Nicole & Charlie

Charlie was adopted from a shelter in southern CA and was supposed to be trained to be a service dog. With into 24 hour of adoption he had chewed though drywall of her parents home, scaled their 12 foot wall and would not come back for hours, and attacked the neighbors dog. When the shelter was notified about his behavior the family was told that they could bring him back and he would be put down.  Nicole stepped up and committed to training and brought him home to live on the central coast. She called me right away and we got to work.

We had 4 weeks until she started collage to get Charlie in shape. Charlie was not food motivated, did not like toys outside of the house, was very dominate with dogs, and had horrible separation anxiety. Nicole booked 6 sessions and we got to work. By the end of the month Charlie was going to parks and the beach off leash, slept quietly when in a crate, took every command the first time asked, was playing with toys outside of the house, was no longer reactive to other dogs, and was a loved member of the family.

Charlie is a great example of how important it is not to get stuck with cookie cutter training systems. I created a program that was both fair and easy for the dog to understand, easy for the owner to follow, that produced results when we needed them. It saved Charlie’s life and gave him a forever home.

Bellow is a note from their last trip together.

Charlie and I are doing wonderful, I haven’t had any problems with him since his training ended. I have even been able to teach him a couple new tricks which was fun. We went to big bear this past week and he was great! Thank you again for all your help, you complete transformed him!!

Ginny and Sheila

\I would highly recommend Ericka to anyone looking for a highly qualified dog trainer with a fantastic understanding of dog behavior.  When I first met Ericka my German Shepherd, Sheila, was a very smart girl with  nice toy drive.  Unfortunately using other training methods, Sheila’s enthusiasm for learning new behaviors and training to compete was not there. Our training sessions weren’t very fun and Sheila gave me very little focused attention. Being a first time competitor in dog trials I felt maybe competition wasn’t for us. Thankfully Ericka showed me how to make training fun for Sheila and I and we have already obtained Sheila’s Rally Novice Title and 2 legs toward her Rally Advanced ( Off- Leash! ).  Also Ericka has helped us with Nosework and I would highly recommend her classes if anyone is considering trying out this new, fun dog sport!

Evan/Marina & Karlie

Marina and I wanted to express our greatest thanks for all of the had work you spent with us and Karlie.  We wanted to give you a quick update as to how things are going.

The backpacking trip was a huge success.  The collar was a great tool to have especially when the trail was wide open or when in camp.  It stayed charged for entire trip.  Also, we worked on using the command “back” for her to walk between myself and Marina when we wanted to contain her speed down the trail.

Additionally, yesterday Marina took the dog out for the first time when she went riding on her horse.  Marina said she needs to be a bit more horse aware (she doesn’t understand that the horse could kick her), but on a bigger note she didn’t wander or need any collar corrections even when there were distractions of atv’s, other horses, and walkers.

At home, since the backpacking trip, she really enjoys staying close and when she does wander a little she comes back when called every time.

Anyway we look forward to working with her more and more and look forward to what additional training programs we will attempt.  Also we can’t speak highly enough of your skill and abilities.  We tell everyone proudly about you and give high recommendations whenever we can.

Finally here’s a pic from the trip.

Christine and Crew

My dogs and I just love Ericka AND her dogs. She has improved our quality of life tremendously. Amiga, my black Lab, is a rescue from Animal Services. When I adopted her at 9 mos., she loved everyone. Thinking I was socializing her, I took her to numerous dog parks on a regular basis. And on a regular basis she was attacked by other dogs. I realized I needed to stop our visits but by then I had a fear-based, aggressive dog.

I began agility lessons with Ericka, not sure if we could ever go beyond the basics and go “off leash”. I had some private lessons with Ericka who helped me ‘read’ Amiga and helped me to see certain behaviors and know what to do. Since then Amiga has titled in AKC Novice Rally Obedience with perfect or near perfect scores (99 to 100 out of 100 is her norm). AND she is relaxed with other dogs. She is focused in any dog sport we do and relaxed with other dogs.

Ericka has been a part of giving us much greater quality of life. Amiga is now free to feel confident in Agility and Rally Obedience, without fear of other dogs. This is a gift. And I appreciate Ericka’s (and her dogs) input in our lives/training.

Connie and Rita

Rita had various nicknames (Relentless Rita, Rude Rita & Rapscallion Rita) before taking Ericka’s Manners 101 and Tricks class.Her biggest problem was while on leash walking, she pulled and lunged at other dogs or anything that caught her eye.

Ericka has a keen understanding of dog behavior and Rita’s breed.K9 Manners and K9 Focus taught me how to handle these problems and the Tricks class helped to mentally stimulate Rita, while having fun at the same time. Both these classes enriched our relationship, making our daily routines less stressful and more fun. Rita has come very far in the past 6 months.

Rita and I look forward to our next class with Ericka.