what our clients say about Jo & Graham Milgrew
Dog Training & Behavioral Therapist
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18th September 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
We have never owned dogs before so having two 8 month old Daschunds was a bit of a challenge. They barked and growled at everyone and everything, did not respond to any kind of commands, fought over their food bowls and taking them out was a complete nightmare. Pulling on the lead, picking up everything on the ground, snarling at passers by as well as being very frightened of them.
When Jo arrived we spent about an hour chatting about the dogs and what we would like to achieve with them and then she met them. The barking was fearsome but using the commands Jo gave us and the Ttouch technique we were able to calm the girls. We were all able to sit in the garden while she talked to us and wrote up her notes. We have carried on with the training and are implementing that with lead training, making the walking far more pleasant. We also use the Ttouch technique every day which has had a calming effect and enabled us to make significant progress with the training.
Jo is fantastic, very calming to us as well as the dogs and from her first sight of the dogs was able to pinpoint the issues with both of them.
Jo took the time to explain everything in great detail to ensure we understood what we needed to do. Her knowledge was comprehensive and she made sure we had a training plan in place ready for her next visit which was simple for us to achieve. After spending almost four hours with us, from the first visit we started to notice an huge improvement in the dogs behaviour.
Jo has been terrific and very supportive and we are very grateful for the on going help we are receiving.
These clients were rather brave. They agreed to take on 2 Daschunds who were sent from family abroad. The families location in Africa meant that the dogs had no experience of walking on roads, traffic, plus meeting people on walks because the local population actively avoided meeting any dogs. Their busy lifestyle meant the dogs had not been taught basic manners and their new owners had to start from scratch with two extremely frightened dogs who had travelled half way around the world to get to them. Even experienced dog owners would have been hard pressed to deal with the little whirlwinds that came out of the crate from the airport. Fortunately the girls have landed on their paws with their 2 new owners as they are prepared to put all the time and effort needed to deal with all their fears and work patiently and carefully to build up the girls confidence and protect them when they are anxious and unhappy. They are making really good progress and it is lovely to see the true loving nature of these two little dogs emerge from behind the snarling barking masks they put up to protect themselves from the world. The greatest pleasure was to see the dogs pottering around and having the confidence to have a little sniff to check me out on my last visit and I look forward to seeing how they do in the future.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4557
Westcliff, Essex
4th September 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
From the very start Jo could identify straight away the issues we were having with Bentley. After spending four hours with us, from the 1st visit we instantly started to notice Bentley's behaviour improve.
Jo was brilliant and took the time to explain everything in great detail to ensure we understood everything. Jo's knowledge was very impressive. She ensured we had a training strategy in place ready for her next visit which was simple for us to achieve.
Bentley's progress is still ongoing but without Jo's help we wouldn't be where we are today with him!!! Big thanks
Bentley is a Dogue De Bordeaux and a gentle giant. He is very noise sensitive and if something startles or scares him when he is outside he will pull his owners to get away and go back home. His owners are patiently working with him to help him cope with his noise fear. This is not something that can be achieved quickly but they are making great progress.
When it comes to general training, Bentley is excelling himself. He has been doing really well with recall (coming when called)and is already at the stage where he can move on from basic to advanced training. He loves every minute he spends learning new things with his owners and for such a young dog he is showing remarkable promise.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4539
Rayleigh, Essex
2nd September 2013
We were very pleased with the information that Jo gave and is continuing to do. Penny has come on leaps and bounds since and Jo came back and taught us the recall programme. Penny is responding very well to this and we have to do this for another 3 weeks. Her barking is toning down too and she now knows the word "no" which is a huge success for us.
Penny is a lovely little Westie Puppy. She was a little reluctant to come to her owners. There was no obvious reason for this and as soon as they started to make coming to them a fun game she has got the hang of it and is happily running backwards and forwards on their command. She loves to bark at anything and everything so her owners have been working hard to make sure her barking doesn't become a nuisance and that she understands when to stop when she gets too excited. She is growing up into a delightful dog and is bringing real pleasure to her owners life.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4538
Rainham, Essex
13th August 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Although Chester is a lovely natured dog with no particular problems,
we just felt we needed some guidance to help us achieve his full potential. Jo was very helpful and left us some good routines to be working with. We haven't called Jo back yet but it is good to know the option is there if we felt we needed it.
Chester is a really beautiful looking Rhodesian Ridgeback. His owners had had two Ridgebacks previously and the older dog had demanded a lot of their time and attention particularly when her health was failing, so they felt they had not given Chester the time he deserved while she was still with them. Chester absolutely loved having one to one attention from his owners and was really eager to please and keen to learn new things. It was lovely to see him bouncing around and enjoying himself. Chester is capable of going onto advanced obedience and I am looking forward to spending further quality time with him and his owners.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4513
woodford green, Essex
12th August 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo gave us lots of helpful tips to help us train Lottie as well as ideas for her meals and diet. She is also going to find out about training Lottie to be a hearing dog to help our daughter, who is deaf, around the house. Jo was happy to chat to us about everything we wanted to know and stayed a long time to make sure we understood all the information she gave us.
This family have a lovely Cockerpoo puppy. She had some puppy issues like mouthing, nipping and not coming when called. Training obedience is very important to them because they would like Lottie to be able to learn to fetch their daughter and to alert her to certain sounds when Lottie is older. Lottie has proved to be a bright puppy who is eager to learn and willing to please and I am looking forward to doing "sound" training with Lottie and her family.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4512
Bromley, Kent
10th August 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Before Jo came to see us, I had been sleeping on the sofa as Gizmo would not settle in the night without me being near. Jo spent 4 hours with us, first asking us questions about our daily routines and what we feel the issues were and then she preceded to show us how to train Gizmo and get him settled of a night time. That day Jo left, my husband and I managed to sleep in the bedroom for the first time in 2 weeks, Gizmo was really happy to sleep outside the bedroom door and did not whine or bark throughout the night. We are still working on the other tasks that Jo left us with i.e recall and "watch me" which he is picking up really well. When we take Gizmo walking we have had quite a few comments of how well behaved he is for his age and his breed (Siberian husky) we are so grateful for Jo coming over that day and we look forward to seeing her throughout the year.
These owners did all the right preparation and planning for their Husky puppy including buying a crate for Gizmo. Most puppies suffer a from separation anxiety when they first leave their siblings and a crate can be a great "safe place" to help a puppy feel secure. However, in some cases crates don't work which is why his owners had weeks of trying different ways to settle Gizmo. In Gizmos case there is a small hallway where he can be safely enclosed behind a baby gate without panicking when his owners leave him. This may seem an obvious solution but it is not just a case of moving a puppy. It is creating the right environment and then educating him and so he can cope on his own. This is not a quick fix and is part of a whole education process which his owners are doing so that he can be confident and happy. Gizmo is now well on his way to being a well behaved and trained dog his owners can be proud of.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4506
Chelmsford, Essex
30th July 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Hello there, my name is Stanley. I know what you're thinking: Okay, so this chair may look a bit of a mess, but it was an early experiment, and I was only a wee bairn when I did it. Actually my brother Haggis put me up to it. He's got the brains but my teeth are bigger. Anyway what we want to say is: that lady trainer called Jo is really cool. She definitely learned us better manners. We nearly always sit, or go into our pen at our mistress' command now, and we stay close by her on walks, and try very hard not to strain when we are on our leads (even if it is VERY hard not to be excited at the beginning). Jo also taught us how we must always let the mistress go into a room before us, and not hog our food. We've also stopped chewing things and making puddles indoors, and are proper growed-up now. We'd like to say we're perfect, but we know that would be fibbing. We know we shouldn't bark at the cat (but she is soooo provoking!) We only bark now in the garden to frighten away would-be burglars or to let the mistress know how pleased we are when she gets home. Jo is still teaching us new things like improving our manners when we meet other dogs. We like all the humans we have met, but we do get worried that some of their dogs may have bigger teeth than us, so we shout at them loudly on walks to look bigger and braver than we are! Mistress doesn't like that, and she and Jo are trying to teach us to look at her instead when she says " watch me" and hopefully that way we can stop worrying about what the other dogs may do. So what we want to say is: this learning business has been a lot of fun with Jo, and we would be happy to recommend her to anyone. Lots of licks, from Haggis and Stanley xx
These two lovely Scottish Terriers are from the same litter and were more interested in listening to each other than their owners at first. They would squabble over food and fight for pole position when out on the lead so walking wasn't much fun and although they seem bold and full of themselves when they are out they are actually nervous and bark at other dogs. When they calm down and realise they aren't under threat, they are actually pretty good with other dogs so their owners are diligently working on building their confidence and making sure they can keep them under control. Before it was difficult for their owners to have a quiet night in front of the TV with the dogs as they wouldn't settle and behave themselves and visitors were jumped all over. Now they are really well behaved and listen to their owners rather than each other. It has been a delight to see the amazing progress made so far and I have every confidence that Haggis and Stanley will continue to be a source of pride for their owners. Top marks all round!
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4480
Chelmsford, Essex
30th July 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Jo was wonderful and very supportive she spent ages with us and highlighted the different issues that Barney had. Unfortunately my Barney died on the 1st of July most likely due to a brain tumour which caused his behavioural problems. Jo is truly amazing xx She is a guardian angel who helped us all in our hour of need. Barney was a very unique dog and his case was very distressing but Jo was with us through our journey and we can't thank her enough for that!!
These owners come into the "super special owner category". They took Cocker Spaniel Barney on from a Rescue and were his fourth owners. Unlike all the others who sent him right back they got help for his problems which were numerous and included obsessive compulsive behaviour, destruction, guarding, separation anxiety and aggression. Unfortunately his behavioural issues were related to a serious medical issue and despite the best efforts of all involved these issues could not be overcome. Cases like this are rare and are very upsetting and distressing for all concerned, but these owners were brilliant with Barney and enabled a very ill dog to live out his final days with a loving and caring family. Although the final outcome was sad I count myself as fortunate to have been involved and able to help this wonderful family.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4481
Hornchurch, Essex
27th July 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Ringo was a very naughty puppy. He had every "wrong" behaviour and was very stubborn and relentless. Jo has helped us to train and control him and very quickly we are onto advanced training. Jo has the answer to every question and every problem. We have a calmer, happier dog and a much less stressed household. We cannot recommend Jo and Bark Busters highly enough. Thankyou.
Ringo is a Rhodesian Ridgeback who came to this family the weekend they had a shocking bereavement and although they tried their best, by the time I got to see him he was stranger and owner aggressive. He spent his time constantly nipping, biting and jumping and he flat refused to listen to any owner instructions and was aggressive to them when they tried to control him. If they ignored him he would get more and more boisterous and aggressive in his determination to get what he wanted. His owners have totally changed how they behave with him and have taught him how to behave appropriately with both them and visitors. The results are truly amazing and they now have a powerful dog who listens to them and is so well behaved they have now moved to advanced training with him. He is a true credit to them.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4460
Chigwell, Essex
27th July 2013
Jo & Graham Milgrew dealt with:
Two visits from Jo and the difference in Jip is huge. He has gone from being a fearful, unconfident, clingy dog with separation anxiety to a much happier dog who does not need to follow me around any more. We are now even considering agility classes with him he is doing so well!
Jip is a Blue Merle Collie and had previously lived with a group of dogs where he was bullied. He is now the only dog which is much better for him, but his naturally fearful nature made it difficult for him to adjust and he latched onto his new owners and couldn't bear to let them out of his sight. The solution to this has been to build Jips confidence in his new owners and his new environment so that he is comfortable being left on his own. His owners have worked diligently with him and now have a dog who is much more relaxed and happy. You cannot make a fearful dog change its nature but you can make a big difference to how a dog perceives its environment and what is happening around him. His increase in confidence now means that he is ready to be around other dogs and go to agility classes. This wouldn't have been possible before and shows just how far his owners have come with building his confidence.
Permalink: www.barkbusters.co.uk/dog-training-review/4461
Billericay, Essex
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