Ozzy and Dylan – cockapoo brothers

We contacted Sally as we knew we needed help and training with our three year old cockapoos. It got to the stage where we were feeling overwhelmed with Ozzy and Dylan. It is fair to say that at times we were not enjoying having them as it was a battle with their constant barking indoors and outdoors as well as jumping up, pulling on the lead when out walking and not responding to recall. They did not have any consistency in our household of three people as we were giving them different commands at different times.

We eventually contacted Sally out of desperation after Dylan ran off on a walk and we were not able to find him for some time. He eventually came back to us but he had horrific injuries to his back leg which we could only assume was caused by barbed wire. We could not allow this to happen again. By not being in control caused this injury and every time we went out for a walk we did not know if he would return safely to us.

We felt that having these dogs was a huge responsibility and very stressful. We had got to the stage where we were thinking whether we could keep both dogs. We did not know if it would be possible to train two dogs of the same age as we had been told previously that it is very difficult to train two from the same litter at the same time. When we got in contact with Sally she was the first person to say that she was not worried about the fact that we had two dogs and she gave us confidence straight away. It felt like a lifeline at last and such a relief that it was not too late too improve things so that we could have a better relationship with Ozzy and Dylan.

At the first session Sally was able to show us the reasons for how our dogs were behaving. She told us that they were both highly intelligent dogs and that they were very anxious and confused. They had been trying to be the pack leader for so long instead of looking to us as their leader. It was quite upsetting and hard to hear as we did not realise that our actions and behaviour were causing them distress. We thought we were doing the right thing by our dogs but we had misunderstood their needs and we realised through Sally that we were being selfish by making them fit into our world. Sally has helped us understand that a dog's world needs to be much smaller and confined so that they feel safe. They need to focus on their leader and not worry about having to make decisions for themselves and just be dogs. They did not need all the toys and treats that we had been giving them as their biggest reward is pleasing their leader.

At the end of the first session with Sally Ozzy and Dylan were calmer and more responsive with hardly any barking. We were absolutely amazed. Sally was open and straightforward in a lovely way with her advice and comments and she did not make us feel inadequate or criticise us in any way for our failings. It is such a shame that we left it so long before getting in touch.

We have now had another session with Sally. Our dogs are quieter and very much calmer and life has taken on a different perspective. We feel that although it is still very early days we are now more in control as their leader and because of this our dogs are able to look to us for guidance. Our dogs also seem to be happier in each other's company. Hopefully we can look to the future with two lovely well behaved dogs who are happy and confident to be with us.

We are so pleased we found Sally who has changed our lives by giving us the confidence to believe in ourselves to help our dogs and we feel sure that if there is anyone else who needs similar help then they should really consider getting in touch with Sally.

Thanks Sally, you are amazing and have made such a HUGE different to our lives!

Mike, Tracy and Sally