When we got Isabella, our black lab, from a rescue organization she was almost 4 months old.  Bella was very sweet and well tempered from the beginning, but had normal “lab-puppy issues” such as; play biting, jumping on people, not coming when called, etc.  Our goal was for Isabella to have the best and happiest life possible, and felt that being a well mannered dog would lead to this.  In addition, our home includes an 11 year old cat, Sketchy, who Bella found to be of great interest; to Sketchy’s dislike.  After checking into several other training organizations, we contacted Gretchen at The Dog Wizard.  After just our first lesson, we were quickly on our way to the fantastic, well mannered and obedient dog we have today.  Before we began training with Gretchen, play biting was a big issue.  However, after the first session, it was stopped.  We also trained Bella with “No Off” so she would not trouble Sketchy, and today they live very well together. 

When we first got Bella, she had never been on a leash, so going for a walk with her was a challenge.  In no time she was healing perfectly both on and off leash.  She is also obedient with “Sit”, “Stay”, “Down”, “Place”, and “Come.”  Our back yard is completely fenced in with the exception of the driveway (and we live on a very busy street).  We considered getting a driveway gate, but Gretchen said we could train Bella not to go down the driveway.  We taught her “No Cross” on a certain point of the driveway, and now Bella is able to play in the back yard or go out to the bathroom without us worrying about her leaving the area.  Isabella loves to go the park, play fetch with her ball, and play with other dogs…we get many comments about how well trained and obedient she is.  We have also noticed that Isabella has become more confident in herself as we have progressed through training.

We had some initial concerns about the E-Collar, but soon learned that the stimulus was nothing more than a way to get her attention.  After 4 months of training, we only use the stimulus on occasion.       

We have been very pleased with the entire training experience, especially Gretchen’s professionalism. Gretchen has been very flexible with our busy schedule to find times and locations for training.  She is very dedicated to surpassing our goals for Isabella’s obedience training. 

Thanks Gretchen for making us such happy and proud dog owners!

Kelly and Jay Cipriani