Mac

Owners: Kevin, Renae, & London

City: Pasadena 91101

Dog’s Name: Mac

Breed: Terrier/Poodle mix

Likes: Long walks, running in the park and playing with my “princess” sister, Lolli-Pop

Pet-Peeves: Little kids, shufflers, men with hoodies or hats and getting picked-up

Favorite Toy: Any old stuffed-animal will do!

Favorite Treat: Peanut-butter stuffed bones

Favorite Walk: A long one… to the park.

Best Tricks: Jumping really high!

Arrival Story: We rescued Mac in response to a Craigslist ad. He was living with a family that had children who abused him.

Bio: Mac is our “grumpy guy” who has a big tender heart deep down inside. He loves being with the family but also needs his own space.

Weird Quirk: We bought a cute little pink bed for our female “princess” dog, and a big brown plush bed for Mac, when we brought them home Mac went directly to the pink bed and never left it. Needless to say our female dog now sleeps on his brown bed and he has adopted the pink ruffle bed.

Motto: I just want to please you, but I need to learn how.

Why Sit Means Sit for training? We welcomed our first baby into our home in June and shortly after we started to notice a decline in Mac’s behavior.  He was acting out, biting, snapping, and growling, more often.  We knew that with Mac’s history of abuse, especially because it was at the hands of children, that he may not adjust well to having a new baby.  We needed to make sure that we could get a handle on his aggression and get his “attention” quickly, before the baby started crawling/interacting with him.  We had always read that the “Alpha” dominating way of dog training was the most effective, but with Mac’s low self-esteem we knew this was not the answer.  We really loved the Sit Means Sit philosophy of gentle, positive, dog training.  A “tap on the shoulder” took on a whole new meaning and really changed the way we interacted with Mac!

Dulce

Owners: Matt, Mariana, Sharon, Ben & Kim

City: Pasadena 91106

Dog’s Name: Dulce

Breed: Miniature Poodle mix

Likes: to be carried, affection, snuggling in the blankets, and any human food!

Pet-Peeves: gardeners, bicycles, and people in hats
Update: Since Dulce completed her Board & Train Program, bicycles are no longer a pet-peeve.  Check out the video below to see how Dulce feels about bikes.

Favorite Toy: stuffed dog animal

Favorite Treat: hot dog

Favorite Walk: to the Starbucks at Lake & California in Pasadena

Best Tricks: dancing on two feet

Arrival Story: Dulce was adopted from Pasadena Humane Society.

Bio: Dulce is a sweet little dog who loves to be part of the family.

Fun Fact: Dulce can walk and hop around on her two back feet!

Motto: Girls just wanna have fun!

Why Sit Means Sit for training? Shortly after bringing Dulce home from the shelter, we discovered that she had some eye problems that required surgery.  During her recovery from her surgery, she was on some medications that caused her to be very mellow.  Once she was fully recovered, Dulce’s true spunky personality appeared, along with some problem behaviors.  She uses her mouth to nip at us to get attention and can get over excited very easily.  We just want her to learn how to get our attention without biting us and how to stay calm so that she can spend more time with the family and even be able to go places with us.

Diesel

Owners: Max & Ivonne

Dog’s Name: Diesel

Breed: Rottweiler

Likes: Diesel likes to play a lot.

Pet-Peeves: being left alone

Favorite Toy: Squeaky bear toy

Favorite Treat: peanut butter treat

Favorite Walk: not ready for a walk yet

Best Tricks: no tricks yet

Arrival Story: We got Diesel when he was 9 weeks old.  He was the smallest of the litter.

Bio: Diesel likes being around people.  He is a very happy and mellow puppy.

Weird Quirk: When Diesel is told to stay in place and he thinks we’re not watching him, he tries to sneak away by dragging himself little by little across the floor away from the spot.

Motto: Try and try until you succeed.

Why Sit Means Sit for training? We don’t want to end up locking him up or giving him away because we don’t have any control over him.  We want to be able to keep our dog around us.  We have children and we need to have him be reliable around them and also our visitors.  The bottom line is we don’t want him to be a threat to anyone.

Skye

Owners: Philip & Jennifer

Dog’s Name: Skye

Breed: Golden Retriever

Likes: Hugs, kisses, and sleeping in your lap

Pet-Peeves: when you eat something in front of her and she can’t have any

Favorite Toy: Squeaky, fluffy piggy that now only has two feet.  She also loves any soft stuffed animal that is smaller than her (the smaller, the better!)

Favorite Treat: anything we eat

Favorite Walk: any place that is quiet

Best Tricks: Sitting and looking cute.  She is very good at looking at you with big, round eyes like Puss-in-Boots.

Arrival Story: My parents brought her home one day since their friend was moving and  they had to give up their dog.  Right when Skye came into the house, she darted straight for us and has latched on and stuck by us ever since.

Bio: Skye is a happy, playful dog that loves hugs and kisses, and she will take any opportunity to lie on us.  Stuffed animals (particularly the smaller ones) are her favorite and she will do just about anything for food.  All she wants is to be loved and feel safe.

Weird Quirk: We think Skye is part cat.  She cleans herself with her paw, she purrs when we pet her, and she pounces on her stuffed animals.

Motto: I’m cute – feed me!

Why Sit Means Sit for training? There are many reasons but the main reasons are because Skye is very aggressive to other dogs and she gets distracted very easily.

Jake & Percy

Owners: Maura, Jamie, Meghan, & Michael

City: Pasadena, CA 91106

Dog’s Name: Jake & Percy

Breed: Klee Kai

Likes
Jake: attention, his Jake pillow, anything fluffy
Percy: attention, snuggling with Michael & Meghan

Pet-Peeves
Percy: when Jake gets attention

Favorite Toy: Jake loves his Jake pillow and anything fluffy.  Percy loves his Percy pillow and bones.

Favorite Treat: Jake and Percy both like cut up chicken.  Jake also likes beef sticks.

Favorite Walk: 3 mile loop around our neighborhood

Best Tricks: none yet

Arrival Story: We adopted Jake and Percy from a breeder in Riverside in August 2011.

Bio: Jake and Percy are 6 month old Alaskan Klee Kai littermates.  Jake is usually easy going but whines a lot.  Percy tries to dominate his brother and usually gets his way.  Percy loves to be around people and whines when he is not getting attention.

Fun Fact: Jake has one brown eye and one blue eye.  Percy has 5 toes on his back paw.

Why Sit Means Sit for training? We want to get them into a routine and to teach them to stop jumping all over everyone.

Joy

Owners: Arnold & Cathy

City: Pasadena, CA 91107

Dog’s Name: Joy

Breed: Keeshond

Likes: to play with big “sister” (a Shepherd/Greyhound mix)

Pet-Peeves: being told “no”

Favorite Toy: squeaker mouse, balls

Favorite Treat: yogurt bite treats

Favorite Walk: walking around our property with “sister” looking for squirrels or any other animal

Best Tricks: none yet

Arrival Story: We contacted Tawn & Patte at Shoreline Kees after our Keeshond, Kiki passed away.  One of their dogs had just been bred, and on 9-11-11 had 6 puppies, 4 girls & 2 boys.  We went for a visit and fell in love with Joy – who played with us the whole visit.  We were finally able to bring her home 2 months later.  She is truly a “joy” for us.

Bio: Joy was bred from show dogs – mother Tasha, father Jordy.  We are told she has the capability of also being a show dog.  Joy’s show name is Deja Vu, but to us she is our funny, cute and loving Joy!

Weird Quirk: Joy loves to climb!  She climbed out of a 2 foot pen, then a 4 foot pen and a 3 foot high baby gate – all this at 3 months.

Why Sit Means Sit for training? With the possibility of Joy being a show dog, we wanted her to be trained professionally.  Our veterinarian recommended Sit Means Sit.  We met with Jennifer and were happy with what she presented to us.

Luna

City: Van Nuys, CA 91406

Dog’s Name: Luna

Breed: German Shepherd

Likes: being adventurous, being chased, playing ball, playing with dogs

Pet-Peeves: doesn’t like sharing

Favorite Toy: squeaker football, any ball, sticks

Favorite Treat: anything with chicken & apple, Smart Balance treats, and cookie treats

Best Tricks: sit & down

Arrival Story: My sister decided to get me a Thanksgiving Day present.  She went online and searched for a perfect dog.  It came down to two but, the first place we arrived and saw Luna, it was love at first sight for both of us.  She is our pride & joy.  As any parent, we want to raise her with great respect and manners.

Bio: Luna is a 4 month old German Shepherd.  Her parents are pure breed.  She comes from a family of ten.  She is very outgoing, but extremely sensitive.  She likes being around people who she knows but is very shy and is sometimes scared of people that she doesn’t know.

Weird Quirk: When we talk in funny voices, she responds by trying to help you because she thinks you are in pain.  When she doesn’t get her way, she goes to another person to complain and whine about it.

Motto: Do good to others and good will come to you.

Why Sit Means Sit for training? After trying Petco training, we still had some problems with Luna.  Our breeder suggested that we try Sit Means Sit to teach Luna how to be well behaved.