Owners: Nathan and Celia White

Canine: Otis

We have a very precocious, 7 year old Welsh Terrier named Otis.  In the time we have had Otis, he has been our only baby and pretty much ran our house.  We called The Dog Wizard when we found out that we were having a baby of the two legged kind. 

Otis was never an aggressive dog.  He loved the older children in our neighborhood that would come and play with him in the yard, but when our nephew and niece (5 and 3 years old) would come over, he just became so nervous.  If you carried one of them he would nip at their feet and if they cried he would jump all over who was holding them.  If they were running around he would chase them and try and jump on them.  We were very concerned how a new baby would affect Otis.  We had a few friends who owned dogs and found with a new baby they could not control their dogs and had to find a new home for them.  That was really not an option for us, but we were not sure what to do and if dog training would work.  We knew that the classes at a local pet store were not going to be enough.  We called Gretchen and cannot say enough GREAT things about her and the work she put into to training us and Otis! 

Our one concern was that the training would change Otis’s personality, that he would some how be a different dog.  What we found is it has made Otis a much happier dog and us much happier owners.  Otis is allowed to go more places with us because we know he will respond.  He does not have to be contained when company comes over.  He now knows his rules, but most importantly we know how to communicate those rules to him so that what we say is effective. 

Our baby will be here in a matter of weeks and we feel confident that Otis and the baby will be fine together now.  One of the great things that Gretchen offers is that she will come back and help us if do have any problems.  She even offered to come to the house and help us when we bring the baby home. We cannot thank her enough and we do not hesitate to tell anyone about her and the great service she provides!

Nathan, Celia, and Otis White