Molly's Story
Meet Molly
We adopted Molly from a shelter in January, 2009. Her age was about 1 year. She is a red Australian Cattle Dog mix and little was known about her past. We were her fifth home, including shelters. She was not a mean dog, but was not manageable, and since we knew little about dog training or behavior we consulted a dog behaviorist/trainer for a 3 hour consultation. The conclusion was that unless we kept her in the house and backyard and crated her when we had visitors, her fear of strangers would lead to aggression. Even under these conditions, she suggested we get insurance covering dog bites since we could be sued and lose our assets. Her conclusion was that unless we followed these recommendations, Molly should be euthanized, and said" at least you gave her 19 days of happiness." She never made an attempt to connect with Molly, only sitting on a stool across from us while Molly glared at her from under the coffee table and barked at her when she moved.
We thought it was a hopeless situation and contacted an ACD rescue shelter. We made an appointment with Diana who planned to meet Molly and take some pictures. Two days before meeting her, she suggested that we call Mark Dunlap, a dog behavior expert and trainer who has had years of experience, both private and group training. He had rescued Rodeo, a purebred ACD from her shelter, and now Rodeo is a partner in training.
After only a one hour session with Mark, there was a remarkable improvement in Molly. He was kind, but assertive, so Molly would know that she was not the dominant, alpha family member. He also trained us. He took us for walks with Rodeo and addressed different issues on each visit. The positive change in Molly was amazing. We have also changed. After 7 fun, informative and pleasant visits , Molly is now a wonderful, well-behaved dog and a pleasure to take on walks.
We followed his training methods and now she loves dog parks, associating well with other dogs and puppys.
We recently took her to the coast, let her run free and she had a wonderful time ( I try not to humanize her too much) running along the beach and playing with other dogs. All of this improvement from a dog that another "behaviorist" suggested euthanizing.
My husband and I give Mark Dunlap the highest recommendation. This could have never been accomplished without his help.
Do not give-up on a dog, even though someone says there is no hope or you think your dog is not manageable. With a knowledgeable and experienced trainer such as Mark Dunlap we now believe there are very few dogs that cannot be saved.
Terry and Nancy Simpson
Tigard, Oregon
We thought it was a hopeless situation and contacted an ACD rescue shelter. We made an appointment with Diana who planned to meet Molly and take some pictures. Two days before meeting her, she suggested that we call Mark Dunlap, a dog behavior expert and trainer who has had years of experience, both private and group training. He had rescued Rodeo, a purebred ACD from her shelter, and now Rodeo is a partner in training.
After only a one hour session with Mark, there was a remarkable improvement in Molly. He was kind, but assertive, so Molly would know that she was not the dominant, alpha family member. He also trained us. He took us for walks with Rodeo and addressed different issues on each visit. The positive change in Molly was amazing. We have also changed. After 7 fun, informative and pleasant visits , Molly is now a wonderful, well-behaved dog and a pleasure to take on walks.
We followed his training methods and now she loves dog parks, associating well with other dogs and puppys.
We recently took her to the coast, let her run free and she had a wonderful time ( I try not to humanize her too much) running along the beach and playing with other dogs. All of this improvement from a dog that another "behaviorist" suggested euthanizing.
My husband and I give Mark Dunlap the highest recommendation. This could have never been accomplished without his help.
Do not give-up on a dog, even though someone says there is no hope or you think your dog is not manageable. With a knowledgeable and experienced trainer such as Mark Dunlap we now believe there are very few dogs that cannot be saved.
Terry and Nancy Simpson
Tigard, Oregon