Behavioral Consulting
For those who don't have the time to take a full set of obedience classes, we provide a one on one consulting service that is guaranteed to fix the one or two most annoying, embarrassing, and out of control problems that your dog is currently showing.
The most prevalent behavior we deal with is aggression; either toward other dogs or toward people, and this is easily remedied with one consulting session. In that session, we evaluate the dog, try to recreate the situations that trigger the behavior, demonstrate how to make it clear to the dog that he/she is no longer allowed to act that way, and finally, coach you to the point where you understand how to block the behaviors and stop them when the dog starts behaving badly.
The majority of behavior problems exhibited by dogs stem from their owners handling, or managing their dogs incorrectly. Once we show you what you are doing - or not doing, the dog can relax, lose the stress that is causing the bad behavior, and be secure in the fact that YOU are now the one responsible for all that you meet. The happiest dogs are those who don't have to worry about anything, because they have an owner who looks after everything, freeing the dog to be a follower with no pressures to defend you, your home, your family or him/herself. Our work is to show you how to be that strong leader.
Costs; A consultation session costs $70 when you attend our training center or the kennel, and it includes followup with unlimited telephone advice if needed, in dealing with the problem that was presented. It is very rare to need any further backup after you leave the consult, because you'll know exactly what role you will be playing in fixing the behavior. Should our presence be required in your home in order to trigger the dog's behaviors, a travel charge will be added based on distance.
Here's a small sample of what trouble owners have said as a result of getting help with their dog's behavior issues:
Barry
I wanted to write and thank you for helping our five year old German Shepard/Border Collie, Bender. He has always been a good dog; he's incredibly loyal, protective, loving, playful, sensitive, and gentle with kids. In the beginning he was great with other dogs, but then one day a neighbourhood dog jumped on me and he turned into a violent, vindictive animal. From then on he had a bad case of leash aggression. Whenever we were walking on the leash and would see another dog coming we would have to turn around and go in the other direction or get ready for an embarrassing episode of growling, barking, and pulling hard on the leash. This already horrible situation was magnified by 100% each time we saw the dog who previously jumped on me (lets call him Eddie). Bender never forgot what Eddie did and would fly into an angry rage if Eddie was within 100 feet from us. One time in the winter I slipped and fell on the ice and Bender saw Eddie coming and actually dragged me about 10 feet up hill to try and get to him. For a long time I made excuses, saying that the behaviour wasn't that bad and would adjust my routine/walking route to accommodate Bender's attitude. In April of this year I started running with the Running Room and realized that when another dog is approaching, I could no longer turn and go in another direction because I was running in a group. So I was forced to stop running and hold Bender on the ground so we didn't cause a fight with another dog. In May of this year Bender stepped on a piece of glass that cut his paw so badly he was unable to go for walks for about 7 weeks. During this time, it was just me and my other dog Bruce who ran together. Bruce is such a great dog and actually goes out of his way to be friendly to other dogs. I soon realized how nice it was being out with a well behaved dog. I didn't have to stop (and then catch up) when running with the grou[, and I could socialize with other dog owners when walking on leash. It was absolute paradise. I explained to another dog owner how nice it was not having to put up with Bender's attitude and he told me to go to see you at Buena Vista Kennels. We've had Bender assessed before by a behaviouralist and it didn't work so I was a little unsure whether I wanted to spend more money on fixing the unfixable. But, on the other hand I was desperate. I'd had a taste of the good life and I didn't want to go back. So, when Bender was healed, we met with Barry.
Literally within minutes, Bender was interacting with Barry's dogs on leash. He didn't seem too happy about it at first but learned quickly that we weren't going to tolerate his attitude anymore. Once other dogs started arriving for the training class, Barry let us join in and socialize Bender with some of the other dogs. I was incredibly nervous and Bender could sense it. We had one or two episodes during our time there but the majority of our interactions were positive (I couldn't believe it). After the training class I was thrilled with our progress. The next day, while running along the riverbank, I realized that Bender's success had only occurred in a structured environment. I didn't think the tricks Barry used would be useful in the real world. On that day we ran past approximately 20 dogs and Bender's behaviour was perfect each and everytime. I couldn't believe it! My dog was being a good boy…FINALLY! As the weeks went on, and Bender was still not exhibiting any attitude problems I thought maybe this was too good to be true. I figured that once we ran into Eddie, all Bender's progress would be out the window. Well, Bender proved me wrong. We walked right past Eddie the other day without Bender making a sound or even looking in his direction. Eddie on the other hand was livid. He kicked up a big stink, and all I could say to his owner was, 'You should take him to see Barry'. Honestly Barry, I can't thank you enough. In less than 45 minutes you fixed a problem that has been festering for 5 years. You turned a good dog in to a great dog! Thank you!
Jessica, Gerson, Bruce and Bender.
Hi Barry,We just got back from visiting with our families, and I have to say that the difference was night and day. It was absolutely amazing. In the past she was never able to sit still or nap until she went to bed in the same room as us at night, but over the last 4 days she was able to lay down and actually sleep, despite there being kids running and screaming and people everywhere! It was a little harder at my parents place as she still wants to go after their Pug but she certainly was far better than ever before and she was also able to relax with the Pug around. We are very grateful for your help, it was desperately needed and it made a world of difference and we truly appreciate it! :)Having seen such great results my boyfriend and I would like to put her in your next obedience class.Kelly L.
Barry;Well I was at the dog park on Sunday and a couple of dogs came up to Allie. I was right at her head and patting her, saying 'good dog'. She was not thrilled with the dogs, but she was not as tense and she did not growl at them. She sat there and let them bug her and then I had to push the little dogs away because they were too much in her face. So your advice came in handy both on how to handle Allie and the other dogs.Laura C.
Hi Barry,
Things are muchly improved !!!!! We haven't had alot of people to the door but hopefully this weekend. The dogs were excellent when Alyssa's boyfriend was over and he stayed outside making a bit of a commotion. We're looking forward to learning more and more at upcoming classes!Thanks again,The much quieter Komada Household !
