Jean, Alan & Otto, Frizington

After a chance meeting with Brian (Dogs Listen Up) we took the plunge and enlisted his help with our Miniature Schnauzer, Otto. Although we have had dogs for many years, neither of us had ever had such a young puppy to deal with, and the thought of his imminent arrival in our home was causing some anxiety, since we were eager to give him the best start in life.

Brian came to see us at home before Otto had moved in, and during this visit, he helped us to prepare the house for a new puppy. This was invaluable since it made us focus on basic issues, such as where to house the puppy crate and where to create a toilet area in the garden. The advice that he gave us at this time has enabled us to ensure that good habits were established from the very beginning, and provided a solid foundation for the training programme, which began in earnest when Otto reached the age of 16 weeks.

Otto is now six months old and, thanks to his training, has been a delightful addition to our family. He walks to heel and sits patiently when we come to a stop. He will stay until we call him, and, amazingly, understands the “down” command! We are having great fun practicing the “recall” and have found many places to play hide and seek! With Brian’s advice, toilet training has been amazingly simple, and, in total, we have only had 5 “accidents” in the house.

We would have no hesitation in recommending Brian and his one-to-one training methods to anyone thinking of bringing a new puppy into their home. We will miss our training sessions with Brian, but we feel reassured that we can contact him at anytime should problems arise in the future.