In May of 2021, I added a second dog to my family and it did not go as I had hoped. My older dog (Holly – a Sharpei mix), who was going on 8 years old at the time made it very clear that she was not keen on the idea of having a sibling. After months of picking on the puppy (Truman – a pure bred Saint Bernard), he outgrew her (by a lot) and started defending himself. I had been through obedience training with each of them, started my older dog on Prozac, and was employing every resource I had at the time, yet things were continuing to escalate. I was facing a no-win situation and was desperate to find a solution.
I was connected with Jerry through a distant contact after my attempt at breaking up a fight landed me with a minor hand injury, and they were able and willing to come to my house in Boise to evaluate our situation within days. On their first visit, it became evident that the puppy was no longer simply defending, but was now being just as much of an aggressor in the situation. Admittedly, our first training session did not go as planned and was cut short, but we continued our sessions, equipped with proper tools, and met a handful of times to follow. Not only did they address
the aggression, but also took us back to basics and worked one-on-one obedience training. After MONTHS of complete separation, my dogs are now peacefully coexisting and have learned to avoid each other. There is constant work to be done, as the follow-through training never ends, but I cannot thank Jerry and Cris enough. They have been nothing short of incredible, and words will never adequately express my gratitude to them. In just a few short months, I went from facing an unspeakable decision where my dogs were concerned, to having two (mostly) well behaved and happy pups!
-Courtney Miller
