Here are some testimonials from recent clients we have dealt with
We are always grateful when our clients stay in touch and let us know how they are getting on with their dogs; it's great to hear from you.
We adopted Hamish in October 2017, he is an 11.5yr old westie who belonged to a friend's mother who sadly passed away after illness, Hamish arrived via the sleeper from Portsmouth on the 16th of October. It was love at first sight for us, he is a wonderful dog who is chilled out, very sociable with other dogs and people. The only problem we had was Hamish went beserk when he saw our 14yr old cat Minstrel, barking and straining to chase her, he also refused to come back to us if he got the scent of a rabbit, deer etc.
After several weeks Hamish's behaviour with Minstrel was showing no signs of improvement and she was living upstairs while he was downstairs with neither of them meeting, we called Mike who came to see us on the 24th of November. Mike spent over 4 hrs with us, covering basic commands and explaining how to reward good behaviour with positivity and rewards. We had training to do daily and we had to have Hamish in a calm state when introduced to Minstrel, then if he stayed calm he was rewarded, if he didn't he was removed from the situation and returned when calm. Mike sent us a booklet customised to Hamish, with a programme of training to follow. Several months followed and his obedience improved dramatically, one friend commented that he really looked when his name was mentioned and he did what he was asked. It is a pleasure walking Hamish who will still look at a rabbit but will not chase it and comes when called.
Mike returned on 17th of January 2018 and could see the improvements in Hamish, although better with Minstrel there was more work to be done, he gave us different tasks to do which we did, some days Hamish was quite good with Minstrel while other days it was almost like going back to the begining, however as Mike said keep going and eventually it would work.
On the 6th of March 2018 we had a break through, Minstrel came into the living room, Hamish was told to go into his bed which he did and to lie down which he did. He was abit agitated but did not come out of his bed, Minstrel stayed on the couch for a couple of hours during this time after whining a few times Hamish went to sleep! We have now done this every evening and Hamish is steadily getting less interested in Minstrel, he doesn't whine and actually looks away from her.
We are confident eventually they will tolerate each other safely, we can't thank Mike enough - he has a sensible approach to dog behaviour and most importantly teaches the owners how to behave with their dog.
Jane & John Noble (18th March 2018)
Just thought I would give you a wee update....Kaden has become much, much better when meeting other dogs....there is none of the aggression he had shown. I no longer worry about meeting others...if anything quite the opposite! He was great help to one woman, who needed her Bracla pups introduced to other dogs... he was so gentle with one rather timid pup..was fab to see him. He was out for his first day of the season a few weeks ago...and was great with all the other dogs... none of the issues he had last season... so that is great. Thanks so much for your help.
Andy, Lisa, Ryan, Duncan, Kaden and Tarn
Socks is my 8 year old rescue Staffie, typical of the breed nothing phased her - except fireworks and thunder! In fact she was so terrified she dug holes in my carpet trying to hide under chairs and tables. Her heart beat so fast I thought it would pop out of her chest. I contacted Mike Grantham (Rewarding Dogs) to see what could be done to help her apart from pills and potions which I really didn't want to give her. He made up a CD with the noises she was frightened of along with instructions of how to use it. Simple! So easy! November 5th came and went - and apart from once or twice lifting her head up at the very loud bangs - nothing. She was absolutely fine. A different dog!
A big thank you to Mike, - and another for helping me so much with my lurcher who arrived with many issues but is now so laid back he's almost flower-power.
Shiona Cameron
Since your visit to us Simba is now a much calmer and well behaved, obedient dog. She is now a real pleasure to walk with and I am now not worried about taking her to certain places where there may be other dogs. Before your visit to us Simba was pulling on her lead, chasing anything that moved and not returning when called, she had an over-excitable attitude to other dogs, and also she liked to mouth people’s hands.
With your help and the techniques you showed us, we practiced with her and built them into our daily routine and she has become a well behaved perfect companion.
The package you sent us is a great tool to keep and refer to and has great ideas and games to keep Simba happily learning, but playing at the same time. Thank you for the work you put into the pack for us, you had obviously put a lot of work into it, and it has helped us to help Simba. People even comment on how well behaved she is, so I have passed your number to quite a few people.
Simba has really grown just over the last few weeks, and I think she just gets cuter every day. Please drop in whenever you are passing to see her, and thank you again for all you help.
Elizabeth, Kay and Simba,xxx
The training has been a great success. She no longer barks at people passing the window and I am most impressed today that I had two strangers in the living room and she did not jump on them. She no longer jumps on my with the command, "no" and when I say "kitchen" she goes to the kitchen and to her bed.
My friend who was in last week commented on the massive change in her. I have been keeping up the training and I do see the improvements each day. Again thanks for opening my eyes to the possibilities with her and she is such a loving dog.
Thank you for all your help, I wish I had done it weeks ago.
Amanda
We would like to thank you sincerely for all your help and patience,
with
Harvey our re-homed golden retriever.
Your complete training programme has been marvellous and thorough, assisting
us all greatly.
He is now a happy and settled lovely dog, and has stopped chasing anything
that moved!
This was causing us much stress and problems as we live in the country
surrounded by farm animals.
I would not have believed it possible to see the change in him and how
happier we all are as a result.
Thank you again
Roy and Carol Place
Jack is eight years old and has been suffering from fear and anxiety. I have spent a lot of time (a whole year) and a lot of money (approx. £1,000) working with a reputable and well-known dog trainer whose methods I always felt slightly uncomfortable about and which only seemed to heightened Jack’s fear and anxiety. Having the good fortune to meet Mike, I have really appreciated his training methods which are based on positive reinforcement and praise for good behaviour. Jack periodically turned into a howling wolf when I went out – with some perseverance and following Mike’s advice, he is now a dog who doesn’t mind if I go out and has even sustained being alone in a thunder storm.
In summary, I have been so very grateful for the sound and effective advice that Mike has given me. His methods are based on warmth, gentleness, praise and reward which is certainly an approach which works for Jack. My only regret is that Mike lives two-hundred miles away; however his e-mail advice and interest are certainly effective.
Thanks, again, Mike.
Anzi Bayne, East Lothian
Hello Mike,
I would like to give you an update on Stella. I
have tried to follow your plan and Stella's progress is really good!
First of all, since day 1 from the consultation
Stella was able to meet new dogs which she didn't really do before. We meet
with some of those dogs regularly every week so they can play together.
I am now able to take her out to the park and she
will not run towards another person even if they are passing close by, she
still sometimes does think about running towards other dogs but when I call
her name she turns around to me and usually looses interest in the dog
without me pulling on the lead.
In general she is more calm on walks and at home
which is exactly what I wanted. I am confident that she will make more
progress as we continue the exercises and also the games.
Stella’s modification programme was really easy
to understand and everything is easy to follow.
Thank you so much for all your help, it has
really helped us a lot and we couldn't have done it otherwise.
Kind Regards,
Martyna
Just wanted to send you this photo and drop you a
note on how Lenny is getting on. This photo really sums her up- she is so
curious about the world!
The techniques you taught us have become part of our
lifestyle and have helped us to gain Lenny's trust and helped us to build
our trust in her. She now enjoys almost all walks off the lead and, though
she still enjoys chasing the occasional crow, she never goes far from us. We
have come to realise through putting your techniques into practise that she
is incredibly intelligent and has a huge capacity for love. We enjoy life
with her so very much. Thank you for your help in her first few months with
us- we have been reaping the rewards ever since.
Helen, Anthony & Lenny
Stevie my 2 year old Chihuahua was a little bit of a menace when it came
to all sorts of things; barking at the tv, not coming back
outside when called, or was able to go outside at all really without a lead
! Was also quite snappy when I went in for a
cuddle. Losing my patience slightly, I called Mike who was
great with Stevie. After a great training day,
Stevie now goes outside for toilet/a wander without the aid of a lead and
even runs alongside me to my mothers house. He barks less too
at the tv which is great!! And because he trusts me more his
snapping is pretty much non existant and my fingers are now intact fully!!!
Thanks again Mike, awesome work.
Alice, culbokie.
We adopted our German Shepherd Tasso in August 2014 when he was 9 months
old. When we got him, Tasso had had no training whatsoever and had been
already in 3 different homes.
From day one it seemed
almost impossible to ‘tame’ him. The training sessions with a local dog
trainer produced no tangible results. Mid 2015 we were at the end of our
tether. Despite the fact that Tasso had always been good with people and
children, he had a big issue with other dogs, went after local wildlife and
was forever pulling on the lead despite us applying all the techniques given
to us.
Coming across Mike was a godsent; after an initial assessment of Tasso he
explained to us that Tasso is a highly reactive dog, with anxiety issues,
who needed a lot more physical and mental stimulation than we could provide
for him at present, given that he needed to be on a lead all the time
because we live rurally and amidst farming country. Mike also explained to
us that - given Tasso’s personality and history - we might have to apply
behavioural modification techniques which are not the same as the usual
‘training’ ones.
Over a few months period we had several sessions with Mike with the result
that we now have a changed dog. Tasso walks on the lead without pulling and,
more importantly, he can be off the lead without us having to fear him
running off and chasing wildlife and sheep. His behaviour towards other dogs
has also improved greatly (although a work in progress) after we were given
the techniques and tools to introduce him to other dogs in a proper way.
Needless to say that we are ever so grateful that Mike came into ours (and
Tasso’s) life. We can enjoy our walks in the wild once more without stress
or strain, and it is a delight to see Tasso having proper ‘doggie fun’ when
he gets to play with other dogs.
Brodie
Hi
Mike,
I was rereading old emails and came across yours. It reminded
me that I
should have let you know before now, how Brodie is getting on.
He really benefitted from your training, as did we! He never
thinks about
going onto the golf course now or not coming back when we call
him.
Your methods worked a treat. He's a great dog, and your
training made all
the difference to our relationship with Brodie.
Very many thanks from us all in Skye!
Kind regards,
Catriona.
Pippa and Millie
Hello Mike
Don't know if you remember us, you came to help us well over a year ago, in Aboyne.
Just a quick note to say Pippa and Millie (black standard poodles) are behaving so well, all thanks to your training. One particular event highlights this to me, it was when we walked past a field of sheep with lambs about two feet away from them and both dogs just looked at the sheep, then at me a few times and just walking on. Stunning compared to a year ago.
Many thanks again.
Hope all is well with you and your family.
Best wishes
Judy