| TESTIMONIALS |
About Russ Rathy's training and how it worked for us:
We have an 11-month-old Beagle named Brim. We bought him from a couple outside of Esterhazy when he was 8
weeks old and he has been very aggressive since the day we brought him home. Brim has been a hard dog to pet
since he was a puppy, due to his constant nipping. As well whenever you tried to get him to do something he did
not want to do he would become very mean and aggressive and has bitten both my girlfriend and myself on many
occasion even breaking skin and drawing blood a few times.
We decided to take Brim to puppy school where he learned to sit, stay and lay but it didn’t help with his behaviour
problems.
When Brim was about 7 months old we called ****** to help us with Brim’s problem. She came to our house,
talked to us about her program and gave us a handout outlining her program. The program would take us a month
to do, she told us that after the program was done Brim’s behaviour problem would be fixed. Brim improved just a
little bit but he was still mean and still biting us. We tried phoning, leaving voice mail and e-mailing ******* to
inform her that Brim was still a problem dog but it took well over a couple of weeks for her to return our
messages. After hearing that her program didn’t work with Brim she suggested that he may have a chemical
imbalance and that he would always be the way he is. She also told us that our only options would be to just deal
with our mean dog or have him put down. I was very upset that a professional dog trainer would tell me to put
down my dog especially after only one in person consultation. Barbara told us to make a schedule telling when
Brim was mean and what privileges he was given, toys, treats etc., to see if this had any relation to his aggressive
behaviour. We did not follow her instructions as they had no effect on Brims aggression and have had no contact
with her since then.
We had been “just dealing with our problem beagle” up until we met Russ Rathy. We heard from the Humane
Society that Russ trains problem and aggressive dogs, and thought that it was worth a try. We got Russ’s phone
number, called him and he came to our house that day and within an hour Brim was acting like a different (normal)
dog towards both my girlfriend and myself. Over a couple of months Russ came to our house and has been
actively involved with Brim’s training. Over a short period of time we have seen great improvement in Brim’s
behaviour and he improved daily because of Russ’s training techniques.
I feel that because of Russ’s background with training Narcotic Detection dogs and Protection dogs he is more
than qualified to handle/train aggressive and problem dogs, he has demonstrated that his method works and our
newly behaving beagle is proof.
Sincerely,
Tanner B. Kaufmann
We have an 11-month-old Beagle named Brim. We bought him from a couple outside of Esterhazy when he was 8
weeks old and he has been very aggressive since the day we brought him home. Brim has been a hard dog to pet
since he was a puppy, due to his constant nipping. As well whenever you tried to get him to do something he did
not want to do he would become very mean and aggressive and has bitten both my girlfriend and myself on many
occasion even breaking skin and drawing blood a few times.
We decided to take Brim to puppy school where he learned to sit, stay and lay but it didn’t help with his behaviour
problems.
When Brim was about 7 months old we called ****** to help us with Brim’s problem. She came to our house,
talked to us about her program and gave us a handout outlining her program. The program would take us a month
to do, she told us that after the program was done Brim’s behaviour problem would be fixed. Brim improved just a
little bit but he was still mean and still biting us. We tried phoning, leaving voice mail and e-mailing ******* to
inform her that Brim was still a problem dog but it took well over a couple of weeks for her to return our
messages. After hearing that her program didn’t work with Brim she suggested that he may have a chemical
imbalance and that he would always be the way he is. She also told us that our only options would be to just deal
with our mean dog or have him put down. I was very upset that a professional dog trainer would tell me to put
down my dog especially after only one in person consultation. Barbara told us to make a schedule telling when
Brim was mean and what privileges he was given, toys, treats etc., to see if this had any relation to his aggressive
behaviour. We did not follow her instructions as they had no effect on Brims aggression and have had no contact
with her since then.
We had been “just dealing with our problem beagle” up until we met Russ Rathy. We heard from the Humane
Society that Russ trains problem and aggressive dogs, and thought that it was worth a try. We got Russ’s phone
number, called him and he came to our house that day and within an hour Brim was acting like a different (normal)
dog towards both my girlfriend and myself. Over a couple of months Russ came to our house and has been
actively involved with Brim’s training. Over a short period of time we have seen great improvement in Brim’s
behaviour and he improved daily because of Russ’s training techniques.
I feel that because of Russ’s background with training Narcotic Detection dogs and Protection dogs he is more
than qualified to handle/train aggressive and problem dogs, he has demonstrated that his method works and our
newly behaving beagle is proof.
Sincerely,
Tanner B. Kaufmann
Hi Russ:
I would like to take this moment to thank you for all the help you gave to Frankie and myself. I had been with at
least 3 different Trainers and had attended 2 Puppy Schools without much success.
When we first hooked up with you, Frankie was a very strong, energetic 7 month old Boxer. We had learnt some
very basic commands but we hadn't progressed as well as I thought we should have. I always thought that Frankie
was smart enough and willing to learn, but something just wasn't clicking. I felt that most of the problems was with
the Trainer (meaning me) and not with the dog. I just felt that I couldn't get the message through to her and that
my timing was off. I needed to get someone to
watch me handling the dog and to make corrections as I was in the process of training.
With your willingness to come to my home and spend many hours showing me the techniques and watching me
handle Frankie we both learnt more then we had learnt in all the previous months. I feel now that I have a good
solid base that I can continue with for the next year and for the first time ever
I feel that at the end I will be one of those people with the dog everyone wishes they had. I never thought I would
be able to say that.
It never hurts that you fell in love with Frankie and you made me feel like I had the best dog in the world. I like the
fact that you were always honest about the mistakes I was making and kindly told me how to change the things I
was doing wrong.
So Russ I just need to thank you and wish you all the best in the future .
Your caring way will always be your best asset.
Many thanks Frankie and Liz.
I would like to take this moment to thank you for all the help you gave to Frankie and myself. I had been with at
least 3 different Trainers and had attended 2 Puppy Schools without much success.
When we first hooked up with you, Frankie was a very strong, energetic 7 month old Boxer. We had learnt some
very basic commands but we hadn't progressed as well as I thought we should have. I always thought that Frankie
was smart enough and willing to learn, but something just wasn't clicking. I felt that most of the problems was with
the Trainer (meaning me) and not with the dog. I just felt that I couldn't get the message through to her and that
my timing was off. I needed to get someone to
watch me handling the dog and to make corrections as I was in the process of training.
With your willingness to come to my home and spend many hours showing me the techniques and watching me
handle Frankie we both learnt more then we had learnt in all the previous months. I feel now that I have a good
solid base that I can continue with for the next year and for the first time ever
I feel that at the end I will be one of those people with the dog everyone wishes they had. I never thought I would
be able to say that.
It never hurts that you fell in love with Frankie and you made me feel like I had the best dog in the world. I like the
fact that you were always honest about the mistakes I was making and kindly told me how to change the things I
was doing wrong.
So Russ I just need to thank you and wish you all the best in the future .
Your caring way will always be your best asset.
Many thanks Frankie and Liz.
THE STORY OF OTIS....
On September 2, 2005 I adopted a 5 year old dog named Otis from the Regina Humane Society. He looked very
good on paper – he was already fixed, knew basic commands, was in good health, and could be home alone for up
to 10 hours. After visiting him twice, we decided to make him part of our family.
Otis bonded with us very quickly, but he would get visibly upset and nervous when I had to go to work or if we had
to leave him for any length of time.
Since I was not too familiar with anything other than outdoor dogs we had on our farm growing up, I just kept Otis
in the basement with a baby gate atop the stairs to keep him from roaming the entire house. I gave him food,
water and toys to play with, and a soft place to lay down. I made sure I left a light and a radio on. I thought I was
doing everything I was supposed to. I thought things were okay for the first few days, but it wasn’t long before
things went from bad to worse. He began knocking the baby gate down, so I had to buy a bigger, higher one.
That didn’t work either, so I placed 2 high-backed dining room chairs against the gate to help support the gate.
Those too were knocked down when I got home from work.
Every day it seemed to get worse. He would pee in the house. He would pace, pant and whine when I was
leaving. He was chewing on the wooden hand railing, leaving it all gouged with big slivers sticking out. He began
chewing on the walls. Every day when I would come home from work, there would be a big mess to clean up….a
puddle or two of urine, chunks of drywall to pick up and claw and tooth marks on the stairs and baby gate. I was
dreading what I was going to come home to every day. One day when I came home he had ripped the metal
edging from the corner wall from floor to ceiling. The piece of metal was all bent and mangled and drywall had
been chewed through right down to the 2x4. There was blood from his mouth all over the wall where he had been
chewing. Not only was he destroying my house, he was going to destroy his teeth and mouth. I thought he was
nuts. I tried to hang in there, but then he started having seizures too. He was out of control and it was very
distressing for all of us.
I took him to the vet, told her about the seizures and the separation anxiety. I was hoping to get some anti-anxiety
meds for him, but she told me that anti-anxiety meds are contraindicated by anti-seizure meds. I got a quote from
the vet for the anti-seizure meds and was floored with the cost and I knew that I would not be able to afford it.
Plus, the vet warned me that after his seizure tests came back, it may be that it is not a seizure disorder but possibly
a brain tumor causing the seizures and then that would cost me even more money.
The situation looked very bleak. Combine his health problems with the separation anxiety, the damage to my
house, and the stress it was causing , I was faced with the fact that I could not afford this dog on a financial or
emotional level. I felt I had no choice and would have to surrender him back to the shelter.
To shorten a very long story, I took him back to the shelter, filled out the forms and found out that he had been
assessed as too high maintenance and problematic and that he would have to be put down. I hadn’t known that he
wouldn’t be given another chance, perhaps by someone who had more time and money on their hands. After an
emotional roller coaster of a day, I felt Otis deserved one more chance from me. I didn’t want to be the one to
fail him, so I went back to reclaim him, not knowing how I was going to manage this dog , but that I wanted to try
somehow.
When the boys and I went there to pick him up, we got in just before closing time. One of the workers asked me
if I wanted to talk to a dog trainer who just happened to be there to pick up his wife who was finishing her shift at
the shelter.
I said sure. Russ came out to talk to us about Otis. He asked a few questions, offered some tips, and explained
some of the behaviors. He offered his services at a very reasonable rate. I was desperate for help, and luckily he
was able to make time to meet with us later that evening.
The session was excellent. I found out that I knew nothing about dog psychology. This dog that I thought was a
mental case really wasn’t at all. Russ involved the entire family in rehabilitating Otis (or ourselves, rather), giving
us tips and explaining the rationale behind each instruction so that it made sense. We did what he recommended,
and just as he said, it worked.
Within about 2-3 months, there was miraculous improvement. I couldn’t believe that simple changes would make a
world of difference. Otis was a whole new dog. The urinating had stopped. The chewing through walls had
stopped. The most amazing thing of all is that the seizures stopped completely. I didn’t have to put him on
medication after all.
We found Russ to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable about training dogs. It is easy to see that he and his
wife Shaun are passionate about dogs. I have seen them both with their dogs and trust completely that they know
what they are doing. In addition, I found Russ to very professional. He is courteous and friendly and even does
follow up on the progress the dog makes. He gives individual consultations, and is flexible with his schedule. His
fee was so reasonable I could not believe my luck. It was obvious to me that he cares more about a positive
outcome with the dog than taking advantage of desperate people.
So many dogs are put down because people like me do not know how to handle them. If only more people knew
what to do with dogs like this, so many would be saved. I have often thought that it would be so beneficial if
shelters and vets worked with trainers like Russ, recommending him to people who need help with dogs with
behavioral problems. Same with the veterinary office – they didn’t help me at all with the separation anxiety in my
dog. They did not recommend a trainer of any kind to me. In fact, I was told that no one would blame me if I had
him put down for what he was doing. The enormous heartache our family would have gone through if Otis had
been put down, over something so easily fixed would have been a tragedy.
I am thoroughly pleased with the information, instruction and personal service from Russ. I recommend him to
anyone and everyone. I am grateful and give him full credit for saving this dog’s life. If Otis could talk, he would
thank him too.
Sincerely from
Leah, Dorian, Robert and most of all….
Otis.
On September 2, 2005 I adopted a 5 year old dog named Otis from the Regina Humane Society. He looked very
good on paper – he was already fixed, knew basic commands, was in good health, and could be home alone for up
to 10 hours. After visiting him twice, we decided to make him part of our family.
Otis bonded with us very quickly, but he would get visibly upset and nervous when I had to go to work or if we had
to leave him for any length of time.
Since I was not too familiar with anything other than outdoor dogs we had on our farm growing up, I just kept Otis
in the basement with a baby gate atop the stairs to keep him from roaming the entire house. I gave him food,
water and toys to play with, and a soft place to lay down. I made sure I left a light and a radio on. I thought I was
doing everything I was supposed to. I thought things were okay for the first few days, but it wasn’t long before
things went from bad to worse. He began knocking the baby gate down, so I had to buy a bigger, higher one.
That didn’t work either, so I placed 2 high-backed dining room chairs against the gate to help support the gate.
Those too were knocked down when I got home from work.
Every day it seemed to get worse. He would pee in the house. He would pace, pant and whine when I was
leaving. He was chewing on the wooden hand railing, leaving it all gouged with big slivers sticking out. He began
chewing on the walls. Every day when I would come home from work, there would be a big mess to clean up….a
puddle or two of urine, chunks of drywall to pick up and claw and tooth marks on the stairs and baby gate. I was
dreading what I was going to come home to every day. One day when I came home he had ripped the metal
edging from the corner wall from floor to ceiling. The piece of metal was all bent and mangled and drywall had
been chewed through right down to the 2x4. There was blood from his mouth all over the wall where he had been
chewing. Not only was he destroying my house, he was going to destroy his teeth and mouth. I thought he was
nuts. I tried to hang in there, but then he started having seizures too. He was out of control and it was very
distressing for all of us.
I took him to the vet, told her about the seizures and the separation anxiety. I was hoping to get some anti-anxiety
meds for him, but she told me that anti-anxiety meds are contraindicated by anti-seizure meds. I got a quote from
the vet for the anti-seizure meds and was floored with the cost and I knew that I would not be able to afford it.
Plus, the vet warned me that after his seizure tests came back, it may be that it is not a seizure disorder but possibly
a brain tumor causing the seizures and then that would cost me even more money.
The situation looked very bleak. Combine his health problems with the separation anxiety, the damage to my
house, and the stress it was causing , I was faced with the fact that I could not afford this dog on a financial or
emotional level. I felt I had no choice and would have to surrender him back to the shelter.
To shorten a very long story, I took him back to the shelter, filled out the forms and found out that he had been
assessed as too high maintenance and problematic and that he would have to be put down. I hadn’t known that he
wouldn’t be given another chance, perhaps by someone who had more time and money on their hands. After an
emotional roller coaster of a day, I felt Otis deserved one more chance from me. I didn’t want to be the one to
fail him, so I went back to reclaim him, not knowing how I was going to manage this dog , but that I wanted to try
somehow.
When the boys and I went there to pick him up, we got in just before closing time. One of the workers asked me
if I wanted to talk to a dog trainer who just happened to be there to pick up his wife who was finishing her shift at
the shelter.
I said sure. Russ came out to talk to us about Otis. He asked a few questions, offered some tips, and explained
some of the behaviors. He offered his services at a very reasonable rate. I was desperate for help, and luckily he
was able to make time to meet with us later that evening.
The session was excellent. I found out that I knew nothing about dog psychology. This dog that I thought was a
mental case really wasn’t at all. Russ involved the entire family in rehabilitating Otis (or ourselves, rather), giving
us tips and explaining the rationale behind each instruction so that it made sense. We did what he recommended,
and just as he said, it worked.
Within about 2-3 months, there was miraculous improvement. I couldn’t believe that simple changes would make a
world of difference. Otis was a whole new dog. The urinating had stopped. The chewing through walls had
stopped. The most amazing thing of all is that the seizures stopped completely. I didn’t have to put him on
medication after all.
We found Russ to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable about training dogs. It is easy to see that he and his
wife Shaun are passionate about dogs. I have seen them both with their dogs and trust completely that they know
what they are doing. In addition, I found Russ to very professional. He is courteous and friendly and even does
follow up on the progress the dog makes. He gives individual consultations, and is flexible with his schedule. His
fee was so reasonable I could not believe my luck. It was obvious to me that he cares more about a positive
outcome with the dog than taking advantage of desperate people.
So many dogs are put down because people like me do not know how to handle them. If only more people knew
what to do with dogs like this, so many would be saved. I have often thought that it would be so beneficial if
shelters and vets worked with trainers like Russ, recommending him to people who need help with dogs with
behavioral problems. Same with the veterinary office – they didn’t help me at all with the separation anxiety in my
dog. They did not recommend a trainer of any kind to me. In fact, I was told that no one would blame me if I had
him put down for what he was doing. The enormous heartache our family would have gone through if Otis had
been put down, over something so easily fixed would have been a tragedy.
I am thoroughly pleased with the information, instruction and personal service from Russ. I recommend him to
anyone and everyone. I am grateful and give him full credit for saving this dog’s life. If Otis could talk, he would
thank him too.
Sincerely from
Leah, Dorian, Robert and most of all….
Otis.