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We went through the training program with Ruby and Austin from Cornerstone about 6 or 7 years ago. After all of this time, I am currently more proud of my dog with how he is behaving in this very moment than I ever have been. I have to share this experience so others can see that this program really does work if done right!!
My dog is high-anxiety and very reactive. To the point I had to start muzzling him because I couldn’t take him in public at all. He’s a large dog, very strong, and very determined. There is no choice between fight or flight with him, it was always immediately “fight”. He has been that way since I got him. I tried training him on my own, but failed. I found cornerstone after doing a bunch of research and decided to give them a shot. This was about 6 or 7 years ago. Ruby and Austin worked with us one-on-one and taught me everything I needed to know to properly work with him through all of the concerns I had. I was still super consistent for a couple years after graduating, but of course I started letting things slip over time. I basically stopped focusing on his training all together because we never really have people over, and we’ve found a good routine that he does really well with. I haven’t had any concerns. Last weekend we had an incident where my house flooded. We’ve had people in and out the entire week. I was really nervous he wouldn’t listen at all because it has been so long since we’ve done anything with his training, but as soon as I started commanding his focus, and working with him how I was taught in training, it was like we never stopped. He got SO excited that he wouldn’t even look at anyone else. This picture is him right now as I type this. We have a whole team of guys coming in and out, tearing out Sheetrock, baseboards, flooring, hammering, making loud noises, constantly walking right past us and he hasn’t budged. He slipped once before I put him in place and said hi to one of the guys when they first got here, but as soon as I said his name he came and sat right by my side in a heel position. I’m so proud of how far we’ve come and even without focusing on the training for the past few years, he still gets just as excited to jump back into it and knows exactly what to do. The amount of trust and confidence he has in me because of this program is incredible. Even last week I wouldn’t have expected him to be this calm with all we have going on.
Now of course I would never recommend doing what I did and letting the training fall off because I’m sure it doesn’t work out like this for everyone, but I just wanted to share this experience because if you do it right, this program really does work. But also just need to shout out Ruby and Austin for all of the work they did with us. I can’t even express how grateful I am for everything.