Reviews & Testimonials For Graham Milgrew

Marnie is a Portuguese Water Dog who recently has nipped several people with serious consequences.  This has been a very difficult time for the owners because they didn't know what to do for the best.  Fortunately they have committed to working with Marnie to overcome her fears around people.  There are many ways to train a dog and in this instance precision was needed to help Marnie know when she got it right.  The clicker means "yes a reward is coming".  This is not a quick fix.  There is no quick fix with aggression, but it is one of the quickest ways to make a difference.  I am looking forward to continuing to work with Marnie.   

Sam is a 6 month old Labrador who has always been friendly and bouncy. Now that he has reached adolescence he is becoming BIG, FRIENDLY and BOUNCY!! Once his owners were shown how to talk to him and focus his enthusiasm he began to change before our eyes. By the end of the session he was jumping less, listening more and we were able to get him to walk calmly on the street. He will be a work in progress for a while yet, but I think he will be a lovely, obedient dog that his owners can be proud of. 

This is one of those cases that just tugs at your heart strings. Zeus is an adolescent Bull Mastiff who weighs at least 60kg and is still growing!! His previous owner died in tragic circumstances and Zeus ended up in kennels for a number of months before his current owner found him and adopted him. As is common with the breed, he is BIG, friendly and stubborn. We have been working on improving his obedience and recall and giving him clear rules regarding how to greet people (really important with such a large dog). Zeus is responding well and is becoming a bit of a celebrity at his local park. 

This owner took on a dog that was dumped in her daughters garden.  Gypsy is a little whirlwind and had been causing havoc for her owner, but she is very bright and responded so well to being given direction and boundaries.  I was really impressed with her owners commitment to bringing up Gypsy when she came into her life totally unplanned.  

A lovely family (with very nice kids!!). They have two Jack Russells who were prone to barking at visitors and in the back garden. This is fairly typical for the breed but it has gotten worse in recent months and had also escalated into aggression outdoors on walks. Mum no longer enjoyed taking her dogs out for walks due to the stress and mayhem that this involved. Between us we figured out the main reasons why things had gotten to this stage and were able to start fixing things on the first session. It was wonderful to see the dogs responding and the owner's confidence returning. Great owners who recognised that they had a problem and weren't afraid to ask for help. 

Buss belongs to the Daughter and is looked after by both Mother and Daughter, .  He wasn't keen on being away from the Daughter and was very upset whenever she went out.  Needless to say this was upsetting for all concerned.  This is not unusual  It can be traumatic for some puppies leaving their siblings and they can latch onto either all humans or in some cases just one human to make them feel more secure.  His owners are working now on building Buzz;s confidence and is already much happier.  

Rocky is a English Bulldog.  They have the reputation for being stubborn when it comes to training but it is often finding what motivates the dog most and using this to reinforce all the good behaviour you want. Rocky's owners have been doing lots of very short sessions with play and rest in between and have kept their puppy happy and motivated.  He is therefore advancing very quickly for such a young dog.  

Bo is a lovely big Labrador who had become a bit stubborn and set in his ways! As his owner said, he had picked up a shoulder injury and this was contributing to some of his unwillingness to do things for his humans. We identified some exercises that motivated Bo and he seems to be doing much better now.

Hugo is a gorgeous big German Shepherd who didn't have the best start in life and has now been rescued by a wonderful, kind family. He's quite nervous and was showing this by barking and lunging at strange dogs and occasionally people. This is not uncommon for dogs that have been previously abused. His new owners are now patiently working through Hugo's issues and showing him the guidance and support that he needs to become a happy, confident dog.

Honey is a 5 year old rescue Bichon Friese.  She guards items and bit her owner when her owner didn't realise she had something in her mouth.  This type of behaviour is natural to a dog and they only behave in this way when they feel under threat.  It is very upsetting for owners, but there is a lot that can be done to rebuild relationships and to prevent this type of behaviour happening again.  This owner has worked hard with Honey and has made considerable progress in a short period of time.  

Bear  is a very big adolescent Rottweiler who was throwing his weight about a bit and occasionally upsetting his owners and their other dog. We worked on establishing some boundaries and channeling Bear's energy. He responded very well to a kind but firm approach. It's not uncommon for large guarding breeds to appear aggressive when they're not sure who is in charge and this can be distressing to their humans. Later on, we took Bear out for a walk and were able to tackle his other big problem which was pulling and lunging on his lead. Very big dogs like Bear can be a real handful on walks, but, again, he responded really well and is now starting to enjoy some nice calm walks with his owners.

This owner has 3 dogs ranging from very small to very large and a particularly active life caring for family members with specific needs and also horses.  Her dogs absolutely adore her and see her as very exciting as she does everything for them.  The introduction of her large third rescue dog meant that excitement was getting out of hand and the dogs were barking at her and squabbling with each other.  This is not a quick fix and takes time and commitment to prevent accidental reinforcement of bad behaviour and direct dogs to good behaviour.  As her dogs are rescues they also have other issues but I am confident that this owner will be successful in dealing with their problems.