Reviews

GEORGIA DOG GYM

"We were amazed by the dog that returned from Kingston Kennels. In place of the wild and unrulely nine month old German Short Hair that we dropped off, we picked up a trained, attentive, and well behaved dog. Scout is now able to heel, sit, stay, and come when called. We finally are comfortable bringing her to the park to play with her friends knowing that she will come when called - improving both Scout's lifestyle and ours. Cyndy is amazing with dogs - a true dog whiperer of the south - who commands respect, love, and attention from the dogs that she works with."

                                                                          Whitney O' Brien

                                                                           Atlanta, GA

Hello Cyndy -

Just wanted to give you a progress report on Ella since we have had her back home for over a month now. She has really done beautifully with the remote collar and with more supervision from us. She seems calmer in general and her sweet nature is much more evident now that she isn't trying to bowl everyone over! Walking her with the remote collar has been such a pleasant experience - such a change from our having to constantly tug on the lead (hard!) to keep her near heeling. She knows the routine and settles down pretty quickly into a nice, behaved creature after we get going on our walk.   She isn't 100% yet, but that will take some time I know - we have the tools to keep her paying attention and she knows what to expect, so I see continued success with Ella.

Thanks so much for everything! We will probably need you again in the future, but for now, things are so much more managable and everyone, including Ella, is much happier.

Sincerely,

Barbra Love

Asheville, NC

We have a Smooth Fox Terrier named Laika (pronounced LYE-kuh). Having never owned a Terrier before, it became readily apparent why the breed is so named. Terms such as stubborn, strong-willed, feisty, and completely insane would not be far off the mark. In fact, after leaving her at Georgia Dog Gym for her first overnight stay, we were greeted with, “You must be here for The Wild One,” when we arrived to pick her up.

Within the first few weeks of introducing her to our family, we had already reached our wits end and decided to seek professional help. A co-worker of ours highly recommended Cyndy Douan at the Georgia Dog Gym. This co-worker had used her boarding training for his Miniature Pinscher and was greatly pleased with the results. Since I wanted a more “hands-on” approach, we signed up for 6 private lessons. After the first lesson we saw a marked improvement, and by the second lesson we felt confident we would be successful in taming what was believed to be untamable. By the fourth lesson we had achieved all our major goals of training. Laika was now completely off leash trained, and would respond to ‘Come, Sit and Stay” commands. She would also go to any one of several places based on the “Place” command that was used.

After just 4 lessons it was remarkable the progress Cyndy was able to make with Laika. Through Cyndy’s recommended use of high-quality treats as positive reinforcement and a remote electronic collar as negative reinforcement, we now have a dog that is the envy of the neighborhood. This combination, along with very regular, consistent practice, has proven to be the right formula. Laika now escorts me and my 6 year old daughter to the bus stop every morning, off leash, and sits by my side as we wait for the school bus. Even though Laika is still just a puppy at 7 months old she sits, wagging her tail vigorously while the other children gather for the bus.

Cyndy’s calm approach, her obvious affection for dogs, and the success thus far make it easy to recommend her services for anyone needing to train their dog.

Sincerely,

Richard Powell

Marietta, GA

FROM A VETERINARIAN:

My dog Sweetie, a 3 year old Plott Hound who would do anything to get to a squirrel, and I just completed the Georgia Dog Gym basic obedience class with Cyndy Douan. I went in to the series of lessons wanting to gain a little control of Sweetie while walking and running at the park. She would occasionally bolt for a squirrel and almost pull me down, or run in front of me and trip me. Through the 6 lessons, we progressed from the basic sit, down, and stay commands to heeling on the leash (a loose leash!). We also started learning the ‘go’ command by playing a really fun game with paper plates and treats. I am very satisfied with what we accomplished, and although we have a lot of work to do at the park with all of those distracting squirrels, I now know how to get to the level of obedience I would like Sweetie to have. I look forward to strengthening this bond with my dog.

Susan Fitzpatrick, DVM

Dr. Fitzpatrick & Sweetie the Plott Hound

Georgia Dog Gym. 35 Fred Kelly Road. Rome, Georgia 30161. 706-378-BARK