“If not for Chris Orchard’s training classes, my Border Collie probably wouldn’t have lived for more than a year…
‘Monty’ came to us as a fluffy, bouncy bundle of fun puppy. Everyone adored him and he was spoilt rotten. But as novice dog owners we didn’t notice the slow change in him over the weeks and months, until one day, almost overnight it seemed, he had suddenly turned into a growling, biting, aggressive, dominant dog.
I read all the books and duly had Monty castrated, which I was assured would calm him down. The only effect was an acute bout of guilty conscience by my partner! I also took Monty to a local training class. In my ignorance – and because so many books recommended it – I tried treat-training. The only effect was a fat, aggressive dog!!
Then it got worse. In turn, Monty bit me, my sister and finally my partner, the latter so badly he nearly had to go to A&E and in sheer desperation he finally gave me an ultimatum – it was either him or the dog! So, I did the sensible thing and asked the vet. His advice?
“Once a snappy collie always a snappy collie. If you want to be a responsible dog owner, have him put down before he seriously hurts someone.”
A week later, while I was seriously considering this awful option, a miracle happened. A complete stranger out with her dog stopped to admire Monty. When I told her about my dilemma, she sent me straight up to Merrow to meet Chris Orchard. And that was the start of a very steep learning curve for me. It was a hard slog at first but within months of joining her classes I began to see subtle changes and things very slowly improved.
It’s taken a while to get there – and he’s not perfect – but I now have a well-behaved, friendly, happy dog. And best of all he knows who’s boss!
Thank you Chris – I can honestly say that you saved my dog’s life!”