FirstBark
My review is a bit overdue but it's definitely worth the read. We rescued 2 pups last year who had some earlier trauma. At first, we tried the traditional obedience training for them to learn the basics, but they were both so overly excited and timid during the training that it …Read full reviewClose full review
My review is a bit overdue but it's definitely worth the read. We rescued 2 pups last year who had some earlier trauma. At first, we tried the traditional obedience training for them to learn the basics, but they were both so overly excited and timid during the training that it didn't work. We took a break to let them settle in and then began our search for a new training program. One day, I was at HapE dog grooming waiting to get my pups in for their appointments when another dog came into the store and my pups started the whole barking and lunging routine. Quietly, the other dog calmly sat next to her owner as I was full of apologies to her for my pup's behavior; she raved about Doug Parker's training program. The way she explained it was that she hired this dog whisperer guru, Doug who has a unique approach that is really had to explain but trust me it works. It will be the best money you've ever spent. I went home, looked him up, read every word on his website, watched his videos, and checked out all of the glowing reviews on yelp. When I called Doug, he really took the time to understand what was going on with my dogs and explain his approach. Doug told me his approach is simple. It just takes patience. He told me I already have the tools to make this work, he just has to show me how and then my husband and I will do drills with the pups throughout the day for the next X # of weeks. I knew that I'd be spending the next 15+ years with these pups and I wanted the best possible relationship with them, so I was willing to put in the work to make that happen. Doug came out to the house for the first visit and spent several hours teaching us how the program works and practicing the drills. He truly has a deep passion for teaching pet owners to be leaders so that we can have great relationships with our dogs. He teaches owners everything he knows so that we can be great leaders and our dogs are happy. My chihuahua was dealing with some previous trauma in his life before we adopted him and was really high strung and relentless with his barking and growling. Doug was just as relentless in his patience in working with him to get him to relax. The basic idea behind the training is to develop a relationship with the dogs (this involves holding their eye contact) to the point where they feel relaxed enough to submit. There are all kinds of "tells" the dog will communicate during this process from looking to the right, left, center, sniffing, scratching, yawning etc.. As a leader, you need to read these tells and learn that is the dog's behavior telling you what he/she needs. Stop yourself from creating a narrative and listen to what the dog needs. The dogs' needs are already pre-programmed in by nature. When you can get the dog to be so relaxed, they are at a lower energy level to learn what you want from them. Too often, owners try to train their dogs when they are at their high wild animal levels and that is setting the owners and the dogs up for failure. They can't learn when they are in that state. So first, you need to get your dog relaxed and trust you to lead them. It's also very important that everyone in the house is following a consistent training program or else the dog/s get confused, and the process takes longer. It's hard to put this program into words. You must experience it, practice the drills and then one day the magic happens, and you think he switched your dog because it's not the wild animal out of control excited dog that it used to be. It's relaxed, healthy wet nose, wet eyes and well behaved. Doug is the most kind and patient man I've ever meet. He truly has a deep understanding and passion for helping dogs and owners develop solid everlasting relationships. He definitely has perfected the art of communicating with dogs and it's fascinating to see his training in action. I highly recommend Doug.