In order for anyone to appreciate the impact Sandra had on us you must first understand our situation. We are not new to dogs; we have been dog owners for 15 years. Having raised 3 Siberian Huskies, two from pups and one as a rescue, we were confident we could handle just about anything. After a very painful and sudden loss of our last dog we were determined to take on another rescue and provide it with the best possible home and life we could. That’s where Koda came in. We adopted this beautiful little 8 week old black ball of fur and were full of excitement and anticipation in raising our new puppy. It didn’t take long for us to realize this little fellow was like nothing we had ever dealt with. His dominant nature and aggressive behaviour prompted frantic trips to the book store and marathon episodes of several popular dog shows trying to get a handle on what was going on. Nothing worked, it seemed the more we tried the worse the behaviour was getting. By the time Koda reached 14 weeks of age we were done, and were seriously talking about getting rid of him. Koda’s behaviour had deteriorated into full blown aggressive lunging and biting and I was concerned that my wife and family were in danger. We were convinced we could not handle him but had committed to do our best by him and gave him one last opportunity.
We called Sandra Brown. I was certain we were throwing good money after bad and honestly had little hope of success. Sandra came for an in home evaluation of Koda and quickly identified Koda’s aggressive dominant nature and just as quickly advised us that he could be trained, or more correctly we could be trained to handle him. The longer she spoke the more light bulbs went on in my head. Most of what we knew would not work with a dominant nature like this and Sandra gave us new ways and ideas of how to approach it. We tried, but after a few more days we realized were we not equipped to provide the intense training Koda needed. We made the decision to send him to “Boot Camp”. Sandra took him for three weeks and returned to us a dog we could not believe. Koda’s aggressive behaviour was in check, he was affectionate and responsive. We took home the dog we had always wanted.
Koda’s training continues… he is learning as are we, he makes mistakes but so do we. Sandra has always made herself available to help and offer suggestions, fine tuning us and always offering support for any situation that arises. She has not only been Koda’s trainer and our mentor but has become our friend. Her skills as a trainer prevented what surely would have been the destruction of a most amazing and beautiful animal. I truly believe that anyone with a dog, well behaved or a challenge can learn something from Sandra. Her understanding and passion for these animals is evident the moment you talk to her. She is patient with both dog and owner, never dominates or controls the dog by force; she has helped us find the most amazing dog hidden inside.
Derrick and Barb Curtis
Wasaga Beach