While I take on new cases every week, this one is very special to me. It's taken Marble 6 months to turn into a totally new dog from when I first started working with her. Marble was rescued from a shelter situation, where she was previously rescued from living in a backyard her whole life, never really knowing attention, love, a walk, or a decent meal. Much is left to speculation after that, but Marble's behavior told us the story. Marble started out so fearful in her home she would not walk on a leash, use stairs, walk on slick floors, or even leave her kennel. She was absolutely frozen with fear. When she did go anywhere it was a slow process and she never stood upright, wagged her tail, anything. Marble was within herself and afraid of what the outside world would bring. When she built confidence for walks and car rides, she would become overwhelmed with fear over simple experiences; a mailbox, a human approaching, a dog barking, ect. 
Over 6 months her owners followed my instructions carefully. Meeting with me weekly, and then every 3 weeks building the blocks slowly. Tackling each obstacle slowly and building her up one experience after the next. We worked on trust building, confidence building, and positive reinforcement marker training to shape her into a new dog. Marble today goes up and down stairs, is a good watch dog alert barking, goes to the Groomer regularly, is now taking road trips, and is a wonderful companion for Vicki and Brian. I am so happy for this pack! This is them pictured at the Ciao Bow Wow hosted by Four Paws Pantry & Spa & Spin Pizza, a truly special picture to display how happy she is and all she has overcome.

  Before Marble ended up in a shelter, she was kept in a pen in a secluded backyard, so she was very unsocialized.  When we adopted her, we knew she would need extra love and attention, but we weren't prepared for how terrified she was of her new surroundings.  She was afraid of walking on the hardwood floors and wouldn't go up the carpeted stairs to the second floor.  Going for walks was a challenge as well.  She got spooked by cars, garage doors, kids, you name it.  She was even so frightened of my husband that she would pee whenever he came near her.
We started training sessions with Maris soon after we got Marble.  Maris was full of helpful advice to help Marble get over her fears and help her feel more secure and confident in her new home.  As a result, Marble got over her issues and is now a whole new dog.  She is sweet, loving, and goofy and loves going for walks.  She also gallops up the stairs each night for her bedtime treat!  We couldn't have done it without Maris.
  -Vicki Ward & Brian Peterson