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TESTIMONIALS We have a one year old Black Labrador called Rogan. A typical Lab full of energy and excitement. We were wary when out on walks. If Rogan saw a dog in the distance he would ignore any command and run to the other dog. We would like to say a huge thank you Max, after one session you have shown us how to keep Rogan's attention on us to the point where he can ignore the presence of other dogs. You also showed us how to stop him from pulling on the lead. Rogan would also like to say thank you, he has lots more fun now when he is out, he gets to use all that energy with his favourite game FETCH!!! Gordon & Linda Lansley, Penicuik-Black Labrador
I had been having some problems with Joey,
my six year old Dachshund, most noticeably nervous barking at strangers which
was starting to become aggressive. We had a home visit from Max and the results
have been nothing short of incredible. All training was done with gentleness,
kindness and a superb understanding of both dog and owner. In the week since
your visit there has only been one incident worth mentioning and this was under
exceptional circumstances (knee deep snow). I can state that we have a 99%
success rate! The difference in my puppy's behaviour from a nervous and anxious
dog to a much calmer and confident happy puppy is remarkable. Not only has your
expertise and tips helped with his barking, I am using them with his training
which is coming on by leaps and bounds. I have recommended Action 4 Dogs to
several other dog owners and hope that this proves fruitful. I also think the
follow up notes and behavioural tips are useful as an aide memoir as there is so
much useful information in them, which I know I will refer to again and again. I
would recommend him highly to any dog owner and having met some incredibly badly
behaved dogs I wish more people would use his services.
On acquiring my Bulldog puppy', Shiloh, at six months I found her to be very aggressive with other dogs. I also could not get her attention and she was basically doing what she liked. Shiloh responded immediately to the sound and rewards methods you advised us to implement. actually within the space of one day she was coming to recall, sitting and even taught her to give a paw in three ten minute training sessions, also her lead pulling was stopped instantly with your advised change of leash technique. Her dog to dog aggression was our main concern as she was snarling and pulling if any strange dogs came close to her and i was very worried that I would never be able to let her off the lead in public. We worked for a week on the advice you gave us and i am so delighted to say that yesterday my lovely puppy was in the park off lead and playing with Spaniels, Labradors, Greyhounds etc..Shiloh and I cannot thank you enough for understanding her issues and giving us the advice to overcome the problem.' Angela Miller,Newtongrange - Dorset Old Tyme Bulldog I have had occasion to have both 1-2-1individual tuition for my puppy from Max and to attend one of his courses and i have found Max and the Action 4 Dogs classes really very helpful. I am a first time dog owner and at first i was really uptight in wanting to do the right thing for my dog and my family. Max has a very approachable manner which put me at ease instantly. It was brilliant to see him interact with my puppy, and his ability to communicate with my dog was such that Scudo was eager to learn all the new tricks from his new friend and to respond appropriately. This gave me a lot of confidence in Max's methods and when he encouraged me to do what he was doing i found not only that my puppy all of a sudden responded to me, but that i too was on his wavelength. I joined one of the Action 4 Dogs Training Schools and found that Max was able to relate to dogs of all kinds and all ages, and to inspire the owners in a way that helped us all to become more confident and better dog handlers. my family were able to use his instructions, methods and advice during the week, between classes, because Scudo enjoyed being stimulated and recognised our games as fun. He was learning to read our language as we were learning to understand his. I soon felt that my puppy was the best in the class, and actually, in the world, but i think we all felt that way, and i believe that is the way it should be.
I can safely say that Max has given me
confidence, has made me able to deal with so many different aspects of dog
ownership and has made the whole experience enjoyable both for Scudo and my
family. his teachings always make sense, respect the dog's sensitivity
and nature and most of all are great fun for one and all.' We met Max through Gracehounds and saw the results in dogs that he had had 1-2-1 sessions with so I gave him a call about our five year old mongrel Toby. Toby was a very anxious boy when out on walks and he would go up to dogs and people and bark right in their face. He also has a fear of Staffies and Rottweillers after an incident a couple of years ago when he was bitten by a Rottweiller and he would go berserk if he saw one. I wanted to understand Toby and learn how to help him. Max came to the house and after talking about Toby he explained to me that Toby had never learned to deal with situations he found stressful and couldn't cope. I also learned that I had made the situation worse by using techniques that I had been advised to use from another source. We went out for a walk and Max taught me how to use a sound, response and treat technique to get Toby's attention and also how to gain Toby's trust and respect, allowing me to take the lead in a calm manner and get Toby out of situations he found stressful. The session went so quickly but in that time Max taught me how to recognise Toby's signals and to understand things from Toby's perspective. I found the session very informative, Max explains things in a clear manner and also follows up with a report and an action plan. It will not be a quick fix with Toby but already I see a difference in him and now we have an even stronger bond. He is a lot calmer out on walks and I feel confident that with using the techniques that Max has taught me we will go from strength to strength. I also know that Max is at the end of the phone if I am unsure about anything. I highly recommend Max, by the end of the session he had a fantastic bond with Toby and it is plain to see that he is there because he genuinely cares about helping you to help your dog.' Rhona Laing, Edinburgh - Mongrel 'I have a Lurcher and three Greyhounds. I have had the Lurcher from pup and the Greyhounds were rescued. At first they all seemed to get on however the Lurcher turned very aggressive towards the female Greyhound and had attacked and bitten her quite badly on two occasions. Maxwell Muir was recommended to me by Gracehounds. Maxwell came to the house to see for himself how the dogs were interacting (or not) and spent 11/2 hours talking to me, explaining and showing me what I should be looking for and how to avoid any unnecessary stress. I took on board everything that Maxwell told me and now I have learned how to watch for 'triggers'. It has been one month since Maxwell was here and I can say quite honestly that things have changed beyond belief. The Lurcher is much calmer although I still keep her muzzled when I take them out or if I have to leave them in the house together. I get more confident in my ability to keep my dogs calm and happy as time goes on. I do not have enough words of praise for Maxwell and would highly recommend him to anyone having behaviour problems with their dogs.' Alison Brown, Edinburgh - Greyhounds 'Max was recommended to us as we were having problems walking our one year old Maltese Terrier Dog. Whenever Mackay encountered another dog on a walk he would go berserk, barking and snapping uncontrollably to the point that we lost all confidence in taking him out. After a couple of sessions with Max we were able to understand the cause of his behaviour and Max has shown us how to handle and correct this in a calm and effective manner. We are now a lot more relaxed and enjoying walks with Mackay and wish that we had contacted Max much sooner as he has shown a genuine interest in helping us and has been so thorough in his work with Mackay.' Stuart & Amanda Lansley, Bonnyrigg - Maltese Terrier ' Bonnie came to us via North West English Springer Spaniel Rescue. She had lived with six other dogs, she was neglected, very thin and nervous. We felt that we needed to do something to help her socialise with people and other dogs and give her more self confidence. Walking on the lead was becoming difficult, she pulled hard and almost had me off my feet a couple of times. So, we contacted Max. Two days later we can hardly believe the difference in Bonnie. We all went out for a walk and Max showed us that by pulling Bonnie back was entirely the wrong way to deal with her, by using a long leash and a combination of treats and praise we worked wonders, in fact by the evening we noticed she was calmer altogether. The next day we put the new training methods into practice, they are so simple but make so much sense, the difference in Bonnie is amazing and lead walking is easy now, all of us are less stressed and Bonnie is growing in confidence.' Allan & Mary Bruce, Eskbank - English Springer Spaniel
' We own a
3 1/2 year old male Staffie who is castrated and we also have a 1 1/2 year old
American Bulldog who is not castrated. We have had both dogs since they were
puppies. They both got on great together to begin with but recently the Staffie
started very aggressive attacks on the Bulldog over what seemed to be nothing,
or so I thought. The 'fights' intensified with each one leading to serious scars
and puncture wounds. We just did not know what to do and in desperation we
called
Action
4
Dogs.
Max came to our home and in just a couple of hours he totally changed
everything. He explained patiently and in great detail exactly where we were
going wrong and helped us to understand our dog's needs, the fights have since
stopped completely. Not only has Max helped us retrain our dogs but he has
trained the whole family so to speak. Thank you Max! '
' I asked Max for advice as I was having a difficult time with my German Shepherd, Jemma. I had been walking her on a short lead and she also wore a muzzle as she seemed aggressive towards other dogs. Walks were very stressful for us both. After a training session with Max my attitude has completely changed. Now Jemma is on a long lead and we have given up the muzzle, what a difference. We are both much more relaxed. She is responding well to her new training, when a dog comes near we use the sound and treat method as Max had shown me and it works well. I used to dread my walks with Jemma but now we look forward to going. We will be keeping this up. Thanks Max. ' Joan Richardson, Musselburgh - German Shepherd ' I was having trouble training and bonding with my 2yr old collie Scamp. I was looking for a trainer who uses kind and reward based methods and who is genuinely interested in your dog. This is exactly what I found with Max's training methods. After a 1-2-1 session Max gave me lots of advice and help with getting Scamp to focus on me and respond to a recall using food based rewards (cheese being the favourite!). Scamp was really responsive to Max and you could tell he was having fun as well as learning. I wish I had contacted Max a year ago for help but even now I can see a difference in Scamp and I'm more aware of how I respond as well. Definitely recommended!' Julie Mayes, Biggar - Border Collie 'Seraph, my white long haired German Shepherd is a nervous and highly strung young bitch who was not well socialised and was quite aggressive towards other dogs. Max suggested that we walk together with his own dogs so that they could help her to rediscover her dog language and communication skills and learn to interact better with other dogs. I have to say that after three or four sessions with the aforementioned well balanced team, her behaviour has improved markedly. Seraph and I look forward to more walks and interaction with Max and his pack.' John Hazzard, Gorebridge - German Shepherd 'Barak and I both greatly appreciated and benefited from your visits to see our puppy Sweeney. Your methods of training were well demonstrated by you and easy for us to put into practice. We both felt that throughout the consultations you were clear and concise, explaining to us how the mind of our dog works, detailing why certain methods will work and why some methods will not. Having that background information has helped us in other areas with Sweeney. We enjoyed your visits and the fact that you were so natural and caring, you obviously enjoy a sound relationship with dogs.' Barak & Michelle Krawczyk, Rosewell - Staffie-Cross
' We have already seen a small improvement in
Oscar. He still has his moments but they are definitely fewer. It is really
quite encouraging for both Sandy and me, that even after only a few days, seeing
these small improvements gives us all a bit of an incentive to keep persevering.
Makes me wish I had done this much sooner. I can't thank you enough for your
time and advice and no doubt we'll be in touch if any problems arise in the
future.' 'Max has been a great help with my dog's behaviour. I would highly recommend him to help and aid you to have a confident and problem free dog.' Carole Bootland, Penicuik - Black Labrador
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