I’d like to tell everyone the story of Jed (an 80lb
GSP/lab mix) and how Michael brought out the true Jed – warning, it’s a long one:
I first came across Jed on Facebook. He was an animal surrender because his family had a baby. He was up for euthanasia TWICE. I recently moved home while attending law school and my dad’s dog had recently passed away. After Jed was extended once, I managed to get my dad to agree to foster him. We have a farm and I figured Jed may be a good fit as my dad’s new farm companion…Well turns out, Jed is a mama’s boy. He absolutely loves girls but shows symptoms of abuse from a male owner. He instantly became super attached to me. Literally my shadow with significant anxiety if I left the house. This is when I reach out to Michael. We schedule our first training session and all seemed well. After a week, my dad decided to take Jed to work with him in order to bond. HUGE MISTAKE. Jed bolted as soon as the office door opened. For 3 weeks, we searched continuously in the woods he was last seen. During this time, Jed was hit by a car. Luckily he did more damage to the car than it did to him. I searched and searched and searched. Left food. Followed ridiculous leads. Michael even joined me on a lead about vultures seen flying over the last area Jed was seen. Finally, one of my best friends thought she was hallucinating when she saw Jed 3 weeks later in the same place he was last seen. I put out more of my clothes and food. The 2nd time I put food out, I saw him!!! I freaked, but he ran. Finally, the next day I waited him out and he got close enough to recognize me. He cried. I cried. It. Was. Wonderful.
I call Michael and set up a new training date. Problem. My little brother comes over and proceeds to accidentally sneak up on Jed. Jed’s response is TERRIFYING. Jed would kill anyone who came too close to me. I text Michael who is at the house within 30 minutes. So the training begins. The biggest part is understanding Jed. He’s been through SO MUCH. His fight or flight response makes perfect sense. The poor pup is on survival mode!!
This all began at the end of October 2018. We still have work to do, but my Jed is a whole new pup. He’s probably the biggest teddy bear you’ll meet. Even my 83 year old Granny was won ever. If you want to really train a dog, contact Michael. It may seem silly, but you have to understand the dog first. Michael teaches you that. This isn’t a quick fix. You have to do the work. I guarantee, it is completely worth it.