It’s been about 10 years since my husband Tom and I have had a dog. He is retired now and has been wanting a pet companion for a while, so of course I agreed. After his research and reading, imagine my surprise to learn that he wanted an English Mastiff. Back of my mind suggesting that’s a lot of dog, and a lot of slobber. Found our pup from a breeder, and on the drive home with 8 week old Willow, we discussed pretending that she already weighed 180 pounds with our decisions of what would and would not be allowed. Seemed like a good idea as it’s much easier to have those training moments with a 17 pound puppy. And that was pretty much the end of our concerns at the time.
We followed our Vet’s recommendation and kept Willow home until she had all her shots. So 16 weeks old comes with 55 pounds of puppy. Out into the world we went. Kind of. We were never very successful getting a collar on her, so we ended up using a harness. That process took about 15 minutes each time. I am exhausted just telling this story. The first walk wasn’t a walk, it was lots of pulling and verbal corrections, none of which were helping. I was honestly surprised by all this because we’ve never had these issues with previous dogs. All 3 of us were struggling. We kept trying. Willow was so reactive to everything, leaves, noises, other people and dogs, whatever that is over there… You get the idea.
Quickly we realized that helping Willow enjoy walks and life was not as expected, and we needed expertise that we didn’t possess. We were referred to Stephen and his team at K9 Conditioning by my friend who just picked up her dog from his board and train program. We followed Stephen on Instagram and learned so much. We arranged to meet at his property and discuss the plan for Willow. He recommended a 4 week board and train and 2 books to help us on this journey.
Leaving Willow was still hard, but we knew that she was right where she needed to be. Stephen is a gifted and compassionate trainer. He also speaks “owner” as well! We received our first text within 10 minutes and it was a daily stream of photos, videos and commentary to keep us informed on progress as well as the why and how things are accomplished. So all 3 of us were on a life changing journey with Stephen. He is passionate, thorough, consistent and works to develop rapport with the entire pet family. Stephen does not waver in his approach, his technique is the same every time. He will treat your pet with expert skills, compassionate understanding and love. And they ALL learn from him.
Willow has been back home for about 10 weeks, and we have been completely amazed. We are still just beginning to enjoy such a happy and fun life with Willow now that she is less reactive. Daily walks, breaks in the nature, Place Mat… We follow Stephen’s program every day. It’s not magic – don’t get me wrong, Stephen is truly one of a kind amazing. But he lays the foundation to set you and your beloved pet up for success. It’s up to us now to be the confident trusted leaders for Willow. We will be forever grateful for this gift from Stephen and K9 Conditioning. The lifetime support and monthly pack meetups are a testament to the commitment of K9 Conditioning to his pack familia.
Eternally grateful,
Christine, Tom and Willow
