what our clients say about Jo & Graham Milgrew
Dog Training & Behavioral Therapist
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26th August 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
We approached Jo to assist us with some severe aggressive behavioural problems we had with our rescue Yorkshire Terrier. He had a known abusive past by his previous owner and came to us with anxiety, aggression and possessiveness. His behavioural patterns were complicated and exceedingly difficult to fully overcome. In spite of this, Jo greatly assisted us in attempting to conquer the problems by visiting us at home and providing sensible and direct guidance to help us all counteract our problem with Pip. Jo asked many questions to gain a full understanding of the situation and the problem with the dog. Jo's patience, knowledge and constant communication helped to improve the situation and gave us peace of mind! We fully recommend Jo and thank her for all her assistance.
Pip's is a very damaged dog who struggled with visitors, strangers, children and dogs and often became aggressive as a result. This was particularly difficult for his owners who live in very a busy part of London without a private garden so couldn't provide him with the quiet life he needed and made following a training program extremely hard - even though the family did make every effort to do so. Fortunately for Pip, after reviewing all the options and appropriate consultation, including with their Vet, they recognised that he could be helped in the right environment and re-homed him to a lady who is experienced in rehabilitating small dogs. This was a painful decision for the family who truly love him, but they have put Pip first which is all that can be asked for in these circumstances.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4998
London
18th August 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Before we met Jo, Dolly did not respond to any commands and could not be walked off the lead. She was very mischievious! She now is very responsive to commands and can happily be walked off lead and return when called. She had issues with cars and cyclists but she has responded so positively and is now far calmer. Jo has made a huge impact and Dolly is now a far improved version of her lovely self.
Dolly is a Swedish Valhund which is a similar breed to our Corgis. When I first saw her she was 8 months old and as is typical with most "teenagers" (which is what she was equivalent to at the time) there was a long list to tackle. She liked to chew and shred things plus dig up plants. She pulled on the lead, jumped on people and lunged at passing cars and cyclists. She had got so bothered by cars that she didn't want to go out for a walk and ran away rather than have the lead put on. She also wouldn't come back when called. She also hated being left on her own. Dolly's owner has patiently worked with her tackling everything bit by bit rather than trying to do everything at once and 9 months later she now has a dog that she has a great bond with and is a total delight to be around.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4985
Chelmsford, Essex
18th August 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Great way of training. With 3 children it is hard to take Mac to training. It also means he is trained in obedience in the house before outside. Jo made it very easy and explained everything very well. If you want to stop your dog being a pest with chickens and children call Jo!!
I first saw Mac who is a black Golden Doodle when he was 11 weeks old. He lives on a farm with a very busy family who were very keen to get it right from the outset. Macs training was halted when he broke his leg badly and had to spend 10 weeks in the Vets healing. He went in as a puppy and came out as a teenager who was keen to test all the boundaries set before his accident. Fortunately his owner had spent lots of time every week visiting him so the bond was still strong and he is now settling back into the family routine.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4986
Ingatestone, Essex
16th August 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Ted is a 10 month old cross Jack Russell/Pekingese and Jo obviously has an excellent rapport with dogs and a very friendly approach to the dog owners. Despite Ted jumping all over her, licking, barking and nuzzling when they first met, Jo managed to quieten him down very effectively. We were shown many training methods to calm Ted down, spent a session in the garden with a long recall rope and told strategies to stop attention seeking barking. We have since bought the recommended clicker, which is having the desired effect on getting to come when called so we will persevere with this in the house and garden. It is fairly difficult to ignore constant barking but Jo told us of various methods to cope with this.
We felt we could ask Jo questions that we would not necessarily ask a vet and were given straightforward answers - so we will now arrange to have Ted neutered!
It is very helpful to be given the fact sheets and training instructions to follow at the end of the session and pleasing to know we can call Jo at any time for assistance.
Ted is a very active little dog who loves people and loves attention. His owners called me in after he escaped from the house and they couldn't get him to come back to them for some period of time. His owners had previously tried several methods to get him to come when called to them including a whistle and Ted had learned to ignore all of them. The habit of running free and ignoring his owners had become more rewarding than returning to them. Introducing a clicker for Ted was specifically to help with recall (come when called) and using a long recall rope was introduced for safety so his owners could practice without worrying about him running off. This is always started with minimum distractions as it is not fair to ask a dog to learn something new when there are lots of interesting new things happening nearby.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4982
Croydon, Surrey
7th August 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
My husband actually contacted Bark Busters as I was in a terrible state and felt that we had to re-home Toddy as he was so badly behaved. He was aggressive, toilet training was just not happening, we were not getting any enjoyment at all from having a pet, it was basically a disaster. The appointment was booked and if I am honest I really was not holding out much hope, I felt that I was the only person in the world with such a badly behaved dog.
From the moment Toddy and I met Jo I felt at ease, she was so reassuring and helpful from the start, we have had two home visits to date with Jo and I was quite proud as Jo was really pleased with Toddy's progression on the last visit. Toddy is becoming a very well behaved Patterdale Terrier, I have had so many individuals make such negative comments about the Patterdale breed and Toddy before they even interact with him, yes he has loads of character but I wouldn't change him for the world.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Jo at Bark Busters, thank you so much Jo for all your help with Toddy.
Toddy is a full on feisty Patterdale Terrier. There is no getting away from the fact that this breed needs lots of exercise and stimulation or they will start to play up which is why they have the reputation for being hard work. However, they do make great family pets provided you know how to handle them and with these owners it was just a case of knowing what to do. Toddy has responded brilliantly. He is keen and quick to learn and now his excess energy is properly channeled he has stopped being snappy and disobedient. He will always be very lively and playful which can make him hard work, but it also makes him lots of fun to have around. There is never a dull moment when you own a Patterdale!!
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4970
London
6th August 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo was very thorough in observing Rosie and her behaviour. We were pleased that she felt Rosie would improve if we followed her training methods. We were surprised how quickly we could see a difference in her behaviour. The workshop we recently attended was particularly good and everyone involved on the day seemed very committed to helping us resolve Rosie's issues. When we left we felt really hopeful that Rosie will eventually be able to be off-lead and tolerate other dogs so that she can socialise with them and enjoy herself. Hopefully making it easier for us when taking her for a walk.
Rosie is a Husky/German Shepherd cross who was dumped with her new born puppies on an apartment complex in Cyprus where these owners have a holiday home. The puppies all found new homes, but Rosie didn't and her owners went to a lot of trouble and expense to bring her back to the UK with them. She has had to learn from scratch what it is to live in a house and to listen to her owners rather than making her own decisions. She has also had to learn to walk on a lead which is totally alien to her and to cope with living in a noisy and busy suburban area. She loves people so did want to jump on everyone, but it now learning to sit when approached. She also felt that she had to protect the house and garden and bark at the slightest noise, but will now stop and come away when called. She has come on in leaps and bounds and is now only really struggling with her fear of other dogs. To start with she would react to any dog she saw but can now walk past them without reacting and is slowly gaining her confidence. Street dogs do make truly wonderful pets and Rosie is well worth the time and effort her owners are devoting to her.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4968
Romford, Essex
31st July 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo is fantastic. She has a real understanding of dogs and explains everything in simple terms regarding our dogs behaviour re barking, snatching and holding items in his mouth, chasing our cats and attention seeking behaviour. Jo has really helped me gain an insight into what Ralph is thinking and helps me when training with the excellent guide sheets Jo has provided as back up to all the she advice gives. She is a star and I would recommend her readily to others.
Ralph is a very happy Cavalier King Charles spaniel who I first saw at 5 months old. He was getting into all sorts of mischief as young dogs do and was severely testing the patience of his owner with his determined chasing of the family cats. He just saw everything as a game and wanted to either be chasing or to be chased. If his owners wouldn't pay attention he would make sure they did by finding something to grab and running around with it. His owners have worked with Ralph so that he listens to them and he can now live alongside the cats (one even likes him now). His owners have taught him to drop it and leave it where he knows that if he does he gets something better and he now gets to play other much more fun games with them.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4960
Romford, Essex
31st July 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
We've been given excellent advice by Jo. We followed all of Jo's advice and seen brilliant results. We now have a happy and calm older dog Louie after changing our routine. He shows much less aggression and is now excited for his walks! Louie has shown so much improvement that we we've been able to introduce a second dog Tilly to the pack - which didn't seem possible earlier in the year! Jo also picked up on an underlying health issue which has been promptly solved. We highly recommend Jo!
Louie is a little Chihuahua who wasn't a very happy dog when I first met him. He didn't like dogs or strangers, was grumpy with his owners at times and reluctant to go on walks. His owners wanted the absolute best for him and were doing what they thought was right for him as good dog owners, but were getting increasingly worried as they were getting conflicting advice and nothing seemed to be working. When I see a dog like this I always consider health because a dog in discomfort or pain can be aggressive. Louie was not walking properly, but it was not obvious - just a slight kick movement in his leg and an odd gait, but this proved to be a knee problem that needed Vet treatment. His owners have made a lot of changes to help Louie and he is now a totally different dog. It was a delight to see him happily greet me and to see him settling down with their new dog Tilly.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4961
London
31st July 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo has been very helpful, showing us techniques that have enabled us to improve the behaviour of our dogs immensely and also reinforced the training when we have let things lapse a bit. This has given us more confidence in how we work with our dogs in a friendly and supportive manner. We would thoroughly recommend Jo and Bark Busters to other dog owners.
These owners have 2 staffordshire bull terrier girl and boy siblings. They had a lot to deal with. Squabbling dogs who fought for their owner attention and with each other to get out of the front door. Crying and whining when left on their own. Jumping up and nipping/licking visitors. Pulling heavily on the lead and having a go at some other dogs. Barking madly at people going past and when the doorbell rang. What made it harder is that there was always two of them to deal with. They are now very good on the lead, rarely squabble, have stopped nipping visitors and the jumping and licking can be controlled a lot better - if not perfectly. They will also stop barking on command. The owners are now working on leaving them safely without using a crate. They worry that they are not doing a good enough job, but I see two much better behaved and much happier dogs and that is a major achievement.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4962
London
29th June 2014
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
We booked a session with Jo to help re-train recall and reduce lead pulling with our 18 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Willoughby. It was a complete revelation as Jo was about to establish in a few short minutes that Willoughby is almost certainly deaf. Willoughby had previously been very good with recall and I had spent a lot of time training him since he was 8 weeks old, but over the last 6 months or so he had rapidly gone downhill and was at the point where he wasn't listening at all any more. Well, no wonder - he couldn't hear a thing we were saying!
Discovering our lovely boy was deaf was upsetting, but Jo was so reassuring and was able to adjust her training plan seemingly instantly - she talked us through alternative training methods and ways to communicate with Willoughby so that he could understand and that we wouldn't feel frustrated. After a bit of trial and error we discovered he could hear a whistle and Jo gave us the knowledge we needed to get him back into the swing of training. It was so lovely to see him alert and wagging his tail, responding to commands again like he used to. Jo gave us a lovely gift, and that was the gift of confidence in our dog again - he was capable and was willing we just needed to learn new ways of communicating with him.
With regards to lead pulling, Jo was fantastic in demonstrating how to better control Willoughby with our ezydog harness and delivering some home truths about the problems of walking a puller on a flexi lead! We've taken these lessons to heart and have taken away the flexis, and are dedicated to following her plan and are confident with some perseverance we will begin to see great results. Thanks Jo!
Willoughby is an exceptionally well trained Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. When a dog has hearing loss it is not always obvious to an owner. It is very rare that a dog will have complete hearing loss (just like humans) and loss is often gradual so a dog will develop coping mechanisms to deal with it. An intelligent dog like Willoughby looks for visual cues and responds as though he can hear when he can't. In Willoughbys case he couldn't hear any high pitched noises and that included a normal dog whistle. He did react to very loud banging and could hear a loud low pitch police whistle his owner fortunately had, but not to clapping and floor stamping. Stamping often does work as a dog can feel vibration through floor boards, but his owners floors were concrete so vibration didn't carry.
There are several methods for training deaf and hard of hearing dogs which we discussed. Willoughbys owner had already done a great job of teaching hand targeting (teaching a dog to touch your hand with his nose) so this could be adapted and used as a hand signal for recall. Normally you would call your dogs name and then use your hand to get your dog to come back to you and touch it. In this case the whistle was used instead of calling him vocally followed by the hand signal. Lead walking is more complex as Willoughby couldn't hear any vocal guidance so it was combination of using a 2 point harness to communicate physically with him and food to lure him to pay attention to his owner.
Training a deaf or hard of hearing dog can be just as much fun and just as effective as training a hearing dog. A bonus is that very often a deaf dog is more attentive to its owner once an owner knows how to communicate with their dog.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4932
Romford, Essex
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