Hello Pat
This past weekend my border collie Remy earned his CDX. Last October when we were at Peaceable Paws for the Reactive Rover workshop I couldn’t even dream of such things! He’s also herding sheep while in the presence of intact male dogs — unthinkable a year ago. I’ve learned how to manage situations — Remy needs lots of time to just sit and watch life going on around him at shows; then he relaxes. If there is a breed of dog at the show that he hasn’t seen before, then he goes through some intense watching but we can work through/past it. Now at shows, in the long sits & downs, he has been next to all sorts — from intact male Irish Wolfhounds to ultra-fascinating Mexican Hairless, and he is fine.
Interesting to me are the reactions from some others — since Remy now is handling these previously difficult situations with calmness and minimal reactivity they want me to throw caution to the wind and plunge him into situations that I consider chaotic and risky. No thanks. I use what I learned at Peaceable Paws and am grateful for the dog I have.
He’s been great with the rare loose dog that rushes up to him, and with intact male show dogs that are oozing testosterone as long as I follow what we learned. I have no desire to test Remy’s limits, not when I so enjoy the dog I have now.
Thanks for the work you do,
Susan Donoghue
Four shows, three Qs, two 3rds, and one 1st = Remy CDX
I just wanted to express my sincere gratitude for yesterday’s appointment. That was the best 175 dollars I think we have ever spent. Taylor Boone went out this morning with my husband who carried treats with him and gave her a treat (small) every time she saw a dog and he told me they saw FIVE dogs, 2 of which were BIG, and she did not ONCE bark.
CRAZY AND INCREDIBLE.
I am off to the store today to get canned chicken. I am pretty sure yesterday may have revolutionized our life and I deeply appreciate it.
I am starting my homework today with Taylor Boone and will report back in two weeks and let you know how we are.
Pretty incredible.
Thank you so much. I wish we would have come to see you guys a year ago.
Sincerely,
Claire
Thank you, Ms. Miller, for an inspiring weekend. I cannot remember when I have attended a seminar with such a knowledgeable speaker able to communicate and interact appropriately with her audience. Visuals, demos…just exceptional. I appreciated the fact that your had no need to impress, were comfortable in your skin, and could appropriately acknowledge, easily visit with and relate to your audience, yet retain control. You, Ms. Miller, made difficult appear easy.
Gloria Jeanne Epp
“Play with your Dog” is a breath of fresh air for professional trainers and dog owners alike. It’s written in non-technical language that provides a quick read, although there’s enough learning theory in there to appease the professional and explain the “why” of it to owners. Pat Miller reminds us over and over again to remember why we got our dogs in the first place, and why it is so important to keep returning to that concept. All the training, ribbons, and learned behaviors in the world lose value if you and your pet aren’t best buds. The book is full of easily understandable games and activities that a trainer could use in the classroom and an owner could use right at home. Having taught an unsocialized dog how to play, I can personally vouch for the power of play. With this book, Pat’s pure love of dogs shines through, and she has given us a simple tool that really can make all the difference. Your dog needs you to read this book now!”
Donna Pearman
My vet just got back from NAVC and said she heard a great lecture done by a really impressed by a dog trainer who did a wonderful lecture about reactive dogs and she thought the speaker’s name was Pat Miller. Pat, was that you?
Liz Wilson, CVT, CPBC
Pat Miller has had significant influence over my own life. When I first began my career as a dog trainer, I worked for a man who used compulsion-style methods, and I was devastated by the violence involved in training. It was Miller’s articles published in the “Whole Dog Journal” that showed me there is another way. Because of her commitment to educating the public on the gentle, scientific methods of positive training, today I am a trainer who spends her time improving the lives of dogs by teaching owners how to effectively communicate with their canine companions. I also spend a great deal of time writing my own articles and hand-outs about the proper ways to teach and train dogs. I hope to follow in Miller’s footsteps with a commitment to educating the public and doing my part to push forward the positive-training movement for the benefit of dogs everywhere. I can only hope and imagine that Miller has had the same type of influence over aspiring trainers everywhere.
Tails of Success
Sherri Romig
Pat… GREAT article in WDJ on shelters and ‘No Kill’ shelters. I greatly appreciated your objective viewpoint.. will use this article in my UW class when we talk about companion animal welfare.
Hope all is well…
Trisha
Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D.
Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist
Associate Adjunct Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Hi Pat,
I just had to write to tell you how much I like your new book, “Do Over Dogs.” I rarely write fan letters but your book is so good at giving clear information and your own experience-based opinions – all the while speaking as if you’re in the same room with the reader. And, as it happens, I agree with almost all of it, and I’m so glad you’ve brought some of these things to the surface that are either never discussed or that have become “myths,” never to be questioned.
Thanks again for your excellent book. I’ll be recommending it widely.
Dani
Dani Weinberg, Ph.D.
Dogs & Their People
Albuquerque, NM
Dear Mrs. Miller:
I just wanted to let you know that I just finished reading your book Do Over Dogs, and I have to say, if I had read it five years ago, I could have eliminated 1/2 the dog books on my shelf. Congrats on doing such a wonderful job compiling pretty much everything someone should know when they adopt a dog. I so wish I had it when I adopted my very first dog, a dog I mistakenly used corrections on. 🙁
I also wish I had it before I did my last book review for our Vizsla club, which included three others of your books (which were also great reads!). If you are interested in reading the review, it can be found here: http://www.vcli.net/?page_id=89, in the January 2011 newsletter, page 8.
Thanks again for writing such a wonderful book. I’m sure to include it in a future review for our club.
Sincerely,
Donna Owczarek
Pat:
Thank you for coming to Guelph and making two fabulous presentations. You were informative and well received by the audience. Many excellent comments regarding your performance and content from our participants survey.
Be Proud! You did great!
Jack
Please pass on my compliments to Ms. Pat Miller for her book, “The Power of Positive Dog Training,” an excellent resource training guide. I am having great fun at the Center sharing the benefits of clicker training as well as working with some of the shelter dogs.
As a cross over trainer, my newest sport dog is delighting in the new methods and I see him reaching his potential with joy and enthusiasm!
Thanks again, Xan
Xan Rawls
Operations Director
Young Williams Animal Center
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your contribution to making dog training humane and fun! I’m a crossover who has studied under different R+ trainers over the years, but following your work has made the difference in at least five dogs’ lives who vets and shelters had written off as hopeless. Years later, the positive results of their clicker training is still palpable: all of the dogs I trained have forever homes and peacefully share homesteads with kids, adults and other animals.
Pat Miller’s commitment and foresight to a better way to train has raised the bar in our industry and I, for one, am infinitely grateful.
Thank you so much.
Tina Boyle
Dear Pat, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all you do for animals and their people. I have long held the private opinion that there can’t possibly be just one of you: there must be two or three Pat Millers to accomplish all the things you do! ;)))
Seriously, though, your book PPDT was probably THE pivotal book in my dog training life. I was already on the journey away from traditional training methods, and your book helped crystallize everything for me and gave me what I needed all in one clearly-written volume. Though I have lots of resource books on my shelves, yours is still the main book I recommend to people (new edition, of course!). I have been on scads of Yahoo doggy groups, but yours was the very first one I ever joined and remains my favorite group.
Thanks again!
Caroline Wolstenholme
Dragoon, AZ