In April of last year, I decided my 7-year-old Golden Retriever needed a friend and came across Lola the Bloodhound who needed a new home. I thought that adopting would have to be much easier than raising a puppy. She was already 2 years old, but it didn’t take long to realize she was full of bad habits that were impossible to break on my own. She would not acknowledge I was calling her name when we were outdoors and was doing whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She was hauling me around on the leash and I tried every different method of harness/collar I came across but was having no success with anything. As a big hiker with my Golden, this was a huge downfall and change to our routine. Lola was horrible when driving in the vehicle, barking at every person, dog, or object that we drove past. She was counter surfing and destroying things at home, and howling/lunging at dogs and people when walking through our neighbourhood or when tied on in the backyard. Due to her size and associated power, I knew it was only a matter of time before she got us into trouble, so I decided it was time to get professional help. I remembered previously coming across a woman walking her extremely well-behaved and obedient dog off leash – when I asked her who she used as a trainer she said Mango Dogs. I checked them out online and decided to reach out and schedule a consultation right away.

Ted and Amy were very attentive and gathered all the required information at the first session to come up with the best training package to suit our needs. Each session was very informative, and we progressed towards breaking bad habits and meeting various goals at each one. Lola needed a few more sessions than expected due to her strong-willed nature, but Amy was always very patient and willing to see us again.

Lola picked up on some things (such as off leash recall or the place command) as quickly as the end of the lesson, and others (such as on leash sauciness and howling) took a lot more time and effort – we are still working very hard with Lola at home to iron out these remaining kinks, but she has drastically improved from the time that we initially reached out for help. I have friends that often mention how much she has changed in a very positive way since I first brought her home.

I cannot imagine that I would have got even 1/100th as far as we have if it wasn’t for Amy and Teds assistance, knowledge and training style/methods they use at Mango Dogs. I already do and will continue to highly recommend Mango Dogs to anybody who is having trouble and needs assistance with their dogs. I believe they have the skills and knowledge to help owners work out any issues with any breed. We will likely be attending group class for many many Saturdays into the future!

Alice Prim