FOXIE continued
. . . since I knew I was as much to blame as she was. I heard about Connie’s class through friends at work and I knew I had to try this class.
The first night the barking didn’t stop so we spent the session in the hall practicing what was learned in class. Although she was good at following instructions, as soon as we tried entering the class with the other dogs the barking would start. Back to the hall we went. Connie and the other trainers would check on us often and offer tips. Ok I thought, she is listening to instruction, so next week will be better. Not so --- we spent another evening in the hall. At the end of the evening I thought to myself that this wasn’t working and we weren’t coming back.
The next morning I received an email from Connie. Even though I had not expressed my thoughts to her, she had sensed my frustration and encouraged me to continue. She offered to meet me before the other members of the class arrived so that we could work on the lessons and to work on Foxie’s socialization skills. To my amazement Foxie continued to improve and she learned all the lessons. She still can’t be around a park full of dogs, but she doesn’t bark at the neighbors or their two dogs anymore and our walks around the neighborhood are now enjoyable.
Connie is truly a remarkable and dedicated trainer. Because of her understanding and love of animals, she sees the problems and will do whatever it takes to find the solutions. Because of Connie’s faith in Foxie and the constant encouragement she gave me, we didn’t give up and I will always be thankful.
Debbie and Foxie June 2007