As I sit down to write this letter I have to chuckle; I never thought I would be writing a dog trainer to tell her how well behaved my yellow lab has become!
Murphy, our 11 month old yellow lab has been in three homes from birth to the young age of 15 weeks. We considered ourselves his permanent family and we were determined to train him ourselves and have him meld into our family. After a month or so of having Murphy we realized he had some behavioral problems. Jumping, snapping, clawing the door, digging holes all day long, and knocking people over, pulling on a leash, barking at the fence and listening only to the sound of a food bowl rather than our requests.
After 6 months of having Murphy I was placed on bed rest due to complications in my pregnancy-With an 11 year old, a 4 year old, a baby on the way and many people in and out of our home (helping hands!) Murphy became increasingly difficult to deal with. My parents (self titled lab lovers!) took Murphy to stay with them while I figured out how to deal with our new life. Murphy continued to cause trouble and act out-We were faced with bringing home a new baby, a hectic family life and still another lab at home-We decided we should give Murphy to a better home. When we decided to look for a home for Murphy we felt like failures and it dawned on me that he would be the same dog just in a different home, how would someone else handle this situation? What if we were sending Murphy into a home that was also un able to deal with him and ended up harming him in some way?
I got online and began to research dog trainers-There were so many! I then called our vet to get a recommendation-they faxed me over your (Kate) website. I contacted Kate and talked for a long while over the phone. After talking with Kate I realized that she "knew" Murphy-She knew what was going on and she was so positive about his potential. My husband and I set up a consultation and within minutes we were stunned, impressed and convinced. Kate's dogs not only listened to her and obeyed but they were able to relax, be silly and play! We immediately enrolled Murphy in Kate's program. We have now had Murphy working with Kate for over a month. Murphy continues to have his normal lab puppy moments (pulling on my bathrobe in the morning, bringing me a tennis shoe as a gift and knocking his food over when he gets excited) but Murphy is also able to walk down a busy street with another dog, a toddler on a bike, neighbors waving hello and other animals passing by- all OFFLEASH! The off leash aspect lends itself to many other successful moments with your dog-Not only are you on a peaceful walk but your dog is able to get their exercise which leads to less negative behavior-Off leash also allows your family to enjoy the dog instead of kicking them outside for the day-Off leash allows the dog to learn to have fun and be attentive-Murphy is able to walk out the front door, go to the car, wait to get in and hop in calmly. Murphy is able to go to people's homes and wait at the front door while I chat, regardless of what they have going on inside. Murphy is able to sit and wait for our guests to come in the door, set their coats down and get settled before he says "hello"
We loved Murphy when we first brought him home-Now; we enjoy Murphy and look forward to many years of friendship. I would recommend Kate and Fast Pup to anyone with a puppy or even an older dog. If you consider yourself a dog lover give yourself and your loved dog the best gift, talk with Kate-The results are amazing.
Perry and Erin Smith
Tacoma
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