we have a new dog

Or so it seems. Yesterday was Molly's second training session with Ken from Bark Busters.

For awhile now, we have been annoyed and embarrassed by her almost constant barking, jumping on people, and basically not always minding us. Then, after a couple of scary cat and mouse chases through our neighborhood, we knew we needed help.
We wanted an obedient dog with good manners.

So we contacted Ken, who owns a local Bark Busters franchise. What we liked about their method of training is that it is done in our home and uses our body language and voice control to establish leadership. No hitting, yelling, or even treats. We're not trying to change her personality, we just need to be the top dog.
It is still taking some getting use to, but we're now growling a deep 'BAAH' to get her attention and giving her lots of praise.

When Ken was here last week he realized that Molly is actually very timid and wants to please, so he suggested we not overwhelm her with too much training at once and to take our time. So we'll work with her for about 15 min total a day for awhile and Ken will come back in 6 weeks for another in home session. Since we plan on spending a lot of time traveling in our motor home, Ken is going to give us some ideas and suggestions for that situation too.

So, in one week, we feel like we have a different dog. Molly still has lots to learn but she is much calmer and more relaxed, and she actually listens to us now. No more frantic barking when the doorbell rings or she sees a squirrel in the yard. No more jumping up on family and friends. We are amazed.