Bucky, a lab/retriever rescue dog was in need of a home and found a really incredible foster family from Larchmont to help take care of him.
Not only did they foster Bucky, they eventually fell in love and became his forever family.
He was already a year old and most likely had no prior training. Bucky was potty trained and walked okay on the leash but his family knew he needed more.
Bucky was a little too energetic, mouthy, and didn’t always come when they called him.
His family didn’t want these behaviors to continue and definitely didn’t want them to get worse.
They didn’t want to become frustrated at their new family member or feel stressed going on walks.
They made the right choice and enrolled Bucky in our Wk9 Elite Program to teach good manners and build an even stronger relationship!
Now they can rest assured knowing their Bucky will continue to learn and live as happy a life as possible!
They know to be proactive when their dog develops bad habits.
Roxy already went through a training program at Wk9, but then she started pulling on the leash.
Her owners said “she pulls, and one time Roxy even pulled my shoulder out”. They were frustrated every time it was time to take Roxy out. They dreaded going out and coming across any distraction?
Did they think they can fix this on their own, or maybe just live with it for the rest of her life?
Nope!! They scheduled a refresher course for Roxy and she is home again!
Now, Roxy’s owners are feeling a lot less stress …
“Walking roxy like this is such a pleasure now. “
“She would have never walked between two people like this before.”
“She usually goes after the fedex truck, I can’t believe she just kept walking.”
“Wow, she just stops when we stop walking? That’s great”
Did you get a puppy and expect it to be an easy process with lots of fun and snuggles?
Did you think you were doing everything right, just to realize your dog is still not listening and you are completely frustrated and stressed out?
Maybe your family is arguing about how to train the pup and she is unsure what is expected because no one is being consistent!
Maya is a typical 4 month old puppy who pulls on the leash, jumps up, eats everything she possibly can, nips (extremely hard), and really really loves to rip everyone’s clothing!!
Well lucky for Maya, she has awesome parents who can rest assured knowing they will LOVE the dog she becomes!
Why you say?
Because they are willing to put in the TIME and the DEDICATION needed to enjoy the next 15 or so years with their newest family member.
And we are proud to be joining them in this journey of a happy life together.
Are you ready?
Meet Lexi, one of our favorite little Aussie Doodle pups who didn’t really need to get professional training at just 9 weeks of age. Her parents were most likely capable of doing it on their own…
But Lexi’s mom contacted us because she was smart enough to know that with our help, she can get results a lot faster without having to spend her own time, possibly making mistakes along the way. Lexi didn’t have any behavior problems YET. Lexi wasn’t even home!! She stayed with us this summer at just 9 weeks of age…. while she was put on a crate training schedule, and was taught to go to the bathroom outside.
Lexi was socialized with people, kids AND other dogs!
Lexi learned how to walk on a leash, sit, lie down and go to place. She even began to learn how to stay and come when called. The best part is, Lexi was not allowed to start ANY bad habits. All day long, she was told what a good girl she is. There was no yelling, no chasing or NOOOOOO Lexi! AND when she went home after her initial 3 weeks, she was still a young pup for her parents to enjoy without the stresses of teaching these important life skills.
And guess what else? Lexi’s owners are so awesome because they reinforce her commands every day which in turn is building up a great relationship! They truly want to enjoy their pup for her entire life and understand the value of training early. Oh wait, there’s more! Lexi came back already for some reinforcement training (current picture at 4 months old), and she will be back between 6-8 months for her next stage of training.
We love having puppies start early to insure they get the best life possible.
And knowing that we get to be a part of it, makes us incredibly honored and proud! xoxo Lexi
Lexi from Golden’s Bridge
“So many people have commented on how well behaved he is and have asked for your contact info!”
Hudson is a 4 month old Mini Schnoodle puppy who came to us for some basic training! Living in New York City, it was crucial for Hudson to have impeccable leash manners for walking through the busy streets of Manhattan. Hudson was also having many accidents in the house, all on carpets of course. During Hudson’s stay, we put him on a proper house training routine and taught him to go potty on concrete like he would be doing at home. Hudson is just a happy go lucky puppy who enjoyed jumping on people. Even though it sounds harmless, he was beginning to scare the tiny humans in his life. His mom knew that Hudson was smart and she wanted him to get the best start on an education so they can enjoy the rest of their lives together.
We spent three weeks with Hudson teaching him some basic puppy obedience. We showed him that jumping just doesn’t do the trick anymore and we taught him some other things to do, like to sit, or lay down on his place bed to receive all the love that he was seeking! Hudson also has a little bit of anxiety and can’t always bear to be away from his mama so we worked on calming exercises to show him there’s no reason to worry. Living in an apartment, it’s important we teach him to remain calm so he doesn’t disrupt his many neighbors. He also learned to walk politely by his mamas side so she doesn’t have to worry about him trying to pull into the busy streets! We are so proud of this young pup and his owner for sending him to school and reinforcing his obedience at home!!
Meet Abby – from Pelham NY! Abby is a Pekingese/ Beagle mix who was giving her owners a run for their money. When Abby’s parents wrote to us, here is what they had to say; we have a 6 month old puppy out of control, bullying and terrorizing the older dog who weighs only 6 lbs. Abby gets very hyper and nips and bites us and our 5 yr old like crazy, no sense of bite inhibition, my wife is ready to find a new home for her if we can’t fix this because she is truly wreaking havoc with the entire family. Help!!
Abby spent 3 weeks with us here at Westchester K-9 where we worked daily on teaching her the ins and outs of basic obedience. When it comes to playing with other dogs and nipping the family, three commands will be super helpful for Abby when she becomes a little overbearing. Those three commands are “leave it,” “come,” and “place.” Applying the “leave it” is us telling her to leave her older sibling alone; “come” is used to
redirect Abby’s attention and energy towards us; and “place” is to get
Abby to relax and chill out.
When it comes to dog training, consistency is super important, especially
for young puppies. Abby has two awesome dog walkers who come during the day to let her potty but who also reinforce her polite leash walking.
Having them apply some of her training during the day and training
sessions at night is exactly what will keep Abby on the right path.
Puppies aren’t as easy as they sometimes seem to be but with structure,
routine, and obedience it can be easy and a lot of fun!
“Thanks to Westchester K-9 and some nightly practice, our pup remains
obedient and a pleasure rather than a terror.”
“Gunny is doing very well. Much improved! He loves his new bed and “places” very nicely.”
Gunny is a 7 month old German Shepherd who came to us for two weeks to be fine tuned on his obedience. Gunny who resides in Pawling New York already had an understanding of basic commands, he just decided when he wanted to listen to them. Gunny also had some pretty serious anxiety.
As a working breed, it is super important that we always have something for Gunny to do. Whether it was just walking with us or paying attention, Gunny needed a job. Holding a down stay seems like no big deal, but for Gunny it was. We were able to teach him to relax, even if he was ready for more play time. This training works our dogs mentally, which is just as important as working our dogs physically.
Everything we did with Gunny, down to meal times was structured. He was to sit and stay before entering and exiting his kennel, other doors and gate ways. He would always walk with us, not pull or lag. Working him physically is another great way to stimulate his mind. We had him jump up onto higher objects for Gunny to sit on so we could incorporate his physical strength into his training.
When we practice training we always want to set our dogs up for success so we keep a leash attached to Gunny to reinforce his commands. His owner now has a better sense of control and can feel confident taking him along for errands.
Axl is a six month old Rottweiler from Greenwich CT! This big moose was giving his owners a hard time walking on leash, coming inside, jumping on visitors, chewing and playing a little rough with his human siblings. Axl is just a happy go lucky guy who didn’t quite realize how large he was and how large he was going to be!
We spent three weeks working with Axl teaching him the basics in dog training and manners. With some structured walks and some guidance, Axl went from a big bear who would try to knock you down, to a big bear who would plop by your feet and patiently wait to be loved.
Along with obedience training, we brought Axl out and about and socialized him around as many people and distractions as possible! A dog his size can be intimidating to many which is why we taught him to politely greet people and also kept him nicely by our side on leash walks.
Maximus, Max for short, is a three year old English Bulldog from The Bronx who likes to visit his grandma in New Rochelle so we had to make sure this boy was very well behaved! Max was full of OCD behaviors and would react on leash to any and every animal they would encounter on walks. He would also react to animals on the other side of glass doors and windows and just the thought of any sudden/ new noises would send him into a fit.
Max did our five week ecollar program to become off leash reliable, and also to give his owners at home a new sense of confidence. As all of our dogs do, we started Max off on all leash obedience. We brought him to parks and pet stores and parking lots to desensitize him to all that was driving him crazy. Once Max became confident on leash, we added the ecollar.
Ecollar works so great with dogs like Max because it allows us to reinforce all of his commands but if necessary it also allows us to give a fair and consistent correction for whenever Max tries to act naughty. On our go home lesson we encountered numerous dogs who were all reacting towards Max, squirrels, and with the gun range close by we even had those noises and Max couldn’t be phased!
“He would normally be reacting to those dogs and trying to go after the squirrels. The gun range? Forget it he’s usually freaking out.” The transformation is really amazing after only 5 weeks with us.
Daily exposure to all of these noises and distractions is just what Max needs and now Jacqueline, Max’s mama, has the tools and knowledge to handle each situation.