RESOURCES

Billy and Nikko

Cindy worked wonders on our nine-year-old Bichon Frise, Billy. Several years ago Billy was attacked by an Akita. Since then he had become aggressive to other dogs; growling and snapping when he encountered dogs on his walks. Even when the dog was across the street he displayed aggression. This was very worrisome to us and extremely embarrassing! We avoided taking him to areas where he was likely to see other dogs.

The real problem presented itself when we decided we wanted a service dog for our special-needs daughter. Billy would have to tolerate another dog in his house and allow it to be part of his family. We were afraid that Billy might have to go because we had little hope that he could be rehabilitated. We had tried other dog trainers. Billy would behave somewhat when the dog trainer was present, but revert to his old behavior when they had left.

When we began working with Cindy we knew right away that she was different. She taught us how to calm and relax Billy, so his fear and aggressive responses were reduced. She worked slowly and patiently with Billy, and by the end of the first appointment he was calming walking with a friendly border collie.

Working with her lab/pit bull Ace, we had training sessions in our house where Billy learned to be calm even in the presence of a larger, more dominant dog. It was amazing to watch. Billy learned to accept the presence of other dogs and not fear them.

Cindy kept Billy for training for the two weeks where we went to Southern California to obtain and train with the service dog. She was there when we brought Niko home so she could help with the introduction. It couldn’t have gone better. Now Billy and Niko are friends. They hang out together and even play at times. We couldn’t hope for a better result.