Angus just came back today from Redeeming Dogs and we are so impressed. We signed Angus up for his board and train program for 2 weeks. Tod actually kept him 3 week because Monte was going to be out of town the end of the 2nd week and Tod felt he had a couple more days he wanted to keep him for training (no extra charge either) so he kept him until Monte came home. In 2 weeks, Tod taught Angus the following commands:
Sit, Down, Stay, Place (to go to a pad or bed in the house-not the kennel), Kennel Up, Load Up, Out (when he has something in his mouth and you want him to spit it out), Leave it, Come(to come to you), Come On(when he’s with you and you want him to follow you),
And he Heels perfectly now! Angus is a 6 mo old Dogue De Bordeaux and was starting to drag us after him when we tried to walk him and it started to scare us – if this is what it was like at 6 mo…….. well, you get the picture! When Tod brought him home today, he showed us everything he had taught Angus, and then showed us how to give him the commands and had us go through everything as well.
Then we went to the park by our house, where there was baseball practice, soccer practice, a play ground and tennis courts and people and kids galore. He showed us how to keep his attention and not have him worry about everything going on around him, just to focus on us.
Angus was very happy to see us and his home. But you could tell he was very attached to Tod also. I was a little apprehensive about how he would do when Tod left us, but Tod gave him a hug and a rub and walked out and Angus came over and laid down by Monte and I so it was fine! After Tod left, we put him through all the paces again and he did great!
Tod uses hand commands and voice commands. He also uses the e-collar which he spent a lot of time talking to us about when we interviewed him. I thought they were the old time ‘shock collars’ that I had heard about. The e-collar is a buzz on his skin or a noise, depending how you have the collar set, and it does NOT hurt them, it gets their attention. Tod had us hold it in our hand and let us feel what the different levels felt like. The e-collar he chose for us has 5 settings, 1 being low and 5 being high. In the house, Angus is on a 1 and when we are outside at the park or walking etc. it is on a 2. The e-collar is included in his fee. I just can’t believe the difference in Angus, we are all very happy and pleased with Tod’s training.
I had researched a trainer for about 3 months. I did not like the idea of Angus going to a kennel place/trainer, where he would be crated and by himself for 12 hours a day, 6 at night to 6 in the morning. Tod was the only one I found that actually brings your dog into his home with his family, including children, and his own dogs. Talk about excellent socialization! And, since he only takes 1 or 2 dogs at a time, you are assured of very one on one training.
I can tell you right now that I will do this again with our next DDB or Mastiff – it is incredible what he did with Angus in this short amount of time.
Taree
