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Three Cheers For Underdog Training

poochiemama

By poochiemama,
in General Dog Discussion

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poochiemama

poochiemama

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I read the thread about K9pro and how great he was in training someone's dog. I was inspired to write about our training experiences with Tamara from Underdog.

In the past, we'd wasted so much money on trainers for our lab and our goldie, both adolescent puppies :thumbsup:

One 'behaviourist' charged us $350 for an hour's work where she basically wrote a 'checklist' of all the problem behaviours they were showing, and then said she'd send us a treatment plan - the plan was basically an account of the sort of problems they had and advice that 'they will grow out of it'.

We were really beginning to lose hope and as a last ditch effort, tried Tamara (Cosmolo). She was reasonably priced and had rave testimonials, but I was quite cynical about whether she could really achieve such great results in just a few sessions. I was so pleasantly surprised. She really gave us practical, hands-on training, especially in regards to manners around the home and loose-lead walking. After the first two sessions, the pooches learnt to go to their mat until they were released, door manners and even began to stay on their mats when guests come over! Their walking was much improved too. I think we had about 4 sessions in total with her . At the last session, we were walking with her and the dogs down a road in our neighbourhood, and they were walking so beautifully that a neighbour called out to Tamara and asked whether she had a business card (he must have seen us being dragged and pulled along by our pooches every day on walks ).

I can't believe the change in them. We had dogs that we were constantly catering to (I used to ask my husband not to make too much noise, in case our lab woke up from sleep, because that would mean an evening of noise and chaos in the house!! Now, we just do what we want and Charlie has learnt to behave well regardless).

She is not only great with the dogs but also great with PEOPLE . As an added bonus, she told us in a no-nonsense way that our dog was overweight (which we really needed to hear bluntly so we could do something about it) as well as told us she thinks Charlie may have hip dysplasia! She was right on both accounts, and not only has Charlie lost heaps of weight as a result but he has also had his hip sorted out.

So thanks a million Tamara and I'm telling everyone about you guys! Someone actually stopped me on a walk with my goldie the other day and said 'You're so lucky, I wish my dog was as well-trained as that!' I was so excited but tried to be all casual and just said 'Thanks a lot' and told them about Underdogs!

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Cosmolo

Cosmolo

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Thanks poochiemama- but i think much of the credit should go to the work you have out in too. Thanks for a lovely post though, it is so nice when your work is recognised!

I do hope Charlie ics coping ok post surgery too. Give him a kiss from me.

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spoilt lab lives here

spoilt lab lives here

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One 'behaviourist' charged us $350 for an hour's work where she basically wrote a 'checklist' of all the problem behaviours they were showing, and then said she'd send us a treatment plan - the plan was basically an account of the sort of problems they had and advice that 'they will grow out of it'.

Sounds like my experience! He charged us $300 and all we got out of it was each person in the house should walk/feed/train/groom etc etc and that she will always be the way she is now so there is nothing you can do for her. Was a total waste of time.

Great thread!

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poochiemama

poochiemama

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Cosmolo, I just nominated you for an MDBA award.

Thank you for your well wishes - Charlie is doing great post-surgery and has been suprisingly very easy to keep settled and has adjusted to his crate beautifully. We are nearly 3 weeks post op, so only another 3 weeks and then we can do XRays; it's all-consuming though, and the first week I was just in tears every day as it was so stressful to see him in pain. But now it's a lot easier. I can't wait for him to heal so we can continue our training. Hannah is coping well too and we are trying to walk her every day so she doesn't get bored. She is also a HUGE fan of the frozen Kong, which I just discovered and she spent hours with it yesterday (Charlie was not as enthusiastic but that's ok).

Hope all is well and Gilbert is too cute - i saw your post about him doing the retrieve after seeing the other dog, unbelievable!!!!

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