Upon starting training with Kari at Wag & Train, Cecily was afraid of literally everything (including all household items, people, and other animals), was not eating regularly, and had started showing signs of fear-based aggression with other dogs while on leash. She was able to go to the dog park for a long time, and then one day, started to become a bully while she was there. As owners we were anxious, frustrated, and embarrassed by her aggression and felt hopeless about ever being able to take her around other dogs again. We were also worried about her because she didn’t like anybody other than us.

We participated in both individual training sessions with Kari and the Reactive Rover class. Throughout all the months of training there were moments where Cecily seemed to be making huge improvements and the next week she would be worse than ever. It was a roller coaster, and we were getting increasingly excited and then discouraged and impatient. However, we continued to move through the training and work with her, plus we learned to have more tolerance with the process. Then ever so slowly, Cecily began to improve more steadily!

The Reactive Rover class was a blessing not only for Cecily, but also for us. We finally had a place to go where we felt that everyone in the room understood our feelings and our dog’s behavior, and we did not have to apologize for having a “bad dog”. As a result, when walking her, we no longer fear what others may think about our dog and no longer react ourselves to her anxiety. Cecily will actually go and greet other people on our walk and runs to the door with her tail wagging to greet her favorite visitors. Before she would run in the bedroom with her tail between her legs and hide in fear.

In the time since the class and training, Cecily has continued to grow and make steps towards being around other dogs. She successfully spent 5 days with another dog over the holidays and we all remained calm. The vacation actually seemed fun for her! She is slowly re-learning to play with other dogs and doing very well. Thank you, Kari for your wisdom, support, and the wonderful Reactive Rover class.