute when you’re being approached by an eighty pound Beauceron. So a decision was made, I called Cris and begged her to take our “pup”. The first time we drove out to Cris’ facility I was a bit nervous, after all I was going to leave my ‘baby’ with a stranger for a month! But Cris came highly recommended, and I knew a couple of the dogs that she had worked her magic on, so I was well informed… but still I couldn’t totally let go of my fears. But during our initial meeting she instilled a lot of confidence in me, showing me her other ‘students’ and their progress. It really made me feel that there was nothing to worry about. We kept coming back to do training sessions with Roman as much as possible, usually 2-3 times a week and each time we came were astounded with the results, and progress that he was making. But the thing that I love most about Cris is that she’s never too busy or unwilling to listen to your thoughts and concerns, and try to answer them the best she can. She would tailor her program and her approach to each dog individually, basing it on what she observed through the interaction with the dog and also through the information that was provided by the owner. A lot of trainers don’t even listen to the owners, because their whole approach is - if we knew anything about dogs or how to raise them we wouldn’t really need their services. Cris is different, because she takes your opinion into consideration and points out what you’re simply not noticing, which makes all the difference. It was a bit difficult for me to trust someone with my dog, but seeing the great care and love Cris gives to all her dogs I became convinced that there isn’t a better place to take your dog to than Better Dog Training. And as far as leaving Roman during vacations there is only one person I would trust – and that’s Cris. (She provides boarding for all her client dogs, pretty great huh!?!) So to conclude my tale of great satisfaction, I would just like to say THANK YOU!!! On behalf of all of us: Victoria, Vasiliy and Roman =) Portnoy
I will be happy to recommend Better Dog Training to you. I met Cris, the trainer, about 4 years ago. I had a little black lab that was a real hand full. Even though I have experience training dogs, I could not figure out how to work with her. She just got crazy whenever she met a new person or dog and completely forgot everything I taught her. She would run up to them wiggling and jumping for joy and no amount calling her would do any good. I am so glad I found Cris when Tess was only 5 months old. She tailored a training program just for Tess. And more than that she worked with ME to teach me how to work with Tess. She taught Tess to be a member of her pack. Tess joined her other dogs for long walks in the country. Tess learned to follow her as the leader and then me. She also worked one on one with Tess, teaching her to focus on her trainer and ignore distractions. I dont know what I would have done with Tess if I hadnt found Cris when I did. I later got a Golden Retriever puppy. She helped me start him out right from the beginning. Both of my dogs are wonderful companions and we love them dearly. They wait at the door until we give them permission to go out or in. Also at the gate. They lie down on command when visitors come, to temper their joyous greetings. When they are calm they can then greet the visitor. Cris also taught me to crate train my dogs. We had only one or two accidents in the house, and these were my fault for not being aware that the dog needed to go out. They no longer need to be crated. But it was an absolute necessity when they were puppies. They got plenty of play time and time in the house when we were able to supervise them.They never destroyed our property by chewing, because they didnt get the opportunity There are so many other things, my dogs and I learned from Cris. But this will give you an idea. She has a beautiful kennel in Valley Center. It is clean and well managed. When not being trained or socialized the dogs are kept in secure dog runs, or in a crate for potty training. The dogs get to go out in the play yard several times a day for socialization. Sallee OBrien, Tess and Toby
