May 2, 2005
Dear Readers,
Molly was rescued from the Gwinnett Animal Shelter in the Summer of 2001 by my wife, Karen, and myself. She was "billed" as a Border Collie mix, but no clue as to the real mixture. A very cute pup, two or three months old. Soon we discovered that Molly had major issues of fear aggression and head shyness. Her herding instincts made her even less lovable as she would nip at Karen's heels resulting in the threat "It's either me or that dog!"
Determined not to have a vicious canine, we took Molly to obedience classes with Leah Spitzer at the Canine Learning Center and spent considerable time working on these issues with some success and progress. In the fall of 2001, Leah referred us to Cyndy Douan at Kingston Kennels, LLC for additional help and training.
Molly spent almost two weeks with Cyndy, receiving twice a day training sessions. When we came to pick her up, we found a very different Molly whose behaviors were transformed from fearful/aggressive to happy/responsive. Molly showed off her on leash behavior and seemed quite proud of herself as she responded to commands and happily accepted the positive reinforcing treats she had finally learned to enjoy. We were somewhat amazed as we listened to instructions for our follow up training for Molly.
We were also told that Molly, on her own, had tried out some of the agility equipment at the facility and might be an agility dog candidate.
Molly continued with formal obedience training for the next several months and returned to Kingston Kennels, LLC in the spring of 2002 for some additional help with her off leash behavior and occasional, but infrequent regression to earlier behavioral issues. Molly stayed for only a few days this time, but the results again were very rewarding for us and for Molly.
As training progressed, both Cyndy Douan and Leah Spitzer recommended that Molly have a "job" or some type of daily physical activity that would fit her high energy profile. Options were suggested and her senior citizen handler, me, with some trepidation, took up agility training. Molly has decided that she really loves that job and wishes that her handler were more proficient! We are competing regularly at the Novice/Starters level and we have even won a few ribbons in the process.
At almost four years old, Molly has become a lovable, well behaved, obedient, energetic, and very social dog both on leash and off leash. Three years ago, no one except myself and Karen, or other close family members, could even touch Molly without risking being bitten, much less actually pet or brush her. Today, Molly responds favorably to almost everyone's offers of affection, and she allows our grandchildren and neighborhood children to play and romp with her. Molly is proof that with skilled training from folks like Cyndy and Leah, and patience and persistence from owners, that a dog who starts out very wrong can be brought around to becoming a wonderful pet and companion.
Sincerely,
Phillip and Karen Morgan
