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For private consultations, e-mail
Dee at dee@deesdogs.com
Success Stories
Hi Dee,
I just wanted to write and say hello, and thank you once again for the difference you have made for me and my dog Rudolph. A bit more than a year ago now, Rudolph and I took your 'Reactive Dog' seminar at It's a Dog's World in Maine. At the time, Rudolph was a volatile, unpredictable, sometimes scary dog that flew into a frenzied panic of barking/lunging/snarling/biting at the sight of another dog, or a stranger, any moving object, or pretty much any of life's surprises. He didn't do well with surprises at all then.
Your seminar gave us some tips and exercises, and those, combined with ALOT of work by myself and by Matt Mooers of Tuckered Out doggie daycare have given me today's result .... a dog that is beautiful, sane, and that I know WITHOUT DOUBT that I can trust.
What prompts this note, specifically today? Well, this morning Rudolph and I were going for a walk down a street near my house. Seemingly out of nowhere, there came a charging angry, barking shih tzu, followed closely by three screaming pre-school age children. Seeing there was no way to avoid confrontation, I stopped and softly said "Rudolph, wait". He stopped, stood still, and waited .... just like he has at possibly a thousand street crossings over the past year .... but this time we weren't waiting for traffic to pass. This time, the shih tzu raced up between his legs ... the children right behind it, scurrying and screaming and literally diving under my dog in an attempt to capture theirs.
A year ago, this sort of event would have prompted calls to an ambulance, and (no doubt) an attorney .... but today, Rudolph shifted his weight uneasily from side to side, he licked his lips in an obvious statement of "hey, I'm feeling stressed here", and he looked at me to see what to do next. I kept a loose lead, and as softly as I could I said "Rudolph, wait. Just wait". He stood still .... his back legs were starting to tremble with all the commotion, but he trusted me, and he didn't move. The shih tzu was captured just as the children's parent arrived, dividing her time between apologizing for the incident, and chastising the children. Even after they left and headed home, it was a minute or two before I was able to sigh and say "Rudolph, we did it! It's ok pal, let's go", and we continued on.
These first two miles of our walk every day Rudolph is on a leash until we get to some logging trails where he can go free to chase chipmunks. We stayed a little longer in the woods today, I think he deserved to have some extra fun. So Dee, I just wanted you to know how things turned out for us .... if it wasn't for you, and for Matt Mooers .... two people that I know to be nothing less than canine miracle workers, the story would have had an entirely different ending. Thanks again! P. Tate
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Hey Dee – just a quick update on my reactive
boy Guinness… We took him to his first Rally
trial in two years on Friday. It was his first try
at an advanced leg. He and Dover were both a bit
squirrely/barky when we first got there, but G settled
even faster than Dover, and by the time were ready
to compete (a few hours later!) he was able to lay
completely relaxed in the middle of everything with
dogs walking by on all sides. Unfortunately, someone
near the entrance to the ring was letting her dog
sniff him just before we went in, which didn’t
do much for his focus or concentration. (Grrr. L)
He heeled really wide for the first three stations
and then stopped for a looooonnnnngggg stress-scratch
for an exercise that involved a front (something
he stress-scratches for even in class – not
sure why), followed by a looonnnnnggg look at the
audience. After that though, once I got him going
again, he seemed to clue-in to what we were doing
and the rest of the run was respectable. In fact,
he not only qualified he finished in second place
with a 98 (same score as the first place dog, but
2 seconds slower – darn scratching! ;-). Although
I was thrilled with his placement I was most thrilled
with how well he handled the show and the new environment
and the first time working off leash in public. We
chose the venue very carefully – a small indoor
trial at a hotel - and I’m glad we did. I think
an outdoor show would have been a much larger challenge
(way more sensory input!). We still have a long way
to go working with his reactivity “out in the
real world” but it’s night and day compared
to a year ago! J We are keeping an eye out for your “Reactive
Dogs part 2” seminar at it’s a dog’s
world, and still hope to someday make it out your
way for a “private”. I could still use
some hints on taking him out and about, as well as
helping him to learn better dog social skills. But
we’re getting there! L. Cadieux, Rochester,
NH
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Nuala used her nose today to avert disaster! Skye
was out back in the fenced area, and because Nuala
had been out, too, and latches onto Skye's collar,
Skye's collar was off. Steve noticed that Skye was
gone, and the gate, which is hard to open but also
hard to close, was open. He had been out skiing and
came back through the gate earlier. He took off in
the car, knowing that Skye's tracks led up the driveway,
and drove up a couple of side roads where we often
walk.
I put Nuala on leash, took her to the open
gate, and asked her to "Find Skye." We've
played "Find Dad," "Find Mom,""Find
the Treat," "Find Ball," but never "Find
Skye." Well, Nuala put her nose to the ground
and led me up the driveway, across the road, up another
road and into the driveway of the Indian Museum.
We went down the driveway, Nuala's nose to the ground
the whole way, into the parking lot. Who should come
out from behind a snow pile but Skye! She headed
towards us, and I released Nuala, knowing that Skye
would meet up with her and the two of them would
start playing. They did just that, and I got a leash
around Skye's neck.
I'm so proud of Nuala! She never
lifted her head after I gave her the "Find" command,
just followed Skye's tracks where they led her. And
I'm impressed that she is able to generalize the "Find" command
to anything for which she knows the name. E. Daigle
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Elaine’s little dog (a Mini Schnauzer) Molly
was barking at strangers and guests non stop plus
pulling on the leash when walking and wasn’t
getting enough good aerobic exercise here are her
comments a few weeks after our consultation
Hi Dee,
Happy new year! It must be ESP because I was about
to send you an email with an update. Molly LOVES
the treadmill and goes on it several times a day
for 15 minutes at a time (at a good pace). I don't
even need to keep a leach on her. She's become a
pro! And the daily exercise is certainly reflected
in her behavior which is much improved.
My son was up over Christmas and she was pretty
good while he was here, so things are looking up
thanks to your guidance.
I'm finding also that when someone is outside
working on the property (snowplowing & shoveling), she
barks when they arrive, but as soon as I say "Thank
you, now that's enough" she calms down. I
do find that the calmer I am, the calmer she becomes.
So I guess this training has been good for both
of us!
Elaine
UPDATE January 20, 2010
Hi Dee. Just wanted to let you know things are
going well with Molly. The other day I finally
had a workman come to the house and as you suggested,
I picked Molly up, put on her bark collar, grabbed
the Kong toy out of the freezer, put her in my
bedroom and put a gate across the door. Wow, that
really works great. I didn't hear one peep out
of her and after the workman left and I went into
the bedroom to get her, she seemed fairly calm
(which is a huge step)! So that problem is resolved.
I'm still working with her on calming down when
someone is on the property or comes to the door.
I think that will always be somewhat of a challenge
given her anxious nature. However, she has improved
and hopefully will continue to do so. I've come
up with a great stuffing for the Kong toy that
Molly really loves. I cook up a box of cous cous
(chicken flavored) and keep that in a container
in the refrigerator. When the Kong toys needs refilling,
I mix up some cous cous with about a tablespoon
of chicken baby food and because it's pasty, it
binds the cous cous together very well. It works
a lot better than using plain liquid. Hope you
are enjoying the winter. Talk to you again soon.
Elaine Clark
*************************
Karen and Remi (a 16 month German Shepard) who had
been barking at the family members anytime they sat
down to watch tv or to read… for
14 months.. She said they had tried everything.. squirt
bottles , yelling, time outs, putting outside …..
plus jumping up and grabbing close when people came
into the house family members too… Karen’s
comments after three days from my visit to their home
and meeting them and Remi ….
Hi Dee,
I am so glad I met you, just a quick update.
Remi is doing very well. He has done well with
the leash in the tv room. Last night he barked
once and I did the stepping on the leash and that
is all I had to do , and he went to sleep and did
not bark at us when he got up. Same for the am
, just once! When I came in to email you he just
laid down and went to sleep. I hope this is a pattern!
I love it. He actually did not jump on my son when
he came downstairs!!! Big accomplishment.
I also
went out and bought a kong, to sturdy ball with
rope attached and a wonderful hard plastic ball
with good size holes in it with a ball inside that
he can not get out. He plays out side with it and
it gets batted around the yard and keeps him busy
for 15 mins! He still needs work on his excitement
but that is going well also. I will write you in
a week. Have a great new year!
Karen
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Marie-France Langlois to Dee Ganley - March 17th
2009 - Self Control Workshop
Hi Dee
When I translated some of your material, things
started to come together for me and when I saw you
doors seem to open in my mind.. Because you show,
but more than that you say why it works, what the
purpose is, because it does not seem to be disconnected,
let me see if I can express what I really mean:
First I think that YOU start with the absolutely
most important thing for our dogs and all dogs, self-control.
To me this is absolutely brilliant. It makes sense
and you put words on what I had been looking for
since the day I realized that Daisy the wheaten needed
some kind of help and it was not about obedience.
It was about being able to get her "equipped " with
certain skills enabling her to cope, which is what
your self-control exercises do as well, and more
not only do they learn how to cope but they learn
how to control themselves !
So this weekend I felt such a great relief because
I have finally found what I had been looking for
and you were able to put words on it that made sense
to me and to us all. A person next to me said AH
! I will introduce this in my class ...I was looking
for a way to do that to get the results of that without
any constraint...now I have found it...( go to your
mat exercise )( safe place and how to get the dog
there...) in just a few minutes with you.
The other part that I really think is making sense
to me is that you are able to say why you want your
dogs to do this or that, a lot of trainers don't
get to where I need to go to find myself "engaged" as
well, my way of learning is not global ( I recognized
parts of myself when I read Temple Grandin Animals
in translation.) Once I got it alI I have no problem
with the global picture, and can be miles ahead of
some people although it took me longer to get there,
when I am learning I need the tiny dots connected
and to that level.
That is what you were able to do for me. With your
walking on leash exercise now I have all the dots
connected and I will be able to remember and do it
well because I understand why first, and how second...and
you do break the behaviour into small increments...this
too helps. The get behind exercise, the one where
we rub our dog, how good this would have been to
know and to do years ago with the wheaten...I followed
TTouch workshop ( a few weeks and they came to my
house to work with my dogs) I am a certified Massage
Practitioner for dogs and cats, I did obedience training,
r+ type of training, all kinds of things where there
always were something missing for me, I could not
get the whole picture. Because of all these tiny
parts missing. And while watching you I was thinking: "my
...this would be someone I would really love to learn
from and work with for my own advancement.( I don't
teach classes , I did while working professionally
in management and human resources so you see this
is quite different) Just for my own learning. But
I did do volunteer work with shelters and this would
be sooooooo useful...
I was awed and my neighbour was as well to see the
dogs in the middle of the room all quietly lying
on their mat, after just five minutes at the most
and quite happy to be there, without any constraint
and working in a way that builds the relationship
between dogs and persons...
I was awed and to me you are the most talented educator
in canine things that I have ever encountered ...and
let me tell you that I have seen many..but your way
connected with my mind! My way of learning. And I
suspect with the minds of most people there.
What else to say : If you ever come back around here
to teach a seminar I will be there, for sure, for
the sake of my future dogs and my present dogs, (they
are getting on with age the lab mix is aging rapidly
9 years old and he is a stressed dog, and the wheaten
will be 11 this year. Quite a few friends have told
me that with someone else Daisy would be dead. Maybe,
with certain types of people she would not have made
it. But maybe she would have been happier also and
this breaks my heart. And I saw that possibility
this weekend when I saw you, when I translated your
material also. I saw the possibility that the exercises
you demonstrated would have helped her so tremendously.
She is a very reactive dog, very stressed, with not
a high degree of capacity to adapt to new things
or environment, I love her to pieces but she might
have been so much happier with someone else.
Daisy was my "dream dog" my very first
dog and nothing will ever happen to her as long as
I live, but she would not be an easy dog to put in
a family. And I don't want this for my dogs. I want
them to be happy and to be easily adopted if something
happened to me.
You probably are tired of reading all this but I
had such a huge feeling of "THIS IS IT! I FINALLY
FOUND WHAT I HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR, for so long...
I am passionate about animals not just dogs, I had
birds, I have two cats and another one who died years
ago and they were perfect, but dogs I wished to live
with some for so long...and the relationships with
them I want to be joyful, based on patience and respect,
which they grant us so much more than we do at times
as a species...
If you have read until this point I want to thank
you. I will study your book (I do a lot of that watch
videos and read on animal behaviour, and if I have
questions I will ask. And I will check in case you
come to offer a seminar as I will not miss that.
Thanks a lot again. Thank you, Thank you.
Marie-France Langlois
*************************
 Meet
Sky and Tiko.(german shep)..Sky,,(Border collie)
WAS ONCE where training was concerned, Completely
Shut Down,,and where other dogs were concerned Full
of Fear and very reactive. Tiko, had 5 homes before
Emelda found him. He is a teddy bear with people
including children, but when it came to dogs, even
the clinking of a dog tag would send him into frenzied
barking..He was unable to be off lead near other
dogs even ones he knew, because he is unable to play
without downing the dog, his idea of play is to force
the other dog down with his huge head. As you can
see from the photos, Sky and Tiko are able to be
off lead, in very close proximity, Tiko seems infatuated
with Sky and she seems to enjoy flirting and manipulating
him. We took the two dogs to a popular Country Park
and walked them both past dogs and their people,
with wonderful results and no incidents from either
of them...What a result!
Thought you would like to see this photo (above),
two dogs who were once so miserable to be near other
dogs...I think we can safely say that these two dogs
are extremely happy to be close to each other...in
fact, Tiko appears to adore Sky and Sky manipulates
Tiko just as she has always tried to manipulate me..(G)
her latest game is to drop her ball, and wait for
Tiko to run back,,pick her ball up to what appears
to be him showing her your ball is here..then he
stands to the side and allows her to collect the
ball..he won't move until she has gone back and collected
it..
Subject: A little update on Tiko and Sky
Thought I would let you know about Emelda and
Tiko and myself and Sky's visit last week to an extremely
busy Clumber Park. Clumber Park is a huge country
estate, with a Cafe, with an outdoor area where all
the dogs take their people to give them a rest and
a refreshment break. The forest is all around (part
of Sherwood Forest) Everyone goes there for a day
out, and its a great place to go to see other dogs
(but you have to know what you are doing if you have
reactive dogs). We had a brilliant day there last
week. We began our day with a half hour run off lead
through the forest, then a little break and then
we went for it..Tiko was brilliant and Sky was good
as well... but I did let her down..we walked past
one lovely little dog sitting outside the toilets,,(Sky
was behind me) then walked past a lovely quiet Red
Setter sitting in the middle of the pathway,,no reaction
from Sky, none from Tiko..I took two paces past..and
said..oh Good Girl,,at which point,,Sky Whipped round
and snapped at the Red Setter...another lesson learnt..no
need to praise her Shirley (even if you were pleased
and excited by how great she had been) it should
be an absolutely, no problem, normal thing to just
pass quietly past a dog...but apart from this one
slip up on my part..both dogs were brilliant..and
our reward to them both was a lovely rest..in the
forest clearing,,a cup of coffee for us and time
for us to discuss how well they had both done, and
what a disastrous mistake I had made in praising
Sky..and then off into the forest again for some
sniffing, What a lovely day..
Shirley
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Hi Dee,
Thank you SO much. Our lives are different already. I
knew I was “creating a monster”……..and
I love having these tools. Our long morning walk
this morning was so pleasurable – I
am loving her being responsive to me, and she seems
to be enjoying it too. We are both calmer and happier!
Thank you again for your clear and calm understanding
and teaching,
Robin
*************************
Dee Help!
Sarah had called me and was concerned about her
dog Fig who had lost his ability to settle and was
just constantly up and moving around. They had brought
a new puppy into his life and now believed he needed
keep entertain and watch over his extended family.
Life was getting unsettled for the humans now too.
SO the simple solution of separating the dogs when
getting out OF control and simply limiting their
options since neither dog was crate trained tethering
them was the best solution.
Three days after the phone consult Sarah writes
...(below)
Customer Response:
Hey dee
Thanks so much for the phone consultation the other
night. let me say how much BETTER life is with my
little Fig dog! i simply did not recognized that
he was slowly getting the upper hand by having too
much freedom - in fact i was doing the opposite of
what needed to get done. now i keep a leash handy
in each room and if he and Leon (the little guy)
get out of hand at all I leash the two of them, tie
them to the coffee table (or just step on the lead)
and wait until both have settled and relaxed before
praising and letting them loose again! WOW - it has
taken only two days for Fig to get the idea. as a
matter of fact, i think he likes it when i take control
of the situation and help him settle down. THANK
YOU!
Also, i took your advice on the 50 foot tag line
when we go walking. this is basically fixing his "leave
it" (which was quite good to start but became
a bit lax when i could not reinforce it) and he is
getting the idea of "not to far"
to mean slow down you are reaching the end of your
lead and need to stay close to me. (i had to chose
a different word because i have been using "easy" to
mean - don't bite too hard when we play, don't chew
on the cat too hard, etc) I have also started using
the long line when ever we are out in the yard for
bathroom time. Fig has a terrible habit of eating
his own feces??? but this way i can say leave it
and reinforce when he cooperates and leave it alone.
OK - thanks again Dee - you know in several months
i may have to call for kid training advice!!!
Take care,
Sarah
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Shirley has been emailing back and
forth to me for about 6 months with sever issues
with her BC Sky lunging and barking and twirling
at cars passing by. Shirley has had dog for
a while and Sky is her second BC . She recently
emailed me with this happy greeting
Have just walked Sky 800 yds down high street, there
and back with oncoming traffic NO SPINS, NO LUNGES
THANK YOU DEE, What would I have done without your
patience.
I won't get too cocky, and will definitely not push
it too far, don't want to go back in that boring
car park.
*************************
Shirley Writes:
“Although my Collie was really well socialized
and habituated right from puppy hood. She had always
chased cars and was very reactive to dogs. I had
consulted several behaviorists but nothing seemed
to work. After a major operation her reaction to
other dogs worsened and she was still "chasing
cars".
Then I was fortunate enough to meet Dee. She gave
me easy to understand advice; I began to understand
what my collie was telling me. I stopped giving her
worrying body language and stopped reinforcing her
fear related behavior and we started to really communicate
with each other. Dee simply said to start looking
closely at Sky’s body too see what she was
telling me.
Then to start reinforcing for quiet calm behavior.
Working at a distance where she could give me these
behaviors.
We have some way to go but she no longer spins
like a top when she sees traffic and I never put
her into a position that is too scary for her to
cope with. We trust each other and I will always
be grateful to Dee for showing me how to understand
and work WITH my lovely intelligent collie.
Shirley”
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