Molly, Sammy & Sparky
How Walk and Train made my life easier.
I have two dogs, Molly a 12 year old Collie cross and Sammy a 6 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier who were well behaved, until I started fostering Staffordshire Bull Terrier Sparky. He had a few issues, e.g. nipping/biting me when I said the word ‘No’ and he kept bullying my 12 year old dog. The two males (my Sammy and foster dog Sparky) didn't always get on, so I contacted the rescue who got in touch with Walk and Train on my behalf.
When I took Sparky out for a walk for the first time he took me for a jog. I use a stroller/walker as I have MS so it helps with my balance and stops me falling. I then had someone out with me to make sure I was safe, it was a nightmare as I had the two staffies at the front, Molly at the back of me. I didn't enjoy walking them at all until Walk and Train came out to help me.
I thought I was quite good at reading a dogs’ body language, ha I learned at lot more in the first day with Linnea than I imagined I would! I thought Sparky was calm but he wasn't so Linnea showed me how to get him calm, also have him calm when getting ready to go out a walk. Linnea made a figure 8 with the lead and wrapped the lead around the handles, then off we went. The first walk was with Sparky and we had to keep him focused we went back to the house and got Sammy out, he knew straight away how to walk at the side of stroller/walker, but Sparky still had to be corrected. Linnea asked how I felt with the walk, I was confident and really happy to be able to walk them without them pulling. I went out with them myself the next few days until Walk and Train came back out to see how I was doing. On the second meeting Sparky was a lot better even more so on the walk. Sammy had been picking up on some of Sparky's bad manners so I started using some of the tools Linnea gave me on him. The walk was much more enjoyable and I was praising when needed.
My life has changed dramatically now that I can get them calm, the household isn't as unruly. Walk and Train really helped me gain confidence and made my daily walks a much more confident and pleasant experience. Can't thank them enough. I really liked that they show you how to do things and explain why they are doing everything in a way that’s easy to understand. Now that I have the right tools I'm a lot more confident and assured and I would highly recommend Walk and Train to anybody and will :-). Thank you Walk and Train you have made Sparky ready for his new forever home.
- Toni
