Client Experience of Rogue's Reactive Dog Training Classes
Real Life Training With Real Life Results
Dog: Jordy
"Steve worked with our lab/pit mix, Jordy, after he had developed some unwanted behaviors following 10months recovery indoors post leg surgeries. It was awesome having an in home training so we all were exposed to the dogs' elements. We targeted and executed all of the unwanted behaviors all by our 4th session. Steve is a smart and savvy professional who is really is good at breaking down the way A dog thinks. He was very easy to work with and flexible with schedule changes. I would hands down hire him again!" - Lauren J.
Dog: Ronan
"Steve helped me with my reactive dog Ronan. He was reacting in the house to every dog and person that walked past the window. We worked on the ‘leave it’ command and it was so successful ! We then moved on to walks, Ronan also is reactive on a leash. Ronan now can control himself and remain calm when seeing another dog on a walk. I am so happy with his transformation. Thank You, Steve! Walks with Ronan are now calm and enjoyable."- Karen D
Dog: Micah
"A huge thank you to Steve Terwilliger from Rogue Dog Training for working with Micah and I with 1 on 1 training at our home, and on field trips to public places to help Micah overcome his Shy/Reactive behavior. Micah has become a very calm, happy puppy, and is not fearful anymore 🐶🐾 He now looks to me for reassurance and commands, and is so much more relaxed. This training has been a god send for both Micah and I 💕 We can now go for walks again, stop and talk to people on our walks, go to the pet store to check out all the wonderful toys and treats they have, and even go to the vet without him freaking out on us 😊 Life is a lot less stressful for all of us 💜🐾🐕 Thank you so much Steve for getting Micah back on the right path (or as Hannah calls you "The puppy Assessor)." - Joyce F.
Dog: Big
"The short version of our experience: Steve is a miracle worker. Our rescue seemed incapable of having positive interactions with other dogs, and Steve gave us the tools to turn him around. Now, nearly all interactions are positive and we feel in control and our dog's anxiety is 100% manageable (and he's a much happier dog for it!). We can't possibly thank Steve enough.
The much longer version of our experience: We rescued a 4-year old Standard Poodle six months ago and needed help with behavioral issues. While our dog was great with humans, he had major issues interacting with other dogs. Anxiety, growling, unfriendly posturing, overall a very stressful experience as an owner since our condo and neighborhood has a ton of dogs. Steve provided a free consultation to meet our dog in our home and discuss the best approach, private lessons or group lessons.
After our consultation, Steve gave us some immediate pointers and asked us to join his group classes the following month, mentioning that if it didn't go well we would switch to private lessons. Using those pointers, we started preparing our dog for classes. I was a bit nervous to be around other dogs but Steve couldn't have been more right. We learned SO MUCH about our dog in those group lessons. How he acts when stressed out, what sets him off, and more importantly, how our dog communicates to us that he's uncomfortable. All of this was in a safe and controlled environment under Steve's supervision. Group classes also showed us that every dog is unique and has different battles they need to work through and the fact that our dog needed some behavior corrections didn't mean we were bad dog owners. I can't understate how much we learned about our own dog's personality, and that was worth its weight in gold.
Steve got to know our dog really well through those classes (and our dog absolutely loves him) and was able to very narrowly diagnose what was causing our dog's issues: anxiety, lack of positive socialization, yet deep desire to interact with other dogs. In other words, he wants to say "hello" but doesn't know how and gets anxious because he doesn't understand how other dogs say "hello." It made perfect sense based on our six months of experience since adopting him.
After our group classes finished, we asked Steve for an additional private lesson to escalate the "Leave It" command (a very difficult command in general). We expressed our concerns about not wanting to use pain as a punishment, and he was 100% supportive. He worked to re-teach us the command and introduced a noise correction to pair with the "Leave It" command. We practiced this with Steve and then he visited us again a week later to see how things were going.
I can't begin to explain the difference this has made for us. Through learning in group classes our dog's cues for anxious behavior, and then being empowered with the command to distract him from his own anxiety, we feel like we have a new dog! While sometimes he still gets a little weird, we say the command and he's instantly re-focused and well-behaved. Since then, he's only had positive interactions with other dogs, even making a few dog friends that he gets excited to say hello to. The biggest test was having a friend stay overnight with her two dogs. We're pleased to say he behaved exceptionally well!
We can't thank Steve enough. The guy just understands dogs and knows what their humans need, and is a total miracle worker. There's no way we can thank Steve enough for what he's done for our family and our dog!" - Niki J
Dog: Ziggy
"We met with Steve in hopes to curb our 3.5 year old terrier mix's aggressive behavior toward other dogs and people. It turns out, he is not aggressive but reactive and was trying to protect us at all times. Working with Steve we have been able to teach our dog he can relax and does not need to be "on guard" all of the time. He honestly is like a completely different dog. Not only has his bad behavior changed, he is more relaxed and a much happier dog inside and outside our home. I would definitely recommend Rouge Dog Training! Steve is an excellent trainer that really helps owners communicate better and properly with their dog. We could not be happier with the results." - Margaret D.
