TESTIMONIALS
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Wolfgang Moonbeam
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Pamela is a Dog Whisperer!
When I arrived at her doorstep with my 16-month Wolfdog “Wolfie”, I was absolutely frantic about how to manage our new batch of
distressing concerns.
I had relocated back to Victoria, BC., from a sleepy suburb in Alberta, where ‘dogs are dogs’ and they hang out alone for hours in fenced back yards or play with the occasional ‘neighborhood dog buddy’. But we arrived in busy Victoria and neither Wolfie or I were used to all the new stimulation of dogs and beach play. Not to mention all the deer walking by our 4 ft fenced Fernwood Rental. Wolfie had other ideas about what to do with them!!! Victoria had changed from a sleepy town that I left in 2003 to a small diverse metropolis.
It was exciting but we were completely out of our element and not connecting at all.
Pam’s assessment saved us! She surprised me by telling me Wolfie was ‘passive and needed to be protected from other dogs until he built up a strong core’; that I needed to change and build confidence along side him. What? Me work on myself?! No way, this dog is going to make everything better for me, like magic medicine, …so I thought.
Pam also reminded me that he is a Wolfdog and therefore despite my previous positive experience with three Huskies, I had to engage with Wolfie differently, become an active participant in this learning relationship with Wolfie, because not only did I want a ‘good dog companion’ but I want him to become a Certified Support Dog.
Pam coined: “You’ll be an ambassador for the Wolfdog”.
Well, I took hers and the breeder’s advice; I worked daily for hours with Wolfie on a secluded beach where we’d have more control over our dog-play interactions. Now, he’s 3 and is the social butterfly at ANY beach, wrestling, fetching, smiling, licking and snuggling. He lays patiently at appointments, he protects our 18-year old cat, Miew-Miew, he reluctantly waits in his kennel for my return, he greets all the neighborhood kids with kisses…he even resists the urge to chase deer!
There is still much to fine tune but Wolfgang Moonbeam is blossoming into a beautiful loving, social being, and we are a team! And I owe a huge part of that, to Pam and S.I.T.
Thank you, Pam!
Valentina
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MILO
Pam has been an amazing resource for our family and dog, Milo. She has been a true mentor to our daughter as she learns all aspects of dog obedience. Pam offers a wonderful variety of programs, from formal training to weekend “pack walks” – all delivered with kindness, patience and expertise. Our dog is known throughout the neighborhood for his good behavior, and our daughter has a built a wonderful sense of confidence through her sessions with Pam. We are forever grateful.
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Matt Brown
BUSTER
We came to Pam Owen when our little puppy Buster (miniature Schnauzer) wouldn't stop barking and lunging at other dogs - even really big ones! We were worried he would get hurt and it wasn't fun to go for walks with him, it was stressful.
Pam helps Buster build his confidence with pack walks, some individual training sessions and teaching our family a variety of strategies to build our confidence in addressing the unwanted behaviour in a way that is caring for our little furry guy. I highly recommend Pam Owen to any individual with a new puppy or dog who wants to learn how understand their dog's behaviour and how to respond in a clear and positive manner that builds your bond with your pet.
Debra
CROSBY
My name is Crosby. I am a two year old GSD. I’m told I am very handsome and for a while now I have also been told I am a “Very good boy!” I really like hearing that.
Before I met Pam, I was a nervous, over-reactor. It was no fun for my humans to take me out for walks. I would lunge at other dogs and bark at them. I thought that was my job. I thought I was supposed to protect them because, after all, I am a German Shepherd.
Pam worked with my mom, dad and 12 year old human sister to teach them how to handle me and to show me that we need to work as a team. I have learned that I am supposed to walk behind them; I am not allowed to pull them along. I also learned that other people and other dogs are not threats. We don’t need to meet and greet everyone that goes past us but we also don’t need to be rude and reactive. My recall is getting pretty good and I am now able to walk off leash during parts of our walks which is super fun!
Pam comes to my house each week and takes me for a walk with my other little dog friends when my humans are at work. My world has opened up a lot since we started working with Pam because my humans and I are more confident that I now understand my role in our family pack.
Thank you Pam! See you soon for our fun walk. Can we go to the beach next week so I can chase a stick off leash?
This Testimonial is supported by Crosby’s humans: Sean, Cindy and Georgia Harte
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HERBIE
Watching Hayden with Herbie has been an absolute delight. The training is really working. I am grateful for your hard work and dedication.
We will be recommending you and your program for sure.
Thanks,
Drew
TERABYTE
Terabyte, John, and I are enjoying your classes tremendously. You are a kind and patient instructor/teacher. Your classes get all three of us up and out of the house learning new ways to interact with the world. I value your ongoing support of Terabyte. Thank you.
Kindest regards,
Wanda
CALLIE
Pamela has done an excellent job in helping us to train our dog Callie. Pamela came to our home to meet us and Callie and provided us with a sound assessment of the type of training that would be most beneficial. Commencing with basic obedience and then progressing to advanced leash training, the results have been very positive. I highly recommend Pamela as a very competent and caring trainer.
CARLY
During May of 2018 I visited Victoria, with my then 5 month old German Shepard pup (Carly), and had the opportunity to watch Pam Owen training a group of people and their pups. I was so impressed by Pam’s calm no nonsense approach, her ease and confidence, and her excellent communication skills with both her canine and human students!
In October it became clear to me that I was failing my pup. We’d taken obedience classes and she responded really well to my commands but I wasn’t keeping her fulfilled and happy and didn’t have the skills to keep her engaged and focused. Although she is my seventh German Shephard and I’d always trained obedient dogs, she is much smarter, has significantly higher energy and is more eager to work than any other dog I’ve owned. My goal is to form a great unit with Carly so that I can confidently take her anywhere and know that she’ll be welcome.
I knew immediately that I wanted to work with Pam as I’d been so impressed. I was fortunate to be able to arrange 4 mornings of training and returned to Victoria. One of Carly’s major issues was that she greeted other dogs and people much too enthusiastically and she was starting to display bullying behaviour when not eagerly met. My sister’s dog really didn’t like her!
Pam took Carly out each morning and about half way through each session I joined them. I loved watching and learning from her as she was always kind, never loud, and so consistent. Without any drama she was able to, very clearly, demonstrate and explain each exercise and what she expected to me as well as what the objective was. Pam’s focus was on creating immediate, positive, response to commands, leaving both the dog and the handler confident and happy with their relationship. She stressed that timing and consistency was everything. Pam clearly understands ‘Dog’! On the second day Pam took Carly and my sister’s dog out together and in about half an hour, when I went down to see how they were doing, I was met by the dogs playing together.
We worked on proper commands for sit, down and stay and appropriate, effective, corrections for each if they broke as well as loose leash walking and recall. Pam even had her dropping on the ‘down’ command when responding to recall. Carly mastered it all with Pam in a very short time and loved every second of her training. I realize that I’m the one who needs to be more consistent and not confuse Carly by any of my commands or actions.
I will be forever grateful to Pam for getting both Carly and I on the right path. If ever we stray my very first call will be to Pam Owen.
Wendy Morrison
Foothills, Alberta
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