Jessica, from Mesa, AZ was referred to us when she adopted her new pitbull puppy, Oso. She wanted to get a good jump start on training with Oso because she felt with his breed that she wanted to have him be an ambassador for the pitbull community. She didn’t want people looking at her dog and seeing an animal they should fear, she wanted a dog who’s friendly demeanor and spunky personality helped people see a new side to this lovable breed of dog. 

We got Jessica and Oso in for our initial visit and even at the first meeting we all felt like we were a good fit to work together. Oso was a calm puppy [most of the time] and had a personality that loved to play and learn. We discussed all the training options and Jessica signed Oso up for our Puppy Unlimited Program.

We started on leash walking skills teaching Oso how to walk with a slip lead to prevent any pulling from happening and a loose leash walk so they could go on long walks or hikes together without one pulling the other. Jessica really wanted a well rounded walker who enjoyed her company and not a dog who was more interested in meeting the other people and dogs walking around. We also focused on command training to make sure Oso would listen not only to the leash, but also follow verbal cues that Jessica gave to him. Oso mastered commands like “place” and “down” quickly and enjoyed long line work to practice coming when called.

Jessica and Oso excelled at our group classes and were exceptional at helping other more fearful and distracted dogs. Oso was calm, respectful and listened to Jessica very well during our classes, so focus could be on teaching the other dogs how to do the same. Sadly for us at Kona’s Dog Training, Jessica and Oso moved out of state for a job, but the move was smooth and much calmer than it could have been without training involved. Jessica also tells us that she regularly has pack walks with friends and colleagues to continue to socialize Oso with and he enjoys the forested hikes that they take almost every weekend. Jessica and Oso are living their best lives these days and with Oso only about a year old they have so many more things to enjoy.