Natalie Reusch and Boxie
Boxie
and I had a fabulous weekend˘above all
expectations. She got 7 1/2 Q's out
of 9, all at the Elite level. She
got her Standard Elite title and her Gambler's
Elite title and 45 points towards that
ATCH championship title, if we should live
so long. (Of course, we had to
give up one run to the "zoomies," and
the last run of the weekend she was
over Standard Course Time by 4/10's of a
second, therefore the 5-point Q. We
were both exhausted.) She placed fourth
in the "High in Trial" competition
for the Elite level, which I thought was
pretty amazing against all those ATCH Aussies.
Ordinarily, I would go into "brag" mode. However,
this time I think it is more appropriate
to go into "Thank You, Terry" mode I
know that we owe our success directly
to you and your instruction. Many people
at the trial noticed and commented
on the "different style." Positional
cues and the box work that you have
been stressing in class made all the difference;
the Jumpers courses were a breeze because
of them (we got 3 Qs in jumpers).
So THANK YOU, TERRY. The success was
yours. Best thing we ever did
was to sign up for your class.
Margaret Petracca and Kesha
Terry has opened my eyes to SO MUCH concerning
agility and my 4-legged teammate!
When I first entered into the sport of agility
with my All-American dog, Kesha, I found
myself becoming more and more frustrated
because she just didn't "catch on" fast
enough for my agenda. If we didn't qualify
or place at a trial, I was miserable and
very disappointed in myself and my dog. I
constantly compared myself to all my friends,
who always seemed to be doing so much better
than me. And agility stopped being fun.
Thanks to Terry Long and her positive approach
to agility training, I realized that my frustrations,
my unreasonable expectations, and even my
negative body language, were helping to "shut
down" my sensitive dog, who was trying
her very best to please me. If agility wasn't
fun for me during that time, what must it
have been like for poor Kesha?
Terry also helped me to see agility as a
team sport with my four-legged partner. 99.9%
of the mistakes made on the field were my
mistakes, mainly because I wasn't communicating
clearly enough to my dog. With this new mind-set,
along with Terry's excellent training techniques,
Kesha and I improved so much. We have an
awesome bond now, and we understand each
other out there! And, yes, the ribbons and
titles followed, all just at the right times!
Nowadays, trials are fun (with lots of
work thrown in, too), with or without ribbons.
And the best prize of all is spending all
that wonderful time with my loyal and loving
friend, Kesha.
P.S. Well we finally did it! Kesha and
I earned our Novice Gambler’s title
yesterday! We placed first out of 20 dogs.
I still can’t believe that one. Thanks
again for all your help. You stress gamblers
so much in class, and I know Kesha and I
owe a lot of our title to you!!!!
Margaret Dobos (Agility mom to Kate and
Vista)
Terry Long has been instrumental in training
my daughter Kate to train her canine companions
in the sport of dog agility. Terry’s
knowledge of canine behavior and training
techniques, as well as her ability to communicate
those techniques successfully, has given
Kate and her dogs an amazing foundation for
a long and successful partnership in the
field of agility. Terry treats every dog/owner/handler
team with sensitivity toward the needs specifically
of that particular canine/human relationship.
I honestly don't know what we would do without
Terry's expertise!
P.S. I just wanted to send a personal note
to thank you for helping Kate out this weekend.
I think strategy is definitely her weak suit
(and unreasonable expectations for Vista
too soon!) so you really helped her at the
trial on Sunday. Thanks for being such a
great trainer. . . the judge was so impressed
with them....and most of that is your direct
involvement in their relationship, bringing
them together as a team. Kate loves agility
and that is really because you have set such
a great example.
Sue Nettleton and Toby
Our
entire relationship with Toby changed after
consulting Terry for some behavior problems.
With those behavior problems behind us, we
decided to see how Toby did at agility. I
had absolutely no experience, or really much
idea, of what agility entailed. We just had
the clicker training that we learned from
Terry when she worked with Toby privately.
I just knew that my dog needed more exercise,
and we needed to do more together. I was
very nervous before our first class. I was
afraid it would be an embarrassing failure.
No way! Terry and the other members of the
class made us feel most welcome. We discovered
a new problem – Toby was somewhat aggressive
toward the other dogs. I thought we would
be asked to leave. However, with her usual
professionalism, Terry instructed me on how
to handle Toby’s misbehavior. It worked
wonders.
We have been in the agility class for about
a year. We both look forward to Tuesday as
our favorite night of the week. Toby has
been unofficially voted “most improved”
in the class. I am amazed at the way he can
handle a course. I am even more amazed that
I am able to do this with him.
P.S. Toby ….
Maryanne Dell and Fly
I have to tell you, Nikki [Myers] is great.
She's got a good eye -- sees some really
good places where people can improve, many
of them subtle. And she's given me some wonderful
tips.
Mercedes, Pit bull
Rambunctiousness
Thank
you so much for your session today with Mercedes
and me. You were able to recreate every
behavioral issue I have experienced with
her. There have been times when she's
been so calm that I was afraid maybe she
wouldn't act up for you, but after seeing
you work with her, I can see I didn't need
to worry about that. It takes very little
to get her revved up.
Thank you also for recognizing that with
all of her little "issues" she
is an incredibly sweet dog. Despite
15 incredibly stressful months at the shelter,
she has so much love to give and, when calm,
loves nothing more than to sit still and
be stroked.
Best of all, at least for today, was the
SoftTouch Harness. OH MY GOSH, what
a treat our walk was tonight!!! I have
tried to do what Dave showed me, turning
directions, etc., and there were days where
it worked, but it was never without some
sort of struggle. She walked by my side
like an angel. I could feel the walk
was less stressful for her too. She
got tired because of the exercise, not from
the tugging and pulling. What an unbelievable
lifesaver. I can't wait until tomorrow morning. I'm
still wondering if it's too good to be true.
Thanks again. I really hope I can
make a difference for Mercedes.
Michele Burling
Rossmoor, CA
From the same foster parent
of the young, rambunctious pit bull—her
note to the rescue organization (reprinted
with permission):
“… However, we have several
issues with her behavior and training that
obviously needed to be addressed. I am working
with Terry Long for this. She spent
two hours with Mercedes last week. It
was amazing watching her evaluation. She
would explain what she was doing in her interactions
with Mercedes, what she was looking for in
terms of a reaction, etc., etc. Needless
to say, in certain situations when Mercedes
is not allowed to do what she wants, her
frustration level is about one second before
she reacts - and quite vigorously at times.
Terry has provided me with some excellent
tools for dealing with some of these behaviors.
I have several handouts and was given many
opportunities to have Terry show me what
to do when Mercedes misbehaves. One
of these, sadly for Mercedes, is a time-out.
I just have to laugh at the idea of it. There's
poor Mercedes, no TV, no video games, no
phone, sitting in a time-out looking so forlorn. However,
once she visibly calms down and indicates
her frenzy is over, then she is released. This
has been quite effective and is just one
of many things I am learning in dealing with
Mercedes.
I am just so impressed with Terry's skill
in dealing with Mercedes, and I appreciate
so much having something concrete to fall
back on when Mercedes acts a certain way.
Michele Burling
Rossmoor, CA
Sophie, Husky/German Shepherd Mix
Separation Anxiety/Sound Phobia
Terry
Long's training was invaluable to our family. She
exceeded every claim made in her advertising.
I especially appreciated the "gentle" aspect
of her training. It is clear that she truly
loves and respects dogs and that she has
a deep understanding of their owners, as
well.
We have two dogs. Our older dog Sophie was
seven years old when suddenly, and without
warning, she developed a severe case of separation
anxiety. The problem started out slowly and
quickly became extreme. The damage she
did to our home and the suffering she was
going through was extensive.
Over
a six-month period Sophie had destroyed all
the screens to the windows in the backyard. She
destroyed a wooden door, a wood-framed screen
door, and most of the window frames with
her teeth and nails. She tore off large chunks
of wood from doorframes and broke glass.
She even ripped apart a heavy aluminum screen
protector.
At its worst point friends and family, many
of them dog lovers themselves, were suggesting
we consider the ultimate solution of having
the Sophie put down. I deferred to Terry's
expertise and made her promise me that if
she ever felt Sophie was suffering too deeply,
she would know what was best. I put my entire
trust in Terry's assessment of the situation.
Terry provided me with the skills and training
to emotionally cope with the trauma
and more importantly, to help Sophie with
her anxiety attacks. Sophie is no longer
tearing up our home and she is aging gracefully.
Terry became a lifeline for our family. Her
training even informally extended to our
young child so even she could be a part of
the solution. Sophie is better and we
are all better dog owners because of the
training and education provided by Terry
Long.
Viki Yamashita
Long Beach, CA.
Rex, Beagle
Resource Guarding
Approximately a year and a half ago, we
received our beagle Rex as a "gift" from
our son and daughter-in-law. He had
been turned over to a beagle rescue by another
family and came to us with several problems
such as dislike of most visitors; snatching;
growling and biting if we tried to take anything
from him; bolting; lunging /growling
at gardeners, bicyclists, strollers, etc.
Terry's positive training techniques utilizing
clicker training and simple commands and
management of the environment have helped
us tremendously in making Rex a much
better behaved dog. Here are a few examples: He rarely
snatches now, but if he does, he
either drops the object on his own or immediately
responds to the command "Drop It." He
no longer tries to bolt out the front
door and responds to a hand on the doorknob by immediately sitting
on an area rug several feet away from
the front door. On gardener days we
try to managing his environment by closing
shades and practicing training exercises
with him.
Karen and Jack James
Long Beach, CA
Greta, Munsterlander
Separation Anxiety
Terry helped me out a bunch. I picked my
4-month-old Large Munsterlander, Greta,
up at LAX in the middle of the night. She
had a cut on her face from the crate and
flight, she had giardia, and she had separation
anxiety and fear of strangers. After two
days of hearing Greta crying, my 12-year-old
lab and I wondered if we had made a mistake.
My vet gave me Terry's name and we had
an appointment ASAP.
Terry
gave me exercises to do with Greta to try
and help the separation anxiety and fear
of strangers and to get her so that she wasn't
so afraid of her crate. She also helped me
with some basic obedience drills and clicker
training. Armed with lots of information
and Terry's guidance, I worked with Greta
religiously. Greta is now 22 months old and,
although we continue working on separation
anxiety and her fear of some things, she
has really come a long way. She is much more
outgoing and approachable and she will let
me tie her to the fence to walk an agility
course in class without crying. She also
loves sleeping in her crate.
When Greta had to have surgery on her foot
and had to be contained for 8 weeks (I was
really afraid of the separation anxiety increasing),
Terry reassured me by giving me suggestions
and information to re-look at. We made it
through that trying time. We take agility
and Rally Obedience classes and it's been
very positive thanks to Terry's foundation
work. Greta even passed all of the CGC portions
of the test that had anything to do with
strangers interacting with her (she only
made 2 of the 3 minutes alone with a stranger
before becoming worried; something to continue
working on). I was so proud of her for doing
so well with strangers.
I have and will continue to recommend Terry
to anyone needing assistance with their dog.
Shannon Gillespie
Long Beach, CA
Toby, Poodle/Terrier mix
Separation Anxiety/Sound Phobia
I have had the privilege to have Terry Long
work with my dog, Toby, as both a behavioral
trainer and an agility instructor. What
a difference she has made in our lives. Toby
is an extremely high-energy dog. One terrible
New Year’s Eve we left him home. A
neighbor decided to set off fireworks in
our absence. Toby became terrified, and our
16-inch dog scaled our 6-foot fence. After
that night, Toby escaped from the yard on
a regular basis. He always stayed by
the house, but we were terrified that we
would lose him. We needed help, and Terry
Long was recommended to us by our veterinarian.
At that very first appointment, she sat
down with us and listened to our concerns,
which were really more than just the escapes.
Together, with her expertise guiding the
way, we planned a course of action for working
with Toby. In six short sessions, Toby was
staying home more regularly and was a much
more pleasant pet with which to coexist.
We were all happier. Within a short time
after that, the disappearances ceased altogether.
Sue and Rich Nettleton
Westminster, CA
Maizie, Golden Retriever
Leash Manners with other Dogs
Terry, just a note to let you know how much
I am enjoying our sessions!! I haven't really
had a chance to let you know how much I really
do appreciate your wonderful training!! Where
I thought I had nowhere to turn, I now know
there is hope!!! Where I felt tremendously
overwhelmed, I now have you. . . who tells
me we will take it one step at a time and
reach our goal. After each session I feel
soooo much better! Thank You! Cheryl
McBride
P.S.I have a good story to tell about MaiZie.
We were at Rush Park just walking around. There
is one house that has a dog that rushes the
fence and usually triggers MaiZie to react
in some way. As we approached the house,
I held perfectly still to see what Mz would
do. She was aroused and started to lunge,
but stopped herself and looked up at me. I
was still perfectly quiet, and she went behind
me automatically. I gave her most of
the bag of cookies that I then got out of
my bag! On the second time around I
did the same thing. She stopped, looked
at the fence (he was barking), then looked
at me, then went behind me, and nudged my
hand. I gave her the rest of the bag
of cookies that were in my bag!!!! Thought
you would love this one. I had said nothing and
no hand signals or anything!!! YEAH!!!
Cheryl McBride
Garden Grove, CA
Otis, Chinese Crested
Resource Guarding
Terry, as you know, today was our last
of our six-pack training sessions for my
Chinese Crested puppy, Otis. When
we first contacted you several weeks ago, Otis
was developing into a problematic dog, with
signs of aggression, object guarding, and
an inability to walk on a leash without "gulping" everything
on the ground, including a fish hook.
It was becoming frustrating for my wife, Otis, and
myself.
I contacted you after Otis became aggressive
toward a dog groomer. I was unsure what to
do and how to do it to correct Otis' problems
as this was our first puppy in almost 17
years. You were able to observe these
behaviors on your first visit and developed
a written plan to address each of my concerns.
Each session brought immediate results, all
for the positive! Otis' aggression
has been replaced with a loving and curious
dog. With your explanations and
exercises, Otis is now able to walk
on the leash and actually enjoys the walks. You
were able to help me understand the dog's
behaviors and we have been able to manage
the object guarding.
There is no doubt that DogPact has made a
total and complete difference in our lives. Otis
is now much more confident and as a result, his
initial "bad" behaviors have disappeared
or have been minimized. I have
total confidence that as he grows, he will
develop into a great dog.
I strongly recommend your company to
other dog owners that have behavior
and training issues. Terry was able
to train us to train Otis, and showed
that we all could learn and form a strong
foundation for a healthy and happy life!
Ben Lerner
Signal Hill, CA
Ella, Portuguese Water Dog/Terrier
Mix
Fear Aggression
Tonight Ella and I were out walking and came
upon a kitty who had just been hit by a
car. I located the owner and when
we parted, she threw her arms around me
and hugged me. There was a time
when Ella surely would have lunged at and
likely bitten the woman, but not tonight. She
did nothing. And as we walked away
it hit me........... my girl sure
has come a long way.
Just wanted to share and say thank you again.
Diane Kinder
San Pedro
Schroeder, Pointer/Border Collie mix
Dog-dog aggression, on leash
Andy,
Schroeder and I just returned from our first
visit to the dog park and felt the need to
tell you once again – thank you.
Schroeder behaved like a perfect gentleman,
which was a wonderful sight to see! It is
so great to think of how much Schroeder has
learned since we adopted him such a short
time ago. He went from being a dog that could
barely look at another dog without becoming
unglued to a dog that can freely play with
others.
When
we adopted Schroeder (formerly “Zippy”),
the spcaLA told us that he couldn’t
be in the presence of other dogs and could
not go to dog parks or the dog beach—ever.
While we took their direction seriously,
we secretly hoped that this wouldn’t
be the case; with your training and instruction
our hopes did in fact come true.
With your guidance, we now have a dog that
we can walk with no concerns of being aggressive
towards others; a dog we can take on vacation
without worry; and a dog that can run, chase
and jump with other dogs.
You have helped us so much and Schroeder
is now happier and more confident. We love
him dearly and are thrilled that he is having
a fun, safe life.
Please feel free to give out our name and
number to any prospective clients; your services
were extremely valuable to us.
Best regards,
Stacey Fancher
Toby, Terrier/Poodle
My
greatest delight is in Terry Long’s
training methods. Most of the dog training
I have experienced has been negative. Terry’s
methods are entirely positive. There are
no loud noises, hitting with a paper, shouting,
or shaming. Rather she praises and rewards
the desired behavior and does not reward
undesirable behavior. It has worked like
magic with my dog.
Terry’s strengths are listening to
the pet owners concerns, her vast knowledge
about animal behavior and motivation, patience
with both pets and pet owners, her calm assurance,
and her positive attitude. She is highly
professional and enormously skilled. Terry
continues to keep her knowledge current through
seminars, ongoing training, and reading.
She is an amazing woman and an incredible
trainer. I cannot recommend Terry Long highly
enough in both the area of life/obedience
training and agility.
Sue Nettleton
Rosebud, Portugese Water Dog
What a remarkable and gratifying experience
to be taught the method of clicker training
by Terry Long!!! Our 8-week-old puppy was
headstrong and taking over the house. It
was not being the enjoyable experience
we had expected. Terry taught us how to
solve all that annoying and destructive
behavior that untrained pups and dogs are
just going to do. Now we not only have
a dog that is a well-mannered loving companion,
but we have the tools and understanding
to solve any future problems. The best
part is that we can do this in a gentle
way and at the same time be effective.
That nasty choke chain is gone forever
and our lovely dog is beyond all expectations
as a family member.
Chris Duthie
Maggie, Standard Poodle
Thanks for being so good at what you do!
We have a great pup thanks to your training.
Awesome!!! “Terry, you are really the
best!!!”
Estee Edwards
Ruby, Maltese
It had been many years since I had lived
with a dog when Ruby Tallulah came into my
life. Since she was a brand new puppy, I
was apprehensive even about the most basic
training methods I thought I remembered.
I purchased several books but still didn't
feel comfortable. I picked up Terry's business
card at Go Dogs Go, a pet groomer, and talked
to a friend of mine, Karen, about private
lessons for Maggie, her dog, and Ruby. As
it turns out, another friend of mine, Linda,
knew Terry and recommended her highly. Karen
and I called Terry and set up an interview.
She was so cordial and easy to talk to that
we immediately knew we would learn quite
a bit from her. As the lessons progressed,
we decided that it was Karen and I getting
the training …
our dogs knew what to do all along. I was
most impressed with the manner in which the
lessons are organized whereby one behavior
builds on another. I learned that dogs like
to learn new things as long as you make it
fun for them. I enjoyed the experience, received
very good instruction, but Ruby still laughs
at me when I mess up.
Tish Bustos
Elvis, Yellow Lab
Elvis is a Lab, and he was a puppy … do
we need to say another thing?! He was jumping
all over visitors, he was chewing the house
down, and he was unable to walk on a leash
without ripping out our shoulders. With Terry's
help, we used operant conditioning, and positive
reinforcement with Elvis, and we modified
our interactions and reactions with him as
well. He is now 2 1/2, a trim 90 lbs, and
we can leave him home alone (he only eats
his bones or toys), he does not assault visitors
(no matter how happy he is to see them),
and we can successfully take him for pleasant
walks. While we were training with Terry,
we adopted a stray dog, Sydney, who was a
young puppy with a lot of needs. She was
very shy with strangers, and she was a very
fearful dog. After working with Terry, we
have learned to make what was fearful to
her, friendly and fun. She is a much more
outgoing dog, and very friendly as well.
Elizabeth Edwards
Katie, Chihauhau
Thank you so much for the session with you
on Wednesday. I now have a much better understanding
of the clicker. Your handouts are wonderful
and your demo was fantastic. I especially
thank you for the help with her barking.
Katie thanks you too!
Beth Byrne
Lucky, Border Collie
We learned so much in seven weeks. The
positive results we have seen using the clicker
is far more advanced than our other dogs
who went through the ‘old fashioned’ obedience
classes. We see results faster using the
clicker. It also helps with the confidence
level of the dog.
Holly Sjogren
Milo, 7-month male yellow Labrador
Having had a dog that did a [public] Parks
class, as well as private training, I thought
this class was perfect for Milo. Expectations
were in line with his abilities at this age.
Thanks for a good experience!
Krista Leaders
Oliver, Cocker Spaniel
Gila changed my limited concept of what trust
in a relationship with a dog can be. Oliver
and I are having a great time out exploring
our world. Gila had great, practical solutions
and creative, fun ideas for activities.
She was very sensitive to and worked with
my physical limitations.
Thanks!
Karl Snider
Madison (Yellow Lab) and Mercedes (Pit
Bull)
I
just wanted to thank you again for all your
expertise in evaluating Madison & Mercedes
and their playtime yesterday. It was like
having a translator interpreting a foreign
language. So amazing!! I understand
dogs have signals to each other, but I also
understand not all dogs interpret them correctly
or give the signals that are appropriate
in any given circumstance. I’m
also very aware that at the human level I
don’t necessarily know what they’re
saying to each other. This is where my discomfort
comes in. Should I step in? Is
what they’re doing normal? What
are the signs it’s escalating? And
on and on. That is why I really wanted
you to come evalu | Puppy Class ate
their play. I needed a professional to give
me that solid feedback so I would know if
what I was watching was okay or not – and
if it wasn’t, what should I do? It’s
funny. This morning Madison was playing
with her play group at the park, and she
was running and running with one of the dogs. All
of a sudden, she stopped running, started
sniffing the ground, moving in the opposite
direction, and I thought, “Hey, I know
what that means.” Pretty cool.
Read
more ...
Michele Fieldson
The Deppe family had previously
adopted a dog whose aggression caused
them to return him to the shelter where
they adopted him. Understandably nervous
about adopting another dog after that
heartbreaking experience, they contacted
DogPACT about pre-adoption counseling.
They had found another dog at a local
shelter and asked if he could be evaluated
by DogPACT before they made the final
decision to adopt him. Terry Long,
CPDT-KA, conducted the evaluation with
the permission of the shelter, and
the Deppe’s were elated to find
that he passed with flying colors.
Here is their story.
 “Bandit
is doing GREAT!!! John and I love him
so much and more than once have looked
at each other and said that the money
we spent on the training and your help
picking such a wonderful dog was the
best money we have ever spent on anything.
We are so happy with Bandit. He has
adjusted  very
well to us and his home. He runs with
us and has the best personality ever.
He is good around children, and we
have no problems with him running out
the garage anymore, either. He has
learned the difference in the sound
each garage door makes so he knows
which garage is “his”.
 He
walks great with us. We don’t
need the Gentle Leader anymore. He
has stopped pulling and walks right
beside us. We have taught him a few
tricks and would like to start teaching
him more. We just recently taught him
to bring his food dish to us and do
a trick before he gets fed. So, needless
to say, we are extremely in love with
Bandit and can’t thank you enough.
John and I learned so much from you
and have recommended you to a few of
our friends.”
Kat and John Deppe
Long Beach, CA
March 27th, 2006 |
Out
of the goodness of their hearts, a family
adopted a dog in need from another family.
Unfortunately, that dog shows signs of
aggression toward people visiting their
home and, finally, their young child. They
set up an appointment with Terry Long,
CPDT-KA, for an evaluation and Terry outlined
an extensive management and behavior modification
program for them, but cautioned them about
keeping the dog because of the risk to
their daughter. They decided to relinquish the dog to a reputable rescue organization and look
for a more appropriate dog for their family.
The happy ending …
 I
just have to tell you and Terry ...
we adopted a dog from the shelter last
week. While he is larger than we wanted
(50+ pounds), we are quite happy with
him. We took Terry's advice and found
a VERY overly social dog! He is super-super
loving and pretty smart. We think he
is a shephard mix of some sort, approximately
3 years old.
When we first met him, he rolled
over with his front paws spread just
ready for a belly rub. He gave lost
of kisses, too! In just one week, we've
used Terry's handouts/techniques to
crate train, teach him a new name,
and sit. I took him to the dog park
yesterday and he came almost every
time I called his name. He is awesome!
 His
only problem is that he jumps up on
people and furniture. We are using
Terry's techniques to teach him not
to do that, so we'll see how it goes.
If necessary, we will contact and setup
a session with Terry but, hopefully,
we will be able to correct this behavior … not
that we wouldn't want to see Terry
:-).
Anyways, I just wanted to share this
story of our new family member. Terry
really did help us find the right dog
even though she wasn't there with us
to pick him out.
Thank you both so much!” |
Yvette and John Brahy
Long Beach, CA
November, 2009
