When Deb met Benny, our two year old Collie/Australian Cattle Dog mix, he was becoming quite the handful.  He was overly excited when company was over or meeting new dogs and people. I feared he was beginning to show signs of aggression. Benny had had an incident with another dog when he was about a year and a half old. An older dog had turned around and attacked him while they walked past each other on the sidewalk.  It grabbed Benny at the back of the neck and Benny ran between our legs, shaking.  He became nervous around new dogs from that point on, and by age two was showing signs of aggression to other dogs.

The first day, Deb spent an hour with us, evaluating Benny who growled, barked, raised fur and kicked grass at the sight of another dog.  He also did not like anyone coming up near me and would herd them away. The first 5 minutes of their meeting, he would not let Deb step into our apartment and when she did cross the threshold, he put his teeth against her hand. Through patience and treats, she gained his trust and they were friends from then on.

My husband and I wanted to do whatever it would take to get our Benny back to being his usual happy self. Deb worked with us to lay out a pretty aggressive homework schedule that required working with Benny every day, multiple times a day.  She showed us how to make him calm inside the house.  Part of Benny's problem was that two long walks a day were not enough exercise, he needed to run and have more mental stimulation. Once he got enough exercise, training him became a lot easier.  He was not so much as aggressive as extremely excitable and sensitive to stimulus.  Deb taught us how to desensitize him so he didn't react so much and how to teach him to be calm in new situations.

In less than 7 weeks, our boy is a changed man!  He is eager to meet and play with new dogs.  My husband and I can take him to the park and actually enjoy the stroll without worrying about him scaring people.  People can come over and enjoy a visit with us while he lays at their feet.  He is learning the agility jumps and weave poles and loves it!  We hope to be able to enroll him in an agility class with other dogs once he gets a little more practice with obeying commands and working while other dogs are present.  The past few weeks were just the beginning of a bright and happy future for Benny and we are thankful to Deb for showing us how to make him a happy dog again.

Jessica Houseman, EI

Carol and Kresge III

Val and Mozart

Like our Angel Louie, we thought that Mozart was a meant to be dog for us.  The day we went to the animal shelter to meet him he wasn’t there because he was in foster care. As we were leaving, who comes down the hall for a check up but Mozart!  He came up to us and immediately leaned on us for love.  We knew he was our next dog.

As the first few months wore on we began to think that we had rescued a dog we just might fail with.  He was “reading” every piece of paper, “wearing” every shoe (and all things in between) that he could get his lips around.  We almost gave up! But two things happened to save the day and make him the great dog he is today. The first thing to happen was we bought a kennel.  He went right in, laid down and found his security. The next thing to happen was agility.  While attending the annual Rural Hills Sheep Dog Trials, we noticed agility obstacles set up in a lower field.  I tried Mozart on all the obstacles, and he loved it!  That led us to find a source for lessons and in turn led us to DogHaven, our haven.

We’ve been going to Dog Haven for over a year now and having the time of our lives.  Mozart is excelling in rally, agility and obedience; and his mom gets to help Deb and Karl. He has jobs and has been able to show just how intelligent he really is.  One day you may even see him on the brags page!  It has been a long and on-going road with plenty of hard work, but there’s so much fun and joy along the way.

Our heart felt thanks go to Deb and Karl for helping make Mozart such an excellent happy boy and for allowing his mom to live her dream of working with dogs!

Val Aldred

MaryLou and Annabel

Annabel is a rescue dog from the Scottie Rescue of Greater Washington DC.  She was found wandering the streets in a small town in WV and was she was dehydrated, undernourished, and had sores all over her body from allergies and dog fights while she lived on the streets.  The shelter in WV was going to euthanize her when Scottie Rescue heard about her.  After two weeks at the vets where her condition was touch and go she made a positive turn and Scottie rescue called to see if we would want to adopt her.  Of course we said yes.  With a lot of love and patience Annabel has thrived.  She has learned obedience commands and how to get along with other dogs.  She has earned her Canine Good Citizen and has progressed in Rally Obedience to the Excellent level.  Annabel is also a therapy dog and is certified with Therapy Dogs International.  She visits an Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s facility each week and also participates in the Therapy Dogs Literacy program at Harrisburg Library.   She will be going to an elementary school to work with children with reading challenges in February of 2008.  Annabel was someone’s discard who is now Dick and my treasure. Training and love made a big difference in this dog's life.

-MaryLou Kuklentz

Marylou and Maddie

Maddie, a wheaten Scottish Terrier, was labeled an ‘out of control’ puppy by her former owners.  She was loved but their busy lives did not allow them to spend the time with her that it would take to teach her to behave.  Dick and I adopted her when she was eighteen months old.  She has come a long way and is our treasure today.  Maddie has learned proper house manners, she has earned her Canine Good Citizen and she is currently competing and titled in both Agility and Rally.   Maddie has been attending the Saturday morning Obedience/Socialization classes with Karl and Deb for over a year.  One of the commands that we learned in that class literally saved her life.  Let me share the story.  While we were visiting some friends their back yard gate was left open by a person working on their house.  We did not know it was open and let our dogs out to run for a few minutes while we were packing up the car.  We saw our other dog, Annabel, walking down the driveway so we knew there was a serious problem.  Maddie, with all her energy and curiosity was roaming the neighborhood.  She was headed to the back of their development that runs parallel to highway 485.  My first reaction was to panic but then I remembered what we had learned in class.  I put a happy tone to my voice and called her to come.  She was almost an entire street away from me.  When she heard my voice she looked up and started running to me.  Needless to say I gave her lots of love and kisses.  She learned the ‘recall command’ in class and we are so grateful that she knew to come to us and not to run in the opposite direction which would have taken her straight to the highway.  

 Marylou Kuklentz

Kaori and Kitty

When Kaori brought Kitty to their first obedience group class, Kitty was extremely tentative. He hid behind Kaori and would not allow anyone to approach or touch him. Kaori religiously brought Kitty to class. His confidence and trust slowly grew, and he eventually allowed people to approach him without retreating behind mom.

Kaori wanted to try agility. Agility has been wonderful for building confidence in shy and fearful dogs. Well, Kitty excelled in agility! He loved it! Kitty became a different dog. You could almost say he was bold! He would prance around class like he owned the place.

Strangers are now able approach and pet Kitty, and he will even go up to some people for a quick sniff! Kitty has a little further to travel down his road, but he has made tremendous advancements and is well on his way!

Deb Knowles

Matisse and Kelly

I remember when I went to see Matisse and Kelly for their very first obedience lesson. Matisse stayed as far away from me as he could and issued warning barks for most of the hour.  He never would allow me to approach him. What a changed dog he is now! Kelly has done a marvelous job in continuing his training and socialization by regularly attending group classes and by exposing Matisse to as many strange people and scary places as possible. Whenever he sees me now, Matisse strains on the leash until I give him the love that he demands!  Karl and I are very proud of Kelly and Matisse for what they have accomplished and for not giving up!

Deb Knowles

Barkley and Molly

We rescued Barkley in August of 2004. He was a great dog in many respects, but he did have some behaviors that we wanted to change. He would nibble on our hands, wouldn’t come when called, and believed that he owned the house.  He was also aggressive when interacting with other dogs, and overly excitable when strangers came to our house.

In December, we decided that Barkley needed some behavior modification, and we, as first-time dog owners, needed to learn more about dog behavior, so we called DogHaven.

Progress was very slow at first. Barkley couldn’t remain in the same area as the other dogs in class because he was always trying to interact with them, and he rarely paid attention to us. We would look at the other well-behaved dogs in class and think that there was no way that Barkley would ever get to a point anywhere close to the point at which they were.  His behavior began to change after a few months attending class and reinforcing, at home, the things we learned in class. He was actually paying attention to us instead of other dogs and distractions. He was also beginning to obey simple commands such as sit, stay, down, etc. His behavior continued to evolve as the year wore on. His focus on us increased almost weekly, as did his ability to do what he was asked. Other owners that started in class at the same time that we did remarked to us about how far Barkley had come. A big step for us was Barkley’s passing the Canine Good Citizen test. This test required him to exhibit behavior that would test everything we had worked on since we started the training.

Following this remarkable progress, we decided to continue working with Barkley to refine his behavior even more. We enrolled in Rally obedience and Agility classes. While he took to the Rally classes like a duck to water, and performed exceptionally well, the agility classes were a different story. Some of the apparatus used in agility were not easy for him to take on. He did not like the weave poles, tunnel, and especially the teeter. Again, after taking time to help him learn the obstacles, and practicing, he eventually took on and cleared them, including the teeter.

Barkley’s behavior is now a source of pride for us. Our family and friends are amazed at how much of a different dog he is as from 2 short years ago. We feel that his obedience and agility training have made both his and our lives much happier and healthier.

Molly Charles

Rebel and Donna

I want to personally thank you for your incredible classes. Not only has it changed Rebel for the better, it has opened up new and exciting doors I never knew existed. Rebel as you know was a "mess". Being a no-kill shelter means you must deal with not only the financial aspects of caring for an animal, but also you must often "undo" poor behavior.  For Rebel, being passed around for nearly his entire 20 months on earth created an insecure dog who was unsocialized and often uncivilized ! After he went through obedience with positive methods, I knew he needed more. Your classes were just the perfect fit. Not only has he blossomed into a loving, obedient dog but much happier as well. Last night I got him to "stay" as I walked out the door. My husband testified he did just that until I returned shortly. What a difference! What fun! I would recommend your classes to anyone and so would Rebel!

Thank you again.

Donna Rogers

President Cabarrus Pets Society

Skip and David

When I first met Skip, I was visiting his home to work with him and David to strengthen Skip's obedience skills. When I walked in the door, there was no dog. As I entered the living room, there was still no dog. Finally I asked where Skip was. David laughed and said that he was right there! Skip was moving parallel to me as I moved around an island in their home to purposely stay out of my vision.  During our session, after 1 1/2 hours, Skip would carefully approach me if I was sitting on the floor and cautiously take a piece of ham from my outstretched hand if I wasn't looking directly at him. This was a major step for Skip.  As our session ended, I recommended that Skip attend our agility classes to strengthen his bond with David and to improve his confidence in people. After 6 weeks of agility and a few of our group obedience classes, Skip is a new dog. David said that he is going through puppy hood again! Skip now barks and plays. He allows people to approach and pet him. And he is a much happier guy!

Skip is just one of the many success stories that we have seen as a result of agility. Agility provides therapy, relaxation, and fun for dogs of all types and personalities. It gives me such a good feeling to see the growth and strengthening within the dogs as they come to class each week and play with their best friend!

Deborah Knowles