Sandy and Gary Criter, from Fountain Hills, AZ called us at Kona’s Dog Training looking for answers and help for their newly adopted Australian Shepherd Mix, Millie. They had told us they were looking for a great companion for their older Boxer and went to the rescue and fell in love with Millie right away.

Millie was found of the Navajo Reservation and had recently had a litter of puppies, and Sandy and Gary knew they couldn’t leave her. They were not given much information about Millie because she had only been at the rescue a few days and took her home without any issues. That changed on a day later when they were on a walk and Millie began lunging and barking at passing people, but was even worse when she saw another dog. She would growl and pull on the leash, almost knocking Sandy to the ground. Sandy and Bill knew this was a problem and they didn’t feel comfortable even going outside to their front yard.

Sandy and Gary came in for a visit and said that they could never give up on Millie, but couldn’t live with the fear that they couldn’t control her. She didn’t listen to any commands in the house and outside she was in a whole other world. They were worried this couldn’t be fixed and felt like there was no hope, but we reassured them that that wasn’t the case at all.

They were not alone in this and many owners have these concerns with dogs every day. After this, they signed Millie up for our Unlimited Program right away. Each lesson we taught Sandy and Gary how to use the proper leash and how to communicate with Millie without getting overwhelmed. We worked on getting Millie to listen better to commands by teaching her rules and showing how discipline would help to clarify any confusion. Every time they came for a lesson, which included home and public lessons we all saw great progress with Millie’s reactions around dogs and crowds. She was calmer and began watching her surroundings, instead of fearing them. Dogs barking in their backyards, kids playing in their yards and people saying “hi” became something Sandy and Gary came to enjoy and Millie relaxed around. Sandy and Gary are really happy that retired life includes Millie!