Professional Dog Trainer: The “Warning” His Sister Wishes She’d Had Before Her German Shepherd Bit A College Girl

“Your book was a lifesaver!”

Dear Daniel, Your book was a lifesaver! Our 2 year old black German Shepherd, Jack, came to us from a woman who was not able to cope with him herself. When he came to us at the beginning of the year he was a total handful. He was boisterous, aggressive, skittish and unresponsive – outside the home. At home he was still boisterous and a bit aggressive but would sit or come every time.

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In the first month we were at our wits endand when I bought the Secrets to Dog Training books online we were a week from giving him up ourselves. We had the dominance training sorted from day one because we were aware that was going to be an issue otherwise but Jack had serious behavioral issues around food and walks that needed a lot of work.

In the months since we got and read the books he has become a different dog! Everyone says so. We have recently been told people suggest us to friends in the area who have dog trouble and we have helped socialise several problem pups with Jack (because its good for him as much as them) all thanks to Daniel and his book giving us that extra knowledge that has really rounded out our own understanding.

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“I am the Alpha Mommy”

My husband and I adopted Jack (a one year old male Pug/Chihuahua mix) three months ago from a shelter (we are his third home in a year) and to put it mildly he was 20 pounds of terror-- dominate, nipping, chewing and also had separation anxiety issues. He quickly earned the name 'Jack The Nipper'.

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I immediately started with the Alpha Dog lessons and got across to Jack that I am the Alpha Mommy. I had no idea that doing something as simple as making him sit before I put his bowl of food down would make a difference in how Jack viewed me.

Jack has made great progress. He has become confident, less anxious and likes to practice commands every day. We still need to work on a few areas, but it's only been less than three months! Jack is much happier knowing that we are the pack leaders who protect, feed and love him.

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“I realized that the problem lay with me.”

Bello is the first dog I have had, so there was much I didn't know about dogs. Bello is a very smart and friendly dog, but as he started growing up (he is 18 months old now), he developed this quite idiosyncratic characteristic of taking matters into his own paws, so to speak. More specifically, he barks at and tries to scare other male dogs or some strangers he considers dangerous, although he's told not to.

On one such occasion, I almost lost hold of the leash, and he seemed to be close to attacking a male poodle. That's when I decided to look for help. I searched the web for books about dogs, and Secrets to Dog Training caught my eye. I'm very happy I purchased and read it. I realized that the problem lay with me. I knew nothing about the importance of conveying to him that I was the alpha dog. For example, I was completely unaware that I had to go through doorways first; instead, I always let him go first. This is but one of the useful tips I got from Secrets to Dog Training, and they have all helped me greatly in the past two months to establish a better and healthier relationship with Bello. I only wish I had gotten the book when Bello came to live with me 16 months ago.

“They know now who's the alpha”

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Both dogs are very loving, fun and loyal but I've had to get a dog behaviourist out in the past as Molly's a rescue dog, has a nervous disposition and a habit of going bonkers through fear by barking, growling and trying to nip/bite. I think she was abused before I got her as she is extremely scared of children and doesn't particularly like strangers and other dogs. She loves the family and those she knows but it was/is really worrying so the fear biting section has been great for tips on dealing with that.

They know now who's the alpha and don't try nearly as much nonsense as they used to. Obviously I'm not expecting them to change overnight, I realise I have to be rigorous in the re-training but so far they're coming along great!

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