Timid Lucy

I met Lucy at the animal shelter on July 4, 2000. She was 4 1/2 months old. She and her mother had been picked up as strays. She was so timid that I couldn't even take her for a walk out the front door. I picked her up and carried her over to a grassy area, and put her down. All she did was lay on the grass and shiver. When I started back to the building, she ran ahead of me. I was not able to take her home until July 11. I decided I would let Lucy become familiar with her new surroundings before working with her on basic obedience commands. Many years ago, I had two other dogs that I had taken to "traditional" obedience classes. I "knew" what to do to train Lucy, so on July 19th I started her first lesson. That was a disaster. She was still very timid, and all she would do was jump up at my back. If I corrected that with a jerk at the collar, she would lay down. I decided, after 5 minutes of this, that I needed some help.

I called Judy Moore. Lucy and I had our training session with Judy on July 24 and 25. What a difference those 2 days have made!! First of all, Judy's training methods gave Lucy great confidence in herself. Before the training sessions, Lucy would go outside and stay only as long as I was outside with her. As soon as I came in, she wanted in. The evening of the 25th, she was in and out all evening long - by herself!! In only one week after our training sessions with Judy, Lucy has learned to sit/stay (for up to 1 minute - I haven't made her stay any longer than that) even with a big buck (deer) running past, heel, down/stay, stand, and come. I think that this is just amazing! It took several weeks in the more "traditional" classes for my dogs to learn all of these commands. I also like the fact that you are not always jerking on the dog's neck. Many, many thanks Judy.

Sharon, Colorado