My partner Arnab and I brought Lewis into our lives in August of 2021 and while we both had experience with dogs and even shepherds, we were not quite expecting the level of energy Lewis brought into our lives. We adopted him from a shelter in LA as a puppy and while he started as the “sleepy one”, he quickly woke up and started to test our abilities.
We took him to other trainers as a puppy and he has always been quick to learn and responsive but after the first year and a half his excitement towards other dogs turned into a more reactionary and dominant response. I wanted to try a new trainer and ended up finding Steph with K9 Conditioning. The personalized attention he gave both Lewis and myself were far above and beyond what I received with the previous trainers and I couldn’t be happier with the results.
With his high energy level we focused on him becoming a more neutral dog and focusing on his handler and commands rather than what is happening around him. I initially signed up for a 2 week board and training program with K9 Conditioning and the difference in Lewis was just night and day. We met with Steph for a lesson during the pickup and he showed me how to continue and reinforce the training.
Looking back now it’s really amazing how far Lewis has come in the last year. From neurotically barking at other dogs at restaurants to patiently waiting and sometimes being an example. This more neutral behavior also seems to help him with introductions to friends dogs as he’s not just laser focused on them. And importantly he has a mostly reliable recall.
I have since been using Steph whenever I am out of town to board Lewis as I know he will be in good hands and he always comes back just a little sharper on his commands. Steph also offers group training sessions that drastically improve both my and Lewis’s confidence with working around other dogs in public and I highly recommend participating if you are available. Steph was informative, insightful and patient and I highly recommend this program to anyone either struggling raising a reactive puppy or just looking to hone their already good dog.
