Jack’s Success Story —

Jack was surrendered to a local shelter from a hoarding situation at 2.5 years old. At the time of his surrender, he had had no individual human attention - never touched, groomed, leashed, anything. At the shelter he showed signs of extreme anxiety- the only way the staff could handle him is by cornering him (which they did as needed) and this scared him so much he lost control of his bladder and bowels each time. I adopted Jack in April and began reading everything I could find on the internet about helping a fearful dog. It was in this research that I found the Dog Liaison YouTube channel. In August we joined the Recovering Rover Program. At that time Jack had made tremendous progress in his ability to function as a dog in our home, but still had not built a trusting relationship with me, it was more of an uneasy truce.

Through Jenna's expert coaching I was able to adopt some new strategies, tweak some things I was already doing, and make sense of Jack's body language. Our time with Jenna has had a tremendous impact on Jack's emotional well-being. We are well on our way to solidifying a bond that will allow him the happily-ever-after he so deserves. 

My relationship with Jack has improved by leaps and bounds. I have become more in tune with reading and respecting his body language, and I established healthy sleep patterns that set him up for success. His personality means that (as of now) many games that would be enriching for most dogs are scary for him, but we were able to come up with many strategies that are helping him live his best life.

Our goals are long-term, and there are no quick-fixes for a sensitive dog but a good coach can set the course for long-term success. To anyone with a reactive or fearful dog - the Recovering Rover Program has the potential to be a game changer.