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Marie S. and Bocker
When I met Alana, I was very impressed. I knew she was the right person to train Bocker. We were told by an agent that Bocker had the "look" to appear in print ads and maybe commercials. I wanted to find a trainer that could do some private work with Bocker on some specific commands to see if he was right for a "career."
Alana's positive training approach was amazing. Her knowledge on dog behavior was so enlightening. She showed me a whole new way to communicate with Bocker that showed results in getting him to do what I want and which created a greater bond between us.
Bocker is a big boy and I was having a problem controlling him on a leash. I was advised when he was younger to use a pronged collar. I hated doing this, but he is so strong, and I had just had surgery and was afraid of him pulling me too hard. Alana introduced me to the gentle leader which Bocker accepted very easily. Now I can walk Bocker, literally holding the leash with two fingers, and all this without any discomfort to him. I'll never know how to thank Alana for this too. I'm just sorry Bocker and I didn't meet her much sooner.
William S. & Bite,
Alana, thank you so much for your help with Bite. He is doing wonderfully! Our play sessions are so much nicer now that we've followed your recommendations. He is not biting us nearly so much and my daughter can play with him and isn't nearly as frightened around him as she used to be. He tolerates being touched and has stopped attacking our ankles when we wake up in the morning. Thanks again!
Dave, Deanna and Lucy
We were looking for someone to work with our 6-month-old Golden Retriever (champion counter surfer, kid bowler (she thought that the kids were bowling pins), and lead sled dog (while she was on a leash she could pull you around anywhere she wanted you to go). We saw Alana's ad and website stating her philosophy "People are taught to train dogs using gentle, fun and positive techniques all dogs love and understand... No leash jerks or punishments are given." This was exactly what we were looking for to train Lucy, and exactly what Alana gave us.
We are so very thankful for the time Alana has spent with us and Lucy. Alana's knowledge and professionalism is untouched. Because of our lessons with Alana, Lucy rarely counter surfs, no longer bowls the kids over, and is very enjoyable on a walk (with only her flat collar and a 6' leash)! Lucy continues to make tremendous strides because of our implementation of Alana's teaching methods.
Dave, Deanna, and the kids
Wendy C. and Nana
Nana is a 2-1/2 year old Brittany and true to her breed she is friendly, happy, energetic, enthusiastic, athletic and smart. All wonderful qualities, but they presented some challenging training situations. Our pet sitter recommended Alana for training help.
When I contacted Alana I had a long list of things I wanted help with: focus and attention, coming when called, walking on leash and keeping "four on the floor" when we meet other people and other dogs. I knew we weren't making great progress (or having much fun) with the traditional training methods our prior instructor favored, so I was very interested in taking a completely positive approach to training. I scheduled a series of five private lessons.
From the very beginning Alana had me thinking differently about how dogs think and process information. I was very surprised and grateful to learn how I unintentionally influenced Nana's undesirable behaviors by my interactions with her. That was followed by creative ideas on how to approach training Nana to make it both fun and effective. We've noticed great improvement. I now know how to better harness Nana's natural exuberance without driving either her or myself crazy in the process. All the effort has been well worth it, because we recently had a large party at our home and many of our guests commented on how much calmer and well-behaved Nana was. Now that's success!
Kathy and Dave D. and Chase
Chase was adopted as a two year old from Chessie Rescue. He had not been well treated in his former home. We were very insistent on positive training because we felt he had been through enough negatives in his life. Alana's methods worked perfectly. Chase loves positive reinforcement and has responded well to clicker training. Chase loves learning! We highly recommend Alana and her training methods.
Julie K. (HOPE rescue volunteer) and Peppy
This is one of HOPE's rescue dogs, Peppy. When HOPE first took her out of the animal shelter, Peppy was a wild child. She pulled really hard on the leash and had absolutely no manners. With Alana's help, Peppy has learned sit, down, stand, stay, and leave it. She has been pulling much less on the leash since we started taking classes with Alana. Peppy and I have both really enjoyed Alana's purely positive training methods.
Susan and Patrick V. and Gregory
We want to thank Alana for help with our dog, Gregory. Gregory was having problems with other dogs and people. At first he avoided them and was scared, but then he started snapping at other dogs and strangers, particularly children. We had Gregory since he was a puppy. We went through 3 trainers, all of whom told us Gregory was being dominant and needed to be taught who was boss. We were told he should not be allowed on furniture or the bed and we should "alpha roll" him when he snapped at people. Gregory only became more aggressive.
Our vet recommended we meet with Alana. It was so wonderful to speak with her. After our consultation and some lessons with Alana, Gregory's behavior improved and he has not been so fearful around other dogs. He is better with strangers and we have guests over now. Gregory is so much happier. He is sleeping on the bed again too which makes everyone happy. Alana has greatly enhanced our relationship with Gregory. We know Gregory thanks her too!
Kristina K. and Sage
My veterinarian highly recommended Alana. I signed up for her Puppy Manners class with my puppy, "Sage," and also took private lessons with her. We have two very young boys who are a handful, and now we had this new puppy who was biting and chewing EVERYTHING, including our children. Sage was chewing almost everything and we had real problems with housetraining. It seemed like a total disaster and we yelled at Sage a lot.
Things improved tremendously after lessons with Alana. Alana taught us how Sage was learning from us 24/7. She showed us positive ways to teach Sage. Instead of focusing on what Sage was doing wrong, Alana taught us to teach her what we wanted from her. Not only was Sage housetrained in such a short time, but Alana also taught us how to control the rambunctious play that would occur between Sage and the boys. I'm very happy to say, Sage is a much calmer, secure, and well-behaved puppy. Because of Alana's help, Sage is such a joy to have around now and she is truly a part of our family.
