“Hello my fellow dog lovers,
Let me start at the beginning. A little over 9 years ago I brought home a Siberian Husky puppy, Mya aka a TON of work. She was my world and I thought that I was doing the right thing by putting her through all sorts of training. She did the puppy obedience, regular obedience, agility classes, fun classes, you name it we did it. Little did I know the damage I was implicating onto my girl because everything was forced-based/dominance-based. She was living to obey me not to want to please me. I went through 8 years of training her this way because it was what I was told was the right type of training and the method that everyone was using at this time. I was told to use a shock collar, pinch collar, and to be the alpha and make Mya listen to me at any cost, and she did. Looking back on this I cringe at the thought of what I was doing to her, and putting her through. I was shocking her with a collar to get her to come. I was digging prongs in her neck to make her sit. I was scaring her to make her obey me. Having the knowledge backed by facts that I have now it was cruel to put her through the above methods of training. How could I have done this to the thing I love more than life itself? I will tell you why, because I was told that this was the best way by what I thought were reputable trainers that actually cared about my dog. I was wrong. These methods are used for one reason only, fast results. But I ask you this, do you want a dog to fear you? Or do you want your dog’s life purpose to be happy and only care about you making each other happy?
One day I was watching one of my favorite shows, Pitbull’s and Parolees, and I saw a girl I had went to high school with on the show, and I began to follow her story. She had been volunteering at Villalobos and ended up rescuing a Pitbull that was expected to live the rest of her life out in a kennel that she had already called home for many years due to her constant fear of the world. But for some reason she had a life altering bond with Jacqueline. The show did not do a follow up on their story, so then I started doing my own follow up. Puma was extremely fearful of life and everything that was in it. But over the too short of time Jaqueline had with her, she taught her how to be full of life and not let fear control her. And she did this all with patience, time, and force free methods. This dog changed night and day in less than a year. She could handle thunder and fireworks, go for walks with her tail wagging instead of between her legs. She was happy and living the life she deserved. Then tragedy hit out of the blue. Puma was diagnosed with cancer and was taken from her all too suddenly. It was a beautiful tragedy.
Seeing what I saw from this girl that was the same age as I mesmerized me, so I still continued to follow her. How is she doing this? It seemed like miracle after miracle was happening. She was getting her degree in animal behavior, working with special-needs dogs, had started her own dog training program, volunteered for many organizations, and was even fostering dogs that were deemed un-savable. One day on my news feed I found that she had started fostering a Pitbull named Porter and this was his last chance before being put down due to his aggressive behaviors. Well needless to say, and no shock here, Jacqueline foster failed him and ended up keeping him because she knew she was his best hope, and that she was. Watching her updates, and the work she put in with him this was another dog that’s life and demeanor has completely changed. She saved him, and he saved her.
I had really started thinking long and hard, Mya is 8 years old at this point and still has many years of life left. I wondered if you could really alter what she had been taught all these years and teach literally, an old dog new tricks, so I gave Jacqueline a call. It was the best call I had ever made. Not only did Jaqueline meet with me for coffee at no cost to show me statistics and research for 2 hours and to hear my concerns, past training issues, and desires for Mya. She showed me how negative the other methods were, and this is a proven fact! She did not hold them against me though. She understood and just genuinely cared that I wanted to make a positive change for Mya and myself. She taught me that you do not need to be the alpha to have control. The behaviorist, Rudolph Schenkel has even tried to take this incriminating statement out of print, but the publishers refuse to do so. All of this sank in and I had a new-found hope for Mya. That’s when the changes really started happening.
A couple of days later we scheduled our first lesson. And check this out- Jaqueline even comes to your house?! (and for an extremely reasonable fee) but as I said before, Mya is a great well-behaved dog and knows all of her commands and follows them. But now came the fun part. And I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy like dominance based training. I could no longer tell her to do something and if she refused or took too long I couldn’t use my angry mom voice to make it happen. No more telling her she is a bad girl, scolding her, none of that useless nonsense. I had to use repetition on top of repetition, reverse psychology, and step into the mind of a dog. Force free is all about praise and rewards that come in all forms of treats, praises, toys, really anything that makes your dog happy. This being the drive and incentive for them to work even harder. It takes much more time and patience, but the outcome is so worth it. I can promise you, you will get frustrated because the results are not instant, but that frustration will ease when you see how genuinely happy your dog becomes after they learn it is okay to be a dog and want to please you at the same time. Mya was not the only one learning new tricks. I was learning patience and how to reward her for the good things she was doing. Lesson followed by lesson had more and more progression following. After time I began to notice huge changes in Mya. She was wagging her tail more, singing the song of her people more, she was more lovable, more playful, and even listened more and does things I want without me even asking for them. And the best part all of this was done without yelling, punishing, or over powering. Just what I thought wasn’t possible was, and I was having so much fun while doing it!
A few months after working with Jacqueline another unexpected curveball was thrown my way. A three month old puppy needed rescue, and I couldn’t turn my back on her. I called Jacqueline within an hour of picking her up and we began working together. Through this journey she has taught me how different my dogs are, and what works for one does not always work for the other. Things I thought I was doing right I could not get to stick but within minutes of guidance with Jacqueline she had taught me how to get the desired results from my girl all while having fun. Mya and Whiskey have individual needs that are so similar, yet so different, but she is here explaining to me in great detail, giving me step by step instructions, and always available if I need help or have questions.
She makes time at the end of every lesson to give you homework, so she can actively monitor the results through your training. She encourages feedback, videos, and questions. She will respond at all hours of any day to make sure you and your dog are on the right track. She wants you to be educated and have knowledge because she does care about both of your well-being. Working with her has truly been an honor. She is going to do amazing things in this industry, and positively impact so many lives, humans and furry ones alike.
If there is anything that I could tell anyone reading this, it is that Jacqueline changed my life. Because of her and the methods she uses, it has helped me give my girls the life they deserve. Every day is a work in progress and perfection does not exist, but this is as close as it truly gets. She is full of knowledge, education, experience, and most importantly she genuinely cares and puts everything she has into this. If you are hesitant and even think this this “method” is a crock of crap, humor me and just try one lesson and I can promise you, you will prove yourself wrong in the first five minutes! At the end of the day it is you that holds your dog’s key to life. ️
Thank you, Jacqueline.”
Training by Jacqueline, LLC 