...Dog Testimonials Continued 

COLE AND DEX: BFF

"When Coletrane and Dexter came to live with us in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston four years ago, they were two sweet puppies about ten weeks old. Along with their beloved older “sister” Sweet Pea the beagle, Cole and Dex played together, completed obedience classes, and weathered an energetic adolescence.

When they were about a year old, however, Dexter began exhibiting a frightening aggressive streak aimed at his brother Cole. If Cole bounced into his space too energetically, or seemed even mildly interested in his food or raw hide, Dex would lunge aggressively and threaten to attack. And while the exuberant Cole usually deferred to his brother, he would occasionally respond in kind, especially if his adrenaline was up. The result was some pretty frightening fights, with Cole usually getting the worst of it. Although they were good friends most of the time, the unpredictability and ferocity of the fights provoked high anxiety in both us and the dogs.

That anxiety has been greatly alleviated by our consultations with Dr. Haug. Under her guidance, we and Cole and Dex have built on our obedience training with rituals that teach the dogs to look first to us for instruction rather than act on impulse. Various kinds of relaxation protocols have helped them learn how to be calm even at moments of high excitement. Since we began consulting with Dr. Haug five months ago, they’ve not fought even once and are behaving much better on a daily basis. Thank you, Dr. Haug!"

~J. and Lynn

COOPER

"We have been working with Dr. Haug for about 6 weeks now to deal with Cooper’s aggression toward us and other dogs.  We can’t get over the change that we have seen in our dog, Cooper.  By following Dr. Haug’s patient, consistent approach to training and behavior modification, our dog’s personality has changed dramatically.  He is much calmer and much more responsive to our direction. It’s amazing!  We look forward to continuing our work with Dr. Haug.  We can’t wait to see what else Cooper will do."

Cortney

MAX 

We believe in what Dr. Haug is doing and I would highly recommended her services to others struggling with baffling doggie behavior. If it hadn’t have been for her help, we have no doubt that Max would have had to be destroyed. The issue in our house was not so much the poor doggie’s problem, but rather that we humans were miscommunicating. Dr. Haug taught us how to listen and to watch for signs we had not previously been picking up on. We thought that the correct way to address our Maxi’s growling (and eventual biting) was to exert our dominance as pack leaders. NOPE! This does NOT work with a terrier. Our poor fellow thought we were going to eat him on a routine basis. Several hours with Dr. Haug helped us understand our dog and ourselves! Through work and trust building, we now have a companion who loves us and who trusts us, and we are better pet owners because of her wisdom and expertise.

~Katherine

MILOH ADAMS

"We have raved about your service to friends since coming home with Miloh! You are very passionate and professional about what you do and how you approach things. It showed during the appointment.  The time you put into the “discharge note/plan of action”, and certainly with all the follow up consultation since then. During the initial consult in your office we felt like you knew Miloh. It was obvious you cared enough to thoroughly review the application before the appointment. That meant a lot. And so has all the time involved with follow up correspondence. We have utmost confident there will be more success with Miloh as we continue to work through the treatment plan you so diligently laid out.   We will also recommend your service to anybody that mutters the words “separation anxiety” or “behavior problems!” The price for your service is indisputable."

~Vicki and Sherri

PEPPER AND MORGAN

"Pepper and Morgan are two of my furbabies, whom I love dearly. When they got into a knock-down, drag-out fight back in June, I was terrified by the display of aggression between two dogs that have known each other and lived together for years. After the fight, the dynamic in our household changed. There was more tension, some of which came from me, I am sure. I was worried that they might fight again, and that the next time, the outcome might be drastically different. I knew we could not continue to live in such a high-anxiety/high-stress environment. It was not healthy for anyone. I consulted with my regular veterinarian because I knew I would need help in properly handling whatever issues were behind the unexpected display of aggression I had witnessed and was unable to stop. She recommended I take Pepper and Morgan to be evaluated by Dr. Haug.

Although the fight was the catalyst for me to seek help, it was by no means the only problem that needed to be addressed. Pepper struggles with anxiety and nervousness and is quite the barker inside the house. Morgan is reactive to dogs who are not in her pack, especially when she is on leash. Both have varying degrees of resource guarding issues.

At this point in our training, I am happy to report that there have been no subsequent fights or displays of aggression between Pepper and Morgan. We are currently working on learning basic cues as well as “let’s go” when out walking on leash. (Pepper and Morgan are notorious leash pullers—just ask anyone who has seen me walking them!) They are both improving and seem to enjoy the training sessions.

We are working on generalizing these skills to other environments and with increasing distractions.  This aspect of our training is a work in progress, but we are definitely moving in the right direction, learning from each other every step of the way.

Soon we will begin working on the Down-Stay protocol.  Both girls are getting close to mastery of the down and stay commands, and I am excited about implementing the Down-Stay protocol.  It has been a lot of work getting to this point, and I know we still have a long road ahead and other issues to address, but I owe it to Pepper and Morgan to give them skills that will help them live calmer, safer, and hopefully, happier lives. Isn’t that what every dog (and cat) deserves?"

~Dorothy

TAUPO

"We started working with Dr. Haug a little over a year ago.  Our Welsh Corgi, Taupo, started presenting aggressive behavior around 6 months of age, especially around food.  As previous dog owners we tried what we thought was the correct, “tough love” approach and showed him who was boss.  Unfortunately this backfired and his behavior just continued to escalate.  We started agility training which helped, but the improvements were not long term and didn’t carry over into our everyday life.  After seeking out other consultation and having very little success we were referred to Dr. Haug by our agility instructor.

Seeing Dr. Haug was the best decision we could have made.  She taught us the scientific reasons why our approach had not worked and taught us what would work.  It was amazing how fast we saw changes.  As we changed our reactions and our behavior, Taupo responded immediately.  We also began to better understand both his anxiety and his inability to “turn off”.  We learned that these were not behaviors we could fix, but that we had options with pharmacology to help him be a happier, more relaxed dog.  A year later Taupo is still the same smart, spunky, fun dog we fell in love with, but now he is one that can be a part of our family as it grows and we don’t fear having him around our children as we start our family.

Dr. Haug has been available for the millions of questions that arise outside of our time in the clinic with her, and our friends and family have recognized Taupo’s amazing transformation.  We know that working with Taupo is a continuous process that requires our time and dedication to him, but with Dr. Haug’s guidance this is a manageable process that is rewarding and well worth the effort to keep him in our growing family."

~Kimberly & Tim

Baxter

"I adopted Baxter 21/2 years ago. He is a cute and seemingly friendly dog. After some time Baxter became more nervous and started growling and snapping at people. Eventually he bit my next door neighbor. My vet encouraged me to see Dr. Haug. It was the best decision ever! After a few sessions and practice athome Baxter has become a completely different dog. Dr. Haug is completely in sync to my dog and his needs. With Dr. Haug’s coaching Baxter can relax and we can now enjoy him.. Baxter still has fear of strangers but now I know how to help him get calm. He is a pleasure to live with now, thanks to Dr. Haug!"

~Robin

Tulip

"REMARKABLE is the one of the many words I use to describe how different Tulip is.

She has gone from barking 3 x Thursday night, 2 x Friday night and only once last night.   And the barking periods are MUCH, MUCH shorter. I have had the best sleep in months!  Actually I feel like I have a new lease (or should I say leash) on life!!!!  I know it has only been 3 days, and I know it will take long term consistency, but the REWARD of well-behaved dogshas changed our entire household and my sense of well-being.
….Remarkable, remarkable, remarkable….I don’t ever want to go back to rude dogs!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!”
~Faith