Spike

Hi Jeff,

I was just thinking and thought I’d share with you:

Today, being Spike’s 4th birthday, I was thinking back over how much Spike has changed in the last year, thanks to you and your wonderful training.

A year ago, Spike would have been walking with a leash wearing a spiked collar and barely feeling it when I pulled on him for correction. Now, he has no leash on at all and obeys all the time when I just give a command. If he does have to have a leash on, now it’s just a flexi-leash attached to his regular collar, which is something we had never even attempted before.

A year ago, he would maybe sit or lie down if Spike felt like it. Now he sits, downs, stops etc as soon as I say or give the corresponding command.

A year ago we would never dream of taking away his bone, toy, ball, towel or whatever he had in his mouth without him growling and snapping at us. Now we just say ‘off’ and pickup the bone or whatever, without a blink from Spike. Now he enjoys a game of fetch because he knows about dropping the ball for us.

A year ago, Spike was definitely in control, even if he didn’t know it, but at 135 lbs, I knew if he wanted to, he’d be gone. Now we both know I’m in control and are both, I think, definitely happier for it. Now it is enjoyable for us to go for a walk without a problem or it being a stressful event.

Many thanks, Jeff for such a tremendous improvement in such a short time for Spike, John and myself. We’ve all learned so much.