So far so awesome!
I took my beagle in for the full day, 2 week classes. After just a day and a half I had to pick him up because there was a small outbreak of kennel cough. Unfortunately, he ended up with it, as well. But kudos to Double H for foregoing all revenue by cancelling all classes for the week and letting everyone know, as soon as possible. When I picked him up after just 1.5 days of training, they'd given him a new collar and given me some advice on how to use it.
It took my dog almost two weeks to get over his illness, but Zach stayed in touch with me throughout. As soon as he was well, he was back into classes.
Did I mention that I have a beagle? If you have a hound, and especially a beagle, you know...These are the most stubborn dogs on Earth. Their nose is all that matters to them at any given time. And that includes bad leash pulling. They're also known to be very loveable and affable. So lunging was also a problem...everyone wants to pet him, and he wants to be petted.
So for the first couple of days of classes I didn't see a whole lot of changes. Granted, he came home tired and slept the whole evening and night away. That's understandable. Then I had my first 1:1 with Zach and he showed me all they'd been working on, and had me practice it right there in front of 20-30 other dogs. And my dog did almost perfect. That very night I started to practice those commands with him on our walks.
Day by day I saw my dog able to follow more and more of these critical commands that made not only working from home easier, but walks more enjoyable...and indeed his overall personality more pleasant. Everyday I walk him through the high stress, high distraction streets of the Highlands, and always find a random spot to make him sit, wait, lay down, drop his leash, make him come here to me, and sit. It's amazing the focus that he now has on my words. And he even seems to be proud when I'm proud of him for accomplishing it. And when I sit at the desk working all day, instead of him laying his head on my lap and pushing me away from the desk for beagle kisses, he's able to place on his bed behind me and wait until I'm able to give him more attention. I can now even take him after classes to a crowded part of Waterfront Park or Tyler Park as a reward and he pays attention to ME instead of everyone and everything else going on.
I can't say enough about how friendly and helpful the staff are. In a 2-week session you might get just the 1-1:1 each week. But every morning that you drop your dog off, if you tell them what you worked on and had problems with, they spend time to focus on it that day. And every day when you pick them up, they'll tell you what they did well with and what you need to work on them with, that evening, and how. I never once walked in and saw an employee that didn't immediately know my dog's name, or who I was there to pick up, and didn't immediately have some kind of advice or recommendation that was specific to how he was doing in his training.
I haven't yet scheduled my follow-up (which comes as part of the 2-week all day plan), but I'm already super impressed with my dog's ability to follow some great commands to make working from home, and constant walks, more fun and enjoyable. And if they can do that with a BEAGLE, trust me, they can do that with any dog. read more