We acquired Billy the Labradoodle when he was almost 18 months old and it became clear pretty quickly that he was used to being in charge and did as he pleased. Over about 12 months he became a wonderful companion at home and was excellent at all the simple commands, but he would not walk properly on a lead, pulling all the time and jumping up when he saw other dogs. We tried all manner of head collars, leads and harnesses but he never got any better and loathed being controlled. On the recommendation of some friends, who also had a rather wayward dog, we asked Yvonne to help us with Billy. She recommended a walking regime using a head collar, which Billy absolutely hated. She said within about 2 or 3 weeks he would be used to it and would be walking properly. He wasn’t! I called her and she told me to persevere and that it may take about 5 weeks because he was stubborn. After week 8 of the regime, he did begin to improve a bit but still hated that head collar. Yvonne came to see us again and made some adjustments to the regime and for about the last 4 weeks Billy has been “paw perfect” on many of the walks we have which have become a pleasure rather than a chore. He still has his moments, and he has a long way to go but at least we are on the right road. We couldn’t have made it this far with him without Yvonne’s advice and support for what must be the world’s most stubborn, if adorable, pooch.
Thank you Yvonne from Carol and Peter
