Vicky, I am excited to begin a class with you for my eleven month old Mia, a goldendoodle. This week I found your website and was impressed by the training skills and classes you offer. The video with Bronco going to the bank made me laugh. What a creative way to bundle many different skills he has learned. In my past I have worked seriously with horses and dogs. The video is excellent. It made my decision for wanting A Wagging Success to guide Mia toward becoming a therapy dog, and a more special one in our family and community.
When I first adopted my new puppy (Daisy), I was afraid that with my current dog’s history there would be some major hostility. The training methods delivered to me by Vicky completed resolved the problem and quickly resulted in a tight friendship between my two dogs. It was incredible to witness how fast her methods worked as well as some of the puppy training along the way. I would highly recommend Vicky to anyone looking for help with dog integration and puppy training. She is great!
I first met Vicky Kirkland through her dog, Bronco. I always hoped to see him hanging out in front of Goodson Rec Center when I would drop my kids off for preschool or attend a yoga class there. As I got to know Bronco and watched him with his owner, I knew he was the kind of dog that would be perfect for my family. One day I stopped Vicky and introduced myself. I bombarded her with all kinds of questions about her wonderful dog, and she willingly answered, only adding at the end of our conversation that she was a dog trainer. I eagerly took her card knowing that she would be the person I would call when I eventually got a puppy. Having seen the way Bronco behaved and the things he could do, I knew Vicky was the trainer for us!
We had been wanting to get a new puppy for a few years but with small children we decided to wait until the children were a little older. Now that our children are 5 and 3, we decided to pull the trigger this Spring. Once Tucker arrived, our lives certainly changed. For the first month, Tucker was out of control. Chasing and biting the kids at every chance he could. I still remember my daughter standing up on chairs to get away from Tucker and refusing to get down until Tucker was in the kennel.
When we decided to bring a lab puppy into our home, I was a bit unsure. We already had a 5-year old pug along with three young children, ages 6, 4 and 2. Our home is busy to say the least, and I told my husband the only way I would agree to getting a large breed dog was if we would commit to it being a well trained dog. Assuming I was going to be doing this “training” myself, I bought and read up on all the techniques I would need. HA! After just a few weeks of living with our new addition I knew I was in over my head!
As a first time dog owner, I was a little nervous about training my new Golden Retriever puppy, Scout. When Scout was 9 weeks old, I was referred to Vicki and immediately scheduled a private session and then enrolled in her puppy kindergarten class. Scout took the beginner class twice (for strong reinforcement of the basics) and moved on to the intermediate class. By using Vicki’s positive reinforcement training techniques, he became a well-behaved dog from the start. The puppy play at the end of her weekly training sessions taught Scout how to socialize and play well with other dogs. This was one of my favorite parts of the class. Now, he loves meeting new dogs and always wants to play.
Our wonderful Lhasa Apso puppy, Zoee, joined our family when she was 8 weeks old. When Zoee was 12 weeks we started to take her for walks around Clement Park. What a disastrous experience that was! Every dog that Zoee saw sent her flying in between my legs sending us both towards the ground. The closer the dogs came the more frantic she became – she was clearly very afraid of all other dogs. A significant problem.
I started working with Vicky when I got my first dog, Henry. His breeder insisted that I work with Vicky because of her positive approach and clicker training.I didn’t realize how different her methods were from “traditional” dog training, until I saw a trainer teaching a dog to sit by pushing its rear down. He said that he could teach the dog to sit in a couple of weeks. Wow! Vicky could teach that in less than five minutes!
When I first got my Entlebucher puppy Tessie she was calm, cute and so adorable. The first night I had her she started barking at my friend’s dog, and from there on things went down hill quickly. The next step was growling and then she started attacking other dogs. Before I knew it I had an aggressive15 week old puppy who would go after every dog no matter how big or small. I couldn’t let her play outside or be off leash. We had to avoid other dogs even on our walks because she would go balistic.
Scout was 11 months when we got him and a real handful.He had been living in a barn,as his former owner told us he chewed everything in the house,including the staircase! He’s an active Lab,and just needed positive reinforcement,daily exercise and socialization with other dogs and people.
I have had 3 dogs graduate through Vicky’s program. I demand a lot from my dogs as they go to work with me every day and must be perfectly trained dogs. I simply cannot have dogs that bark at people or dogs, dogs that bolt out the door, or dogs that jump up on people. Thanks to Vicky’s program my dogs have fulfilled my expectations and get nothing but compliments at work. Her program teaches the owner how to train their dog with positive reinforcement. She does not just do the basic sits and stays, but the basics of real everyday obedience. Both the dog and owner have fun!
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Vince is a large Golden Retriever who we got in Spring of 2001. Our vet, Dr Clark Nelson recommended Vicki’s training class to us, and we enrolled when Vince was only 5 months old.Vince was not the star of his class. He had trouble focusing on what we wanted from him, and he was very easily distracted by other dogs in the class. But my wife, Kathleen, worked with him on the things that Vicki recommended in class. He was better at some things than others, but he gradually improved.
Why the two of us are a “Wagging Success”
By Briana Jack.
I came across Vicky’s name through a local pet outfitter and made the best call that I could have for myself and my dog, Chrumm. I had a very dominant male Swissy, had being the key. We started training around 14 weeks in Vicky’s beginner class. Our problems were mostly the usual puppy things, but unknowingly I had purchased a very alpha male. He was extremely aggressive toward me, exerting his potentially dangerous with prized possessions like food.
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