Walter, The Dog Whisperer

I didn’t want another dog. We had one. Unfortunately he only lived until 6 and passed away of cancer. It was traumatic, sad and unnerving to explain to your 4 year-old son his dog was sick and passed too soon.

I fought tooth and nail for years. I kept saying that I had two kids and I wasn’t ready for another because I know that having a puppy is exactly like having a child. People may tell you otherwise but I will tell you first hand, it is having a newborn all over again. However, after 6 years of the kids begging and my husband pleading, I had no choice but to give in. Marriage is about compromise, right? Well this was a biggie for me but since Greg really does everything for me and doesn’t ask for much, I gave in.

We picked up Griffin in June. People ask me why a boxer and all I can say is that my husband had boxers his entire life and it was out of the question to even bring up another breed. Some things are worth fighting for and some aren’t. Boxer it was.

Boxer’s LOVE kids, they are an amazing family pet but they can be crazy puppies. I told Greg I wanted the most docile puppy in the litter. No question. We got him. Griffin is sweet and loving. BUT Griffin had one small issue and it was the crate. HE HATED IT. If you have not read my prior 3am posts with me wanting to sleep in the car, hide from the dog because of his SCREAMING and CRYING in the crate, well now you know.

We didn’t know what to do. Believe me, we tried EVERYTHING! and then a friend of mine recommended Walter, the owner of onPOINT K-9. Walter, “the dog whisperer”, who has transformed my dog into an astonishing new creature.

Don’t believe me? This is the story:

We called Walter and he explained he takes Griffin for 10 days. Truthfully, I was ecstatic. I hadn’t slept in days and 10 days was music to my ears. I was getting close to sending the dog back to the breeder so a 10 day vacation in hopes that things would be better sounded pretty great to me.

onPoint is located in Warren which was a 15 minute drive from my house. Easy and convenient. I had no idea what to expect as doggie boot camp was a whole new world for me.  I packed his food, his leash, and his papers and we were all set.

I pulled up to Walter’s house and I was pleasantly surprised to see a big beautiful home set on so much land! Walter greeted us and helped me in with Griffin’s things. Even Walter’s little brother came to say hi. I knew the minute Griffin jumped to greet Walter’s brother he was definitely thinking I had no control over this dog and I was thinking he is right!

Walter went over his training techniques and walked me around the property.  He explained that his Stay and Train program was like when you send your car to a mechanic for repair problems, the dog was being sent to learn obedience commands and address behavior issues that will be remedied during his stay. It was up to me to sustain Griffin’s new training after I picked him up from the shop, aka – onPOINT.  Greg and I would be given a private lesson with Griffin to learn the key commands and training techniques when we picked him up in order to follow through with everything he learned.

Truthfully I would follow through with ANYTHING if Walter could fix Griffin’s crate anxiety.

Griffin was already making friends 2 minutes in.

Walter loves to take the dogs for a morning swim in his lake. No, not just the dogs, Walter too!

Walter had an entire agility area that he said the dogs love. It keeps them active and helps to train discipline.  Some dogs come here to train here for agility competitions, although Griffin will not be one of those dogs.

Walter also does speciality training (besides agility):

• Scent Work
• Service Dog
• Personal Protection
• Treadmill
• Swimming
• Retrieving

Obviously I wasn’t looking for any of that training. I just wanted Griffin to come home unafraid of the crate and house broken with an understanding of all the basic commands (sit, stay, down,). 

I relayed this to Walter and he smiled and told me Griffin was in good hands. I smiled back, gave Griffin a kiss and left for my 10 day vacation of sleep!

While Griffin was in camp, we got to visit him on Instagram. Yes Bunk1for dogs!

When I saw this picture, I almost fell over…

Yes, that would be Griffin lying down in the crate with the door open.  You cannot understand how hard it was to even get him to go in the crate! The fact that he was lying there with the door open was incomprehensible. Seriously, I couldn’t believe it. Maybe there was hope after all!

I saw Griffin doing agility work which was awesome since he loved to jump so much!

 

The 10 days flew  by fast and before I knew it,  it was time to pick up Griffin. Greg and I took Parker with us since Zach was in camp so we could all take the private “Time to go Home” lesson.

When we got there, Walter brought us into a room and explained everything that he worked on with Griffin in past 10 days. He told us the 3 main principles in training your dog which are timing, consistency and motivation. If you follow through with these principles, they are the SECRET to clear communication between you and your dog.

I had no idea that dogs can only process something in 1.3 seconds. So when I was yelling at Griffin after he peed in the house, he had NO IDEA what I was yelling at him for. It was only when he was actually peeing and I yelled at him, he understood he was doing something wrong.

Walter brought Griffin out to us and showed us everything he learned while he was at camp.

We were there for over an hour so I will give you the jist…

Walter has this dog bed that looks like a mini trampoline called “The Climb”. Basically your dog is told to go on this and stay. He cannot leave until you say “FREE”. This is the BEST THING EVER when you are eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You tell your dog to climb and stay. You enjoy your meal without your dog hovering around the table and when you are finished you can say free to allow him to get off. Amazing!

The crate, OH THE CRATE!!!! Walter walked Griffin to the crate on his leash and said “Crate.” Griffin walked in by himself and stood there. It wasn’t until Walter said “Free” that he walked out. I tried it myself while Walter watched and it worked. A bloody miracle.

Walter also gave Parker a lesson and taught him how to walk Griffin on the leash and use the Climb.

Greg also did some walking with Griffin (not letting Griffin walk Greg).

 

So what did Griffin learn in 10 days?

He learned the sit and down commands. He learned how to walk properly on a leash. He learned not to JUMP on people to greet them! (HUGE, boxers are infamous for this). He learned what it means to be “free” and most importantly his anxiety in the crate was resolved.

Walter is a treasure! He is the best thing that ever happened since we brought Griffin home. You know I am very selective with who I recommend and who I don’t and I will tell you first hand Walter is a 10 when it comes to dog trainers. I will be sending Griffin back to his off leash program this fall.

If you are looking for help with your puppy or even a dog who you think can’t be fixed, Walter is your man. You can read more HERE about some of his before and after dog training sessions.

I was so sad to say goodbye as I wanted to take Walter home with us but I knew it wouldn’t be forever!

If you are interested in Walter’s amazing training program, mention lulu when you call and you will receive a special discount!!

 

Walter Quense, onPOINT-K9, [email protected], 908-605-0008