Lessons in life and Dog Obedience 101 with Karla Clinch
 
* After Day One.Jake learned how to Sit/Stay, Come, Wait @ the door and walk nicely in a heal position. He also knew that he was now no longer in charge.
* After Day Two..Jake learned to automatically sit without command when I stopped walking, Down, and began learning food refusal (Train to not take food from strangers).
 
I believe most people in life would be much better off & much more productive if they and their pets could only have the pleasure of spending a day with Karla and "A Good Dog", as I have just recently completed ten One on One private sessions. And I mean everyone; whether you are a boss or an employee, a child or a parent, a husband or a wife, a pet or an adoring pet owner.
 
You will undoubtedly walk away with a better understanding of three important fundamentals in life while training you dog:

Leadership, Respect, and Clear Communication
 
My Challenge:
Jake and I needed help. I am the one who actually emailed Karla since Jake, my Rottweiler, just turned one year old and doesn't yet know how to send  mails.although I am sure with a few more sessions, Karla could have taught him that as well! Sometime during year one with Jake, I inadvertently gave up my leadership role with the pack. This meant that he was in charge, and I was just the one who financed Eukanuba, Kongs, dog beds, and countless numbers of toys. This lack of leadership caused confusion in our house, frustrated family members, a discouraged dog, and overall chaos! This was not working!
 
Our Lessons, just to name a few:
Good leadership takes good leadership skills! Karla taught me how to always train with consistency and showed me how and why the leader should always be fair while training. This included being tough, but always being fair. And let me tell you if you don't already know. Your dog will appreciate it and will work harder for you in return! Karla also taught me how & why good leaders should always protect their pack, hence the wait at the door training so that Jake won't run out in the road near cars! Karla also taught both Jake & I how to effectively and clearly communicate with one another through articulate demonstration.
She taught Jake how to respond to verbal commands as well as hand signals. She taught me to not nag my dog with commands and to remember to speak softly. I also learned that there is no such thing as a wimpy command! Jake loved and responded with great respect and  enthusiasm, as he was learning that it was I who was now in command! Jake & I had taken a training class prior to meeting Karla, but the magic just never happened. But everything fell into place once we began our training with Karla, which was fun & rewarding for both of us!
 
We got from our training what we put into it, and Karla far exceeded my already high expectations for Jake's training.  We worked in all types of environments, both familiar and unfamiliar. Karla trained at our house one day, then we went to unfamiliar places to step up the challenge. We worked with other dogs present, including a very well behaved 6 month old puppy named Bruno, which was an incredible distraction for Jake! When it rained and stormed, we worked on our long leashes in a secluded area of a covered parking garage. We even got to train in the aisles of Petco, where we practiced walking in the aisles in an orderly fashion, while properly greeting others. By the end of our session, Jake conquered the aisles while suppressing the urge to tackle toys, bags of dog food and beds piled as high as the ceiling. But once again, Karla taught us to train in a real life environment, with real life distractions.
 
Words can not express the gratitude and utmost respect we hold for Karla and her dog training services. Jake & I will continue to train and grow together and plan on utilizing Karla's training expertise through all the upcoming stages along the way. But for now, we can say that we know what the true meaning of Leadership, Respect, and Clear Communication really are!  

Thank You Karla, KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO!
Laurie Volpe and Jake
Key Largo, Florida
 

Jake and His new Friend, Shadow.  Taken 5/27/04