Meet Pierce From Peru, IL

Pierce began his dog training with Discover Pet Training as a young 12 week old puppy. This bouncy dalmatian had tons of energy and was beginning to resource guard his food dish. Right away we began working on building confidence and helping him feel comfortable around the food bowl. This began the process to help him so he did not feel the need to guard anymore.

We are happy to report Pierce quickly got over his guarding issues. We also worked on obedience and even a few tricks too to help him grow into a great adult dog.

Pierce was doing fantastic, but that wasn’t all he needed to learn. This puppy also needed to be comfortable around young children that would come over. We got to work making positive associations with kids and helping his owner understand when Pierce needed a break.

As As Pierce grew bigger and his energy requirements grew too he took several group classes with us. We think he loved our Fun with Agility and More class the most :). In the group classes he learned how to be calm around other dogs and people while still having a blast. He also went home tired, which his owner was very thankful for.

Here is what his owner Peggy had to say about Pierce’s training with us, “We’ve been with Marisha since Pierce was pup. She uses only positive reinforcement that results in rapid learning and has helped build trust and confidence in our canine family member. She helped me work extensively on safety with small children and the outcome was amazing. I’ve learned more things about dogs than I ever imagined. Marisha shows a great deal of love for her students and is very knowledgeable. Every dog deserves the best!”

Meet Ava from Ottawa, IL

Ava began her dog training with Discover Pet Training as a young German Shepherd puppy eager to learn. She started with our Growing Up Social Puppy Class and has taken almost all of our group classes we offer.  Ava’s owners knew it was important to keep a herding breed busy and that training is an excellent way to do just that. Because of this she is a wonderful success story about being proactive instead of reactive when it comes to raising a puppy.

Anytime a behavior problem began to blossom we were able to work with her owners right away to nip it in the bud. Ava got over her shyness and alarm barking quickly and now is a social butterfly. She has done so well with her training that she has earned the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy award, several Trick Dog titles, and is now working hard at earning her AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) *UPDATE AVA PASSED HER CGC CLASS :)*.

Ava makes friends anywhere she goes, which is a lot of places since she is so well behaved she gets to go with her owners all the time :). You are sure to see her around the Illinois Valley.

Here is what Ashley, Ava’s owner, had to say about Ava’s Training with us: “We heard about Marisha from Progress Park Vet Clinic in Peru. We’ve been with her since Ava was 3 months old. We can’t imagine life without her. She has so much patience with every dog. Lots of knowledge and encouraging words. She’s training us as well, honestly. We recommend her to everyone looking for a trainer. She offers a variety of classes for dogs of all ages. A tired dog is a good dog! Our favorite class is the agility class!!”

Meet Gibbs – a rescued border collie/ golden retriever mix

Gibbs is a rescued border collie/ golden retriever mix that began his dog training with Discover Pet Training when he was just under 2 years old. He was incredibly shy and scared of everything, and we mean everything. Because Gibbs was so terrified he would try to keep the scary things away the only way he knew how to, by acting out aggressively. Basically saying stay away or I will get you as a way to protect himself.

We got to work and started his training with the clicker and rewarding him when he just relaxed a little. As he began to settle in we added some obedience and trick training to build his confidence up. We also worked with him and his owner to change his mind of the world around him. Over many sessions we taught him that instead of thinking “something scary is going to happen” when he saw a new person or dog or a car or heard a noise that these new items in his environment brought good rewards and were not that scary after all. Gibbs slowly began to feel comfortable in his environment. He was able to go on hikes and even go camping with his owner without freaking out at noises, people, or animals.

Here is what Jaime, Gibbs’ owner had to say about his dog training with us, “I just wanted to give you some Gibbs happy news! We’ve had a lot of repair people in and out of our house the past months and I’m very happy to say, while he is still timid, he has been able to meet and greet strangers without any signs of aggression. He’s also able to go into stores with me. I worked on a “focus” command so he stays right by me and very very rarely reacts to strangers and with a little reassuring he’ll allow petting the biggest thing I can honestly say he has accomplished is the vet’s office. He went in for his annual check up and I was fully prepared to muzzle him because of his reaction last time and the staff cleared the front of the clinic as a precaution. However the little stinker went in a little nervous, but little tail wags and a huge smile! He was able to meet and greet all of the staff as well as sit without restraint for his shots and check up! He still has his moments but I’d say he’s 90% better than when you first met him! Thank you again for all your help!!!”