Uta and her brown Labrador

My dog had been reported to the police for enthusiastically jumping up on someone on several occasions. They were not happy and felt I had no control over my 1 year old, 33kg, brown male Labrador. The police said he is friendly but needs better training and stay on the lead. So I looked for someone who could help. I had tried several reward based training approaches both online and with trainers and had some success but he was still pulling, yapping for attention and had no recall.

Our first session with Sally was on a borrowed decking of a lodge in a caravan park with intermittent internet connection and people walking past us. Despite that, the dog calmed down considerably after just a few interventions.

10 weeks later the dog is lighter and much calmer. He doesn’t disturb me while I work during the day and now walks calmly on the lead. I feel that I can control him.

The main change from working with Sally is that my mindset has shifted. I now treat him like a dog, rather than humanising him. I am willing and able to take charge so that he is safe to be around. I am learning to become a calm-assertive leader for my dog.

Uta Langley