Stateline Canine

My puppy (whom I adopted believing he's a GSD, but I now have my doubts) is now six months old. Ten weeks ago, he started private lessons at Stateline Canine with Mykala as our trainer. To say I was frustrated with Radar is an understatement. I had just come from the trauma and devastation of losing my previous GSD, my heart dog and my soulmate, to a horrible cancer. I wasn't emotionally ready for another dog, but this puppy landed in my lap and Radar tested me in ways I didn't think a dog could. I adore dogs, I'm obsessed with them. I will choose dogs over people all day, ever day, but Radar put me through my paces and was really enhancing the depression I had sunken into over the death of my Sora, rather than helping me. It wasn't his fault - he'd been through a lot of really unfortunate, painful, traumatizing things in his short, short life before the rescue stepped in, and he lost out on a lot of critical learning moments with his mother and siblings. He was unruly and stressing out the other dog in our home to the point that it was beginning to negatively effect her. I was at a total loss, so I turned to professionals. I looked at the options listed on their website and thought I knew what I was going to choose, but Mykala listened to my story, to Radar's story, and suggested five weeks of private lessons that would then segue into day training. Ten weeks later, and I cannot, or maybe I will not, say that I have a "completely different dog". He's still the same Radar - active, energetic, playful, affectionate, lightning fast, inquisitive, and irrepressibly silly. I do, however, have an obedient dog. I have a dog that I've bonded with so much more quickly than I thought my grief would allow. I have a dog who, at six months old, is well behaved enough to stay out of his crate at night without destroying my things. I have a dog who wants to work through his training routine with me, further deepening our bond. Mykala and the team of trainers at Stateline Canine have worked so hard to educate me and coax out all of Radar's best qualities. I used to only see Radar's best traits through a foggy mirror, in fleeting glances out of the corner of my eye. Mykala didn't just wipe off that mirror - she moved it aside, guiding Radar around it and letting him sit in the spotlight. He is so eager to do the right thing and to work with me. Make no mistake, though: Mykala trained Radar, but she taught and educated me. Our lessons were part working with Radar hands-on, and part talking through it all. She listened with infinite patience to every trouble or concern I brought to the table, asked questions to clarify, presented scenarios, and walked me through the way Radar's brain was working. She knows why he does the things he does, how he comes to his conclusions, and how I can best navigate his fuzzy little thoughts. Thanks to Mykala and the trainers at Stateline, I am now better equipped to continue Radar's training at home. I have a better understanding of canine obedience and I no longer get so helplessly frustrated with him. He's not perfect, and I will never expect perfection from him, but I can continue to work with him daily without feeling like I'm attempting to train a brick to tap dance. Mykala and Stateline trained my dog, yes. More importantly, whether they know it or not, they brought me some desperately needed peace. Through training, I've bonded with Radar and I will continue to do so. That is my peace. In my mind, that's the bottom line, and the most important thing I've walked away from Stateline with: a closer bond with my dog and the tools to continue to build on the absolutely rock-solid foundation they've created. I cannot recommend them enough. If you're seeking training for your dog, and you're not sure who to go to or what to do, let me be the little voice in your ear. Call Stateline. You'll get so much more than just an obedient dog from them.