From our very busy trainer, Andrew, who is working Brenda who suffers from PTSD and some mobility issues. She has a dog that she wishes to train named Bailey. Andrew writes:

“This session was our initial session, and it occurred at Brenda’s house. It was also an assessment of her dog, Bailey. Bailey has some fear issues due to some shock collar training she received at another training organization.

Immediately upon my entry into the house, Bailey got up and ran away. She did not want to be anywhere near me. It took me an entire hour of laying down on my belly and using calm, slow movements and words to get her to a place where she was comfortable with me in the room. Brenda says Bailey is not like this with everyone, but I believe bringing the presence of a dog trainer into a room set her off, as she had a traumatic experience with her former trainer.

Both myself and Brenda feel that Bailey can be rehabilitated, so we have decided to go ahead with her training. Under no circumstances though is Brenda disillusioned by the possibility that Bailey will not succeed, so we are going to give it a month and see how far she can come. If she succeeds, we will continue. If not, then we will find Brenda a new dog to train as a Service Dog for her.”