Stories of Success & Restored Balance
                      Between Species


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Harley:




First Session: December 2009
Name:  Harley
Breed:  Pomeranian
Color:  Red
Sex:  Male
Age:  4 years
Surrendered: to CPPR (Colorado Peke & Pom Rescue) in 2009
Adopted:  October 2009
Owners:  Bruce & Kristy Bennett

Kristy & Bruce adopted Harley October 2009. They knew he had some aggression issues, but where still willing to give this adorable little guy a home and work through his issues and challenges.  Once he was in their home Harley showed his aggression and started to claim certain areas in their home as his own, not letting anyone touch him or get near him, and if you did, he would not hesitate to move in for a bite! He would bite and draw blood, not running off in fear aggression, but a true dominate aggression, moving in to bite with tail up and not retreating.  While in bed; if Kristy or Bruce rolled over, leaned into or touched Harley, he would attack, one time going right at Kristy’s face when her head was on the pillow, Harley’s bite missing her face by inches.  He also had a spot on their family room couch that was off limits to anyone but him. He also had issues of not wanting to be touched. This was not all the time, but one never knew when to expect those times when he would bite unexpectedly.

Kristy & Bruce have had several Pomeranians before Harley and where still recovering from the lost of a beloved Pomeranian who they shared their life with for many years, who was also a rescue. Their home is very relaxed and calm, a perfect place for any animal, and they both have very loving, calm & caring energy. What they did not have, was the skills to handle an aggressive dog. I started Harley’s rehabilitation with helping Kristy & Bruce reclaim their home and establish calm, assertive leadership that would help them gain the confidence they needed to work with Harley. Together we worked on the primal walk and the importance it has in ones relationship with their dogs. We worked on how and when to give corrections and not let Harley up on any furniture unless he was invited first, the appropriate times to give affection and how to get Harley to earn it. I also showed Kristy and Bruce some acupuressure points for calming and relaxing Harley when he gets tense and his muscles tighten.

Update after first session:
After 2 weeks from out first session Harley had made incredible progress! He was doing perfect on his walks and Kristy & Bruce purchased a tiny backpack per my suggestion for Harley that will help give him a better workout to expend more energy and to also make him feel he has a job to do. Harley is really liking his brushing and massage sessions and is getting much better with trusting while being touched.

Update at second session:
At our second session we addressed and worked on establishing boundaries, stopping the barking at the front door and other doors in their home, respecting anyone who enters the home and fine tuning our work together from the first session. We also worked with their newest dog member, Gracie a little female Min-Pin.  

Kristy & Bruce reported the night before our second session that Harley for the first time, did not have to be corrected during the night, and was perfect all night long! It was so great to see Harley now looking to Kristy & Bruce for direction and to see his beautiful little face actually looking up at you with such loving and repectful energy.

I want to personally thank Kristy & Bruce for letting me help with Harley's rehabilitation to becoming once again, a balanced and centered dog. I am so very proud of ther remarkable, consistant progress of becoming calm, assertive pack leaders.

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Olive:

First Session: October  2009
Name:  Olive
Breed:  Border Collie - Smooth Coat
Color:  Black & White
Sex:  Female
Age:  7 months
Adopted:  August 2009
Owners:  Lisa Mulligan

Olive is a smooth haired border collie that belongs to my friend Lisa. Lisa is an incredible loving & caring individual who has started her own dog care business that includes animal acupressure, massage and other holistic welliness offerings. 

Here are Lisa's words about our session with her and Olive: 

“Diane combines her diverse knowledge in her training methods with a wonderful combination of creativity and patience.  In just one session, Olive, our 7 month old border collie, was at a heel and waiting for the next command."

Lisa needed to gain more confidence in herself and not worry about what other people think or say to her about herself or Olive and how she handles her. She becomes quite nervious and this transferred right over to Olive. Olive being 7 months old and a border collie with lots of energy was quite a handful for Lisa, but was such a pleasure to work with as these dogs are extremely intelligent. Once Lisa established the role of a calm, assertive pack leader she and Olive where amazing to watch together! By the end of our first session Lisa learned to recognize within herself when she was getting tense and nervious and she was correcting herself before I was able to get the words out of my mouth. 
 
I want to thank Lisa for giving me the opportunity to help her with Olive and establish a balanced relationship between the two of them.
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Heidi:

First Session: September 2009
Name:  Heidi
Breed:  Pomeranian/Yorkshire Terrier Mix 
Color: 
Sex:  Female
Age:  5 years
Surrendered:
Adopted: 
Owners:  Pat Dinkey

Pat Dinkey of CPPR asked me to help her with Heidi one of her own dogs. Heidi was an very aggressive little dog. She has the aggressive little dog issues that needed to be corrected so she could live more balanced life with Pat, her husband and their other dogs. Pat is a wonderful, caring dog owner and president of CPPR, but did not have the skills to handle an aggressive dog. We worked on establishing the calm, assertive pack leader for Pat and helped Heidi learn her role as a pack member. After a 30 minute walk, Pat said, "thats the first time I've seen Heidi on a walk with all four feet on the ground." Sadira my little Pomeranian who I adopted from CPPR in August 2009, helped Pat with learning and feeling what a walk with a balanced dog is suppose to be like and Sadira set an example for Heidi of how to be a balanced pack member. Heidi also had issues with dominating certain areas of their home, the couch, the bed and bitting Pat while in her own bed if Pat touched her and bitting her husband, most of the time drawing blood. 

Pat reports that Heidi is doing much better after our first session and is getting better each day.I look forward to continuing our work together in the coming new year.

I thank Pat for letting me help her with the wonderful dogs that come into our lives.