5/5
Paul Stowe with Off Leash Training SAVED me and my dog Milo's relationship. I was thinking (every other day) that I made the wrong decision to get another Havanese pup. At 9mos old, Milo would not listen unless I had treats in hand. I kept making excuses for his behavior. I would spend hours upon hours of training him myself. He went to PetsMart puppy class. He started going to doggy daycare at 12weeks old for socialization, attending at least 1x/week. The employees said he was so sweet and had good interaction with other puppies. But, on leash when we would walk, he wouldn't heel and often would growl and lunge at other dogs (sometimes children).
Fast forward to 10 month old Milo and I visiting Barkansas, a local pet supply store. The owner Lisa, has many rescue dogs that walk around the store and greet customers. I asked Lisa how she trained her rescue dogs. They would stay inside the store and were relaxed and well behaved, even with all the animal traffic. Milo would challenge these mild mannered dogs. He would growl and bark sometimes lunging at the dogs. Lisa gave me a phone number to a woman in my neighborhood who used Paul Stowe, Off Leash Training. I spoke with the woman about my issues and she said her dog had similar problems. She gave Paul Stowe a 5 star review. Several other client's gave Paul the same great reviews! I was sold on the idea, although expensive, I knew after meeting Paul that it would be a blessing in the end. Paul had an instant connection with Milo and seemed in control. Two issues to consider, it would require letting Paul take Milo for a month and train him in his house with his dogs. Paul also used a training collar (e-collar) which gives an impulse (with a range of intensities) to the dog. I put it on my arm and felt something similar to a TENS unit or electrical stimulation. My husband worried Milo would return acting like a robot and not remembering us. Neither were true as he remembered both of us and his puppy love and personality were both intact.
Paul sent videos and photos of Milo's progress regularly. The updates were encouraging. When Milo and Paul returned to our house one important thing was said. We needed to keep up with training. I can tell if Milo needs a "refresher" as today when he ignored my command to come inside the house (he was sniffing around the yard). I put the collar on him without any stimulation, just the collar reminds him that I am in charge, NOT him!
Oh, the best part of our journey is that I have wanted a therapy dog to take to local facilities. Milo and I have been volunteering at a local rehab/nursing facility for 6 months. Patients may miss their own dog or just want to pet Milo and get some joy and comfort from a loving dog. A smile and thank you from just ONE person is worth millions!
SORRY for the long review but thought you would like the same information I requested before hiring Paul.
