This is a letter I received from a woman who brought her aggressive Cocker to a seminar. This kind of aggression is typical of Cocker Spaniels – a bit moody and serious when it uncorks. I add this to the blog because it describes the typical result of using my methods and I didn’t write it or edit it. It is not meant to be a testimonial, but an account of a process that saved this dog’s life…Gary Wilkes

Dear Gary,
I hope you remember me and Dusty from the seminar you conducted in Vernal, Utah, last September.  Dusty was the beautiful, angelic-looking Cocker Spaniel with the long eye lashes.  I wanted to give you an update on his progress and thank you for all of your help.  Dusty’s behavior has improved so much that it’s unbelievable.  When we got back to Salt Lake after the seminar, Dusty was in a very compliant mood.  But the first time I tried to enter the TV room, Dusty gave me “the look,” so I yelled “No!” and let the bonker fly.  It worked!  I had to give him one refresher bonk a few days later, but I can now walk into any room, frontwards, make eye contact with him and he doesn’t even growl, let alone attack me.

 Another problem we had had for a year and a half was Dusty’s barking at the neighbor every time the neighbor walked into his back yard.  The next time he raced over to the fence to start barking, I threw the bonker clear across the yard at him.  It didn’t even hit him, but he never barked again.  My neighbor even asked me what had happened to Dusty.  He said he knew we hadn’t gotten rid of him because he could still see him, but he couldn’t believe it when I told him how simple it had been to stop that long-standing and obnoxious behavior.
Dusty is so anxious to please and responds so well to the clicker and to verbal praise that I have been able to successfully use those strategies in conjunction with the bonker.  (NOTE: This is a fact that my former associate, Karen Pryor, and a vast majority of “modern” trainers attempt to contradict. They have to. They cannot prove the effectiveness of “positive” training if they admit that it is more effective to use reinforcement AND punishment concurrently – GW) His progress has been gradual, although faster than I expected, but he will now let people he has never seen before enter our front door.  He can stay in the living room while we visit without attacking the guests.  A year ago he would not even let my mother in the house.  He still goes off if a stranger (like a meter reader) tries to enter through the back yard gate without our permission, but that’s okay because it makes him a good watch dog.  I am just amazed at the progress he has made in all areas.  When we go on walks we can now pass people right on the sidewalk without having to go out around into the street.  He responds perfectly to the groomer now and has had very successful trips to the vet. 

Everyone who has known him all along is simply amazed at his progress.  His new behavior has made him a joy to be with and a dog of whom we can be proud.  I want to really thank you for all of your help and encouragement.  At the end of the seminar you said that you could tell that I really loved Dusty and you thought that we would make it, and we have.  His temperament really has changed since we first got him.  Most of the time now he is calm and loving.  I’m still cautious with him, but most of the time I can hold him on my lap and hug him and pet him and kiss his face.  I wouldn’t have even thought about doing that a year ago.  He still has a few issues with territory and possessiveness, but we’ll keep working.  I remember when I couldn’t even pick up a scrap of paper off the floor without getting my hand torn off.  We have come a very long way!  I just re-read the letter that I sent Jacque in February, giving her an update, and I can see that Dusty has made consistent progress even since then.  I guess that his basic aggressive genes may still be there, but I think that he likes his life better when he behaves.  He seems really happy and content now, not anxious and fearful like he was at first.

 We have another dog, Lady, whom we also got from Uintah Animal Care.  She’s pretty much perfect, but she does have a bad habit of trying to escape from the back yard gate.  When she does, she takes off running and doesn’t come back. She did this 3 times and scared us to death.  We taught her to come to our finger, and the next time she took off, I yelled “Lady, come!” and she stopped and came back to me.  So you have probably saved Lady’s life, too, because she has no fear of cars.
Thank you again for your help, skills, patience and encouragement.  I intended to write much earlier, but now I’m glad I waited because every day the news about Dusty gets better.  It’s almost as if I can’t even remember how bad he once was.
I hope all is going well with you and your wife and Tuggy.  You must be very proud of how many people and pets you have helped.  Thanks again.

Elise