Last year I was volunteering at the Delta SPCA, and although my husband and I wanted to get a dog eventually, we decided that we were going to wait for a while. So I was relatively content to help out at the shelter without taking any dogs home.

One day, my husband came with me to help walk dogs and we ended up walking an 11 month old puppy named Koda. Koda had been in two homes already, and had been at the shelter for 3 months. Unfortunately it wasn’t surprising as to why. He was a very friendly dog, but very large and was completely out of control. The previous owners got rid of him because he was barking all the time, chewing everything, jumping up on people, stealing food off counters…. the list went on and on. But, after taking him for a few walks, it just seemed we had to take him home with us. For as many problems as he seemed to have, we really thought he could be a great dog. We were determined to give this dog a loving home, and help him be the awesome dog we knew he could be.

We started on our training adventure by getting every book on dog training & behaviour out of the library. You name it, we read it. It seemed relatively simple. As long as you were dedicated and put hard work into it, you could train your dog. No problem, we could do this! Well…lots of hard work and quite a few months later, our training was not working as well as anticipated. Dog walks were a full body work out, trying to keep 90 pound Koda from pulling us off our feet. He ripped up carpet, made a gaping hole in a box spring mattress, and if he saw another dog – too bad, he was gone, and no way he was coming back until he wanted to. We really were wondering what we got ourselves into and decided we needed some professional help. My husband found Jeff’s name on the internet and we decided to give him a call.

Jeff came out to our house to meet Koda and to give us a demonstration of what Sit Happens is all about. What Jeff could do with his dogs was absolutely amazing. My husband was pretty optimistic, but I will admit I was very skeptical.

We’ve all seen trainers with great dogs, but then you go through their program and your dog does not turn out like theirs. However, when Jeff spent time with Koda, I started to think that maybe we had found the right trainer. It was quite an amazing transformation in just 15 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like you just snapped a finger and he knew all the commands and was completely trained, but he was actually listening! My skepticism was fading, and we decided to try the Sit Happens Outdoor Program.

Well, it’s been almost a year since we got Koda, and honestly, no one would believe he is the same crazy, out of control dog that we picked up at the shelter. We knew in our hearts that he could be this good, but it was Jeff and Marylyn’s guidance that made it happen.

Now we have a happy, energetic dog that comes when he’s called, heels obediently off leash (even if there is another dog 4 feet away) and he will not touch food if you tell him to ‘leave it’. We’ve even started dog agility classes, which Koda absolutely loves. Koda can essentially go anywhere with us, and we are thrilled with our wonderful dog.

With Jeff and Marylyn,

Sit does actually Happen.