Suki the Jack Russell

Suki was an accident waiting to happen - it was only a matter of time before she bit somebody. She was constantly on guard; what we took to be alertness and intelligence was actually fear and stress, which stemmed from Suki's belief that we were unable to protect and take care of her. She was right, we were completely out of control!

We were so busy giving her affection; mollycoddling her, treating her like our baby, that we completely failed to give her the things she was so desperate for - leadership, clear instruction, communication and understanding.

We found walking her so stressful because she turned into a snarling beast whenever she caught sight of another dog if she was on the lead. Off lead, she would disappear for hours chasing deer, roll in the unspeakable, and the only bargaining tool we had was a ball, we were so scared of losing the ball (and therefore the dog), that we always carried at least three spares. It seems so ridiculous now!

Thanks to Sally, Suki is relaxed and happy all the time; she couldn't give a damn about the vacuum, she doesn't attack the bin, she doesn't steal or destroy, and when we do our training exercises she looks so proud of herself!

My favorite thing now is watching her eat a Dentastick down on the rug after training, stick between two paws, relaxed and happy because she earned it. Before, I used to give her snacks willy nilly and she would run around the place with them crying. I never knew why, but it's because she hadn't earned it - she didn't feel she should have it! And the best thing is, I worked that out for myself!

Sally has enabled me to think differently so little revelations like that mean I understand my dog that much better, I can interpret her behaviour and her body language better, and little by little our bond is deeper. My body language, thanks to Sally, tells Suki that I am in control, I can look after her, and she believes it - It's brilliant!

I can't wait to see what the future holds for us now, being a dog owner is no longer a stress, it's pure joy!