| SOME WONDERFUL STORIES Duke's story Here is our miracle story
Me and my wife got duke our 1 1/2 old American Bulldog as an engagement present right before we got married. He was 4 months old and very playful and excited. He was great as a puppy with other dogs and people. Soon we had to move across the country because I am in the military. He all of a sudden became very attached and protective of our house and my wife. He did not have any socialization for a couple of reasons, because people always said get that pit bull away from my dog or because he went into crazy mode when ever he saw another dog. He just kept getting worse. He has attacked a coyote on one of his walks. He has attacked a few other dogs when he got away from us. He jumped through our screen door and window to get at another dog. He would not let adult males into our house at all, and he has bitten a few of our friends and family. All these things made our family and friends tell us we needed to get rid of him and he needed to be put down. But when it was just us, he was an amazing pet and friend to us. We had to do something; we couldn't get rid of him. My father found Ryane online about an hour from where we live. We went for an evaluation scared she would tell us there was nothing she could do. All she saw was a great dog that needed to be disciplined and guided in the right direction. We started that day, and go to her training sessions every week. She told us we would notice a big difference in his aggression in about 5 weeks but we noticed it after 3. Now duke can be around other dogs, lay next to them, go on very calm walks where he doesn't pull, even do some agility training with the other dogs. We have only been to 7 sessions and he is a 100 % change due to Ryane’s care for all the dogs she works with and the time she puts into figuring out each dog. Soon duke will be fully off leash trained, learn agility, and protection training. The training instilled discipline, built confidence, and socialized duke with people, regular day objects, and many other dogs.
~Joe Burke (Joe was actually so amazed and loved all the training he shared with his dog, that he did an apprenticeship with me and I am so happy to be working with him. He is very didicated in helping people have a better relationship with their dogs and most of all to make happy dogs for people to be able to enjoy on a daily basis :) )
Gunder's story (& new sis, Heidi) 
My husband and I absolutely love German Shepherds. We have both had and raised GSD's for the past 15 years. In August 2007 we had to say goodbye to our 13 year old GSD, Bubba. Eventually we felt the time had come to get another GSD, since our house had always had 2 in it. We got Gunder from a breeder in Des Moines WA at 10 weeks old. He came from a litter of only 3. Out of that litter he was the only one that survived. One of his other sisters was still born, and the other died a week later from prenatal cancer. As a result of Gunder being a singleton he didn’t get to spend as much time with his siblings or other puppies. We noticed that even though he was well socialized by the breeder and we continued to socialize him as soon as we got him, and we had other GSD's in the house for him to play with, he began to display signs of fear aggression. We would take Gunder on a walk and he would see a trash can and his hackles would come up and his eyes would get big, and he would start aggressively barking at the trash can. He would do this with all sorts of inanimate objects. Gunder also started having fear aggression issues with people. As soon as someone would approach him or someone "new" would come over, his whole demeanor changed and his eyes would get wide with fear, and as someone came up to him, he would put his hackles up, lunge and bark at them. Although he never tried to bite at anyone we could tell that it was only a matter of time before the behavior escalated.
To help address the issue we enrolled Gunder in training classes at a Dog Training facility in Kent. While Gunder learned a lot and trained really well, his aggression issues became a problem in class. We had a couple of private lessons but it seemed like nothing was helping. We were even told to put Gunder on Clomipramine in order to "help him focus more", a course of treatment that neither we, nor our vet were very keen on. Gunder's little outbursts in class (where he would bark aggressively at something or someone) got us kicked out of class. We left feeling like utter and complete failures as a pet owner, and bad people. We were made to feel that it was our fault for Gunder's behavior and why he was "so bad". In reality that particular training center simply did not have the time to adequately handle Gunder's behavior issue. Their time was spent getting dogs and their owners ready for various dog competitions.
It was in this time that we felt like total failures as pet owners that our friend Ron told us about K9 Master Commands! There Ryane, was able to pin point Gunder's behavioral problems to a T and started us along the path of correcting them. We began to see that Gunder was lacking a lot of self confidence which was fueling his fear aggression, and Ryane attacked the problem with us head on! We put Gunder in all of his most uncomfortable situations by simulating the scenarios and forced him to deal with it and taught him what acceptable behavior should be. Along with that we began building up his self confidence. Although we can not predict the future I feel so much better knowing that Gunder no matter the situation will know appropriate behavior. Within the first month of training with K9 Master Commands we have seen DRAMATIC changes in Gunder. He is more confident, he doesn’t get spooked as easily, and he hardly lunges/barks/ or throw his hackles up at other people and dogs anymore. We now feel at ease having our friends come over and their kids and letting them pet and play with Gunder, and no longer feel the need to kennel him up every time someone comes over. This is the most wonderful thing for us, because we know underneath all that fur and fear is the sweetest most tender hearted dog that just wants to play and be loved. We couldn’t have done it without you Ryane! Thank you for everything, and helping Gunder break out of his shell!
~Kim & Doug
Gus's Story 
My dog Gus is a 1 1/2 year old German Shepherd. Before I called Ryane, Gus and I had taken three different obedience classes, two that were supposed to be for dog aggression. None of the techniques I was given were changing his behavior, so our walks were stressful and scary. He would lunge, bark and jump whenever he saw another dog. He is a big dog so it was intimidating for everyone involved. I called Ryane because I was considering giving him up due to his aggression issues. Right away, she helped me develop strategies and techniques that worked to deal with his behavior. I went to the class for about four months. It was great for Gus and I, but it was also nice to meet other people who had experiences similar to mine. During class, most of the dogs have aggression issues and so I never felt embarrassed at Gus' outbursts, but rather saw them as an opportunity to practice. By the time I left the class, he never reacted towards other dogs the way he used to. Now on my own, it is enjoyable to walk him and he rarely exhibits the aggressive behavior he had before. ~Liz
| | Tyson's story 
I don't think I could thank Ryane enough for everything she has done for us and our little family, because we are able to keep our dog Tyson as a part of it. Tyson was such a good puppy, a loving and free spirit. But as he got older I started to notice a few changes about him. Not only was he very stubborn and bull-headed, but he started to show aggressive behaviors. He would constantly bark at other dogs and eventually if he was close enough would take out his frustrations and attack them. The last straw came when I was taking both him and our other dog Lucky on a walk. Tyson saw a dog and because he was on the leash and couldn't get to the dog he turned around and attacked Lucky. This happened two other times and I was an emotional wreck. I did not want to have to get rid of Tyson but I felt like I was out of options. All other regular obedience classes for dogs didn’t deal with being able to correct aggressivness. In all my desperation I was searching on the internet for help and came across Ryane's website. I immediately emailed her and set up a time for an evaluation. Ryane is so patient and compassionate towards the pit bull breed that I felt so confident that this was it, this was what I had been looking for. Tyson caught on very well to all the obedience commands, I was very surprised at how smart he actually was. The aggressive part was a little more challenging. When we started Tyson couldn't even stand to see or be in the same room with another dog without being completely aggressive. Now Tyson can walk around with rest of the other dogs in the class, something I never thought would happen. Although it took work and diligence to get Tyson to where he is at today I couldn't have done it without Ryane and her amazing training techniques and I will always be thankful for what she has done for Tyson and our family. Aubrey
Abby's story Here ia Little something about abby. When I got her at a year old, she was afraid of everything, due to her being abused and undersocialized as a puppy.
she would pee if you looked at her wrong or when she saw someone new. She would run from everyone and started getting aggressive, barking and running away. I have been working with Ryane and Abby for about four months now. She now barks like a dog should and she is learning to have confidence, she loves people and is getting better every day .
I have to say that it is as much work to train the owner as the dog and you have to work with your dog as much as possible, but the bond with my dog is unbelievable. I have a 120 lb lap dog. Sometimes she can't get close enough. Thanks for all you have done, and I know we have more to work on, but it has been a great start Don
Hudson's Story 
Hudson is a loveable 2 year old ½ Lab ½ Rottweiler dog. In April of 2008 Hudson moved in behind us and spent most of his time chained, with minimal interaction from his owner and none with other dogs. Knowing this could be a potentially bad situation, we started interacting with Hudson. In September of that year, Hudson became very ill. When his owner refused to take him to the Vet, we intervened. At this point, Hudson was dying. X-Rays showed Hudson had bone chards in his intestines, in addition to a high fever. Hudson survived, and we were able to keep him. In our first Obedience class, we discovered Hudson to be dog aggressive, highly anxious, and hard to control. He wanted to meet and play with the other dogs, but was never taught how to socialize and interact with his peers. The trainer and other dog owners interpreted his behavior as highly aggressive. Consequently, we were separated from the class and had to train Hudson behind a sheet. Hudson’s second set of Obedience classes involved a new trainer, a new location, and we were not separated from the class. However during some off leash training, Hudson’s aggression and anxiety level surfaced again. These playful encounters led to fights. Again the other dog owners became fearful. Our new trainer told us Hudson needed a Dog Behaviorist to evaluate his aggression, as he could not be trusted around the other dogs, even if just to play. We were greatly disappointed and could see all the places we wanted to take him disappear. We believed in and sensed Hudson’s potential to be a great dog and did not give up on him. We met Ryane early this year (2009) and had a few private sessions with her. She confirmed his aggression and anxiety was due to lack of socialization. He also had some dominance issues that needed to be resolved. We promptly joined her training classes. Hudson has made dramatic improvements. His anxiety level has decreased to the point where he can be around other dogs on leash. He enjoys some of the normal doggie social interactions by sniffing, touching, and laying around (we call it the calm corner) with some of the other dogs. Hudson is easier to control and generally obeys on the first command. We can take him to populated places-where we never thought possible before. We receive many compliments on how well behaved our dog is. His temperament is indicative of a happy dog. We are extremely grateful for the much needed tools Ryane has provided in order to train and work with Hudson. She has also given us some insights as to the thought processes of dogs in general. We never gave up on Hudson and his life has been enriched ten fold due to all the training and insights we have learned and applied from Ryane. Scott & Karolyn
Twinkle's story 
Why don't I talk about how we met you, a few years back! I had my best friend, Bailey, pass away from an ongoing barrage of issues after several great years. So we went to Pet Finder for another Sheltie. We called and scheduled an appointment at a rescue facility and upon arrival, the Sheltie had been adopted. Out comes Twinkle, then named Winky, who was black/brown, one big blue eye and a stinky mess. WHEH! Did he smell! Jumped into the car, right onto my lap and wouldn't stop licking. He then planted his butt in the back seat, as to say, "OK! I am ready to go" soooo we adopted him. We were told he was potty trained, he wasn't. He also had a HUGE fear of crates which made his acclimation VERY difficult. After a month of peeing evertime he "felt the urge", I was at my wits end. In came Ryane. She, at first, scolded me for the wee wee pads but I got over it. So did Twinkle! He NEVER has an accident in the house AND can be off leash with minimal callbacks. Yes, that is my flaw in training, not Ryane's. No one said I was perfect. At the same time I was trying to reinforce training with our 4 year old Beagle, Dylan. One stubborn dog! Now we have brought Mocha into the mix, but she was perfect upon arrival so Ryane just gets to love on her and no training is required. Ryane saved Twinkle and my sanity! I would trust her with dogs big and small, don't underestimate her control due to her size! Alicia | |