Today I got a unexpected donation from a CANADIAN online client and this email.
“I am a dog person; I have never met a dog that I didn’t fall in love with, so, owning dogs is just natural for me. We got Bruce in June, his background was not known to us, we heard that he had been rescued just before being sold into dog fighting and we just knew we had to go get him.
Bruce is an amazing Mastiff mix, more legs than anything else; he’s like a baby deer. We were told his approximate age was one and a half; that he had little to no training, had spent his life outside or in a kennel, but was overall he was a sweet and gentle dog.
We had him less than a week when he snapped at our four year old daughter.
I never imagined myself in that position, I was sure we would have to rehome Bruce, while I love dogs, the safety of my children is paramount.
It happened right before bed, our daughter walked up to Bruce to say goodnight.He was on our bed, face level with hers, and he lunged slightly forward and snapped, she jumped back, and I immediately leapt into action, separating them, scolding Bruce, and comforting my daughter.
He did not make contact, it was a warning snap, but it was terrifying.
That night Bruce slept in the living room, once everyone was settled I went to the living room and sat on the floor, Bruce walked over to me and put his forehead against mine. I knew right then that he hadn’t had a fair chance with us, I didn’t want to give him away, I felt like I failed him, and my family. I cried a lot that night, and first thing the next morning I contacted Roman.
The first thing Roman did was calm me down. He explained what he felt may have gone wrong, and most importantly, he told me that we didn’t have to rehome Bruce, that what happened was not a major act of aggression. And that’s when my training began, because, like Bruce, I also had to be trained.
I had worked with dog trainers in the past, but training with Roman was different.
First of all, I live in Canada, so we did training online, over video calls; second, his entire process is different than anything I had been exposed to.
Roman helped me establish trust with Bruce, first and foremost, and that trust has created a bond between Bruce and my family that is very, very important. Bruce knows that he can rely on us if there is a situation that feels scary to him. He looks to me to help him when he’s feeling unsure.
Once the trust was there, the other things felt a lot less daunting. Each time I spoke with Roman, he asked me what new thing I would like to work on.
And one by one, he helped us; he told us the steps we needed to take, to be the best caregivers for Bruce
“With Roman’s help, Bruce and my children learned how to interact with each other, I learned how to help him when he is feeling scared.”
Bruce has learned to come when he’s called, to sit and stay, to be gentle with the kids. He has also learned his boundaries on our unfenced acreage; he knows where he’s supposed to go and where he’s not supposed to go. Thanks to Roman’s Online training, we got to give Bruce that fair chance that he deserved, and I could not be more grateful.
In the future, should any issues come up with Bruce, or any other dog that we have, my first call will be to Roman.
I never would have imagined that someone could completely train a dog from so far away, but with his knowledge and teaching techniques, Roman is able to teach owners how to be the best leader for their dog, no matter where in the world they are.” - Melissa Wilton from Calgary, Alberta -Canada
Thank you Melissa for your touching email and donation. 🙏🏻🐶❤️
Donations via PayPal to support families that need help with their dog please send to training@Romansk9training.com (no tax deductible)
Mellisa and her English Mastiff Bruce