Nika & Aslan
I contacted The
Cultured Canine with a laundry list of issues. We had two 2-year-old shih
tzus we believed to be beyond training. We were having serious problems
with everything from housebreaking to excessive barking to jumping and nipping
everyone that came to our door to fear of other dogs and people.
We had always
hoped to travel with our dogs but had not crate-trained them as puppies and as
adults we found it impossible to crate them for even a few minutes (much less a
plane ride).
Our female dog had
also become very possessive with toys, treats, etc. and had become abusive to
our more laid-back male dog, but our dogs experienced major anxiety when we
tried to separate them for any amount of time.
Although we
worked on basic commands like SIT, STAY, COME as puppies, as the dogs got older
they stopped listening and eventually ignored our commands altogether.
Most of the
trainers we'd contacted didn't have as much experience with small dogs which
was really important to us (our dogs were so tiny and cute that no one ever
stopped them from exhibiting bad behaviors, and when it became unbearable, like
biting or nipping, it was too late). It was also important to us that we
find someone willing to work with our two dogs together.
I had already
contacted another highly recommended trainer in the area before finding The
Cultured Canine. After reviewing my list of concerns, the trainer told me
he'd need to take our dogs weekly for sessions that would span over 2 years. We didn't have two years
to wait for obedient dogs. I honestly didn't think we'd find anyone to
correct even half of our issues but I thought we might at least fix a few of
the big problems. Thankfully, we found Diane before going any further
with the other trainer!
Prior to our
first meeting, we sent Diane our list of problems which she broke down into 5
categories and provided us with a brief overview of how we might address each
category. We found that a number of our issues were related. For example,
5 bad behaviors might be corrected with 1 training solution. Diane helped
us prioritize our issues and we attacked one category of problems at each
session. We'd get started with Diane in our in home, and then she'd leave us
with things to practice with the dogs throughout the week, gradually building
with each session.
By the end of 5
sessions, we experienced drastic improvements far beyond what I ever hoped to
accomplish, and all in a little over one month! We even corrected major
issues after our sessions ended, building on training techniques Diane left us
with. These were deep-seated issues that would take time to correct, but
even so we were able to work them out on our own (with Diane's advice) in a
relatively short amount of time. For example our female's fear of other dogs and
people, and even barking at the window at dogs passing by improved (I don't
know too many dogs that don't do this!).
I am so glad we
found Diane when we did! Shortly after we finished our training sessions,
we found out we were expecting. It is such a relief to know we'll have
well-behaved dogs with a new baby in the house!
Diane also made
it possible for us to take our dogs with us anywhere without having to worry
about how they'll behave at someone else's home or with new people.
I love recommending
The Cultured Canine. I'm so proud of our dogs' improvements after working
with Diane! She was fantastic with our dogs and they responded so well to
her, but more importantly she taught us how to get them to respond to us the
same way! I hope you'll have the same outstanding experience!
