Ballinga’s Success Story —

“B was only seven months into adapting to a domestic life in Canada when we joined. He struggled A LOT with the presence of his Dad and one of our teenage daughters. As well as many noise triggers, strangers, moving around our home, just being comfortable in general living with a family in a home. He could not sleep soundly during the day or night. Also had many outdoor triggers on walks ie. bikes riding by, other people walking, other dogs walking by. And, we had a large struggle with getting Ballinga to willingly walk to our front door to go outside. 

He would respond with growling/barking at his Dad and mostly retreating, shaking and a freeze or flight response to his triggers. I personally experienced daily anxiety over ALL of it. A constant question in my mind “Can we keep this dog? Can I do this? Will he ever be happy here?” I felt very lost with how the heck to help B.   

• B and his Dad and I are experiencing a total 180 from where we all began.

• Ballinga has completely overcome his desire to not leave the bedroom for a walk.

• We have all learned how to actually communicate with each other and this has changed how he manages most triggers.

• His biggest improvement is becoming more comfortable around his Dad - 98% of the growling and barking has stopped.

• His noise triggers have significantly decreased.

• He is just starting to show he is more interested to be out and about in the main living space of our home.

• He is exploring more of his yard and practicing “being a dog” wherever he chooses.

• Personally, my husband and I are feeling complete freedom from being lost and wondering if this relationship would ever work. We have reframed our thoughts entirely and KNOW that B will thrive and be happy with us - we all just needed to learn and accept a whole new level of patience surrounding all of it.

• We have since started traveling with him and feel completely free from any barriers that held us back before and feel an immense amount of optimism for our future all together. 

We see daily signs of bravery in B’s body language - he shows us when he’s truly happy and comfortable with a standing up loose and happy tail (he does this A LOT with his Dad now). He is eating his food on a regular basis WITHOUT needing me to stay with him. He goes to his toy basket every morning and makes his own choice for what he wants to play with in bed. He’s interested in playing with his toys with his Dad. I ask him to “pick” often and he makes his own choices. He finally sleeps soundly through the day and night. Maybe the biggest of all confidence boosters: he knows how to tell us he wants to go outside!!!! 

I feel 110% prepared to take on new/continuing triggers. If it weren’t for the style of coaching I received, I know I wouldn’t feel the 110%. I have a new mindset, (as well as Jonathan),  and appreciation for the level of time and patience Ballinga needs, the knowledge I need to care for an anxious dog and loads of skills and tools to help B for the rest of our life together. 

Again, this is a 180. Jonathan and I completely accept Ballinga for who he is, what he needs, what’s to come, etc. We’re here for all of it. We have all fallen madly in love and realize now just how much of a blessing this little dog is. He has enriched our lives beyond measure and we’re all loving our “new” lifestyle. As a couple, we have never hiked so much or spent so much time exploring the woods. As well as beach trips because we now know he LOVES them, my new found love for running because he’s asked me to take up the hobby, lol. Spending way more time outdoors because that’s where he’s happy, etc. 

B’s HABS have also become so clear to us, we are almost able to carry on a dialogue with him. It’s remarkable and has changed so much about our daily life and how to care for him.  

An anxious dog will enrich your life beyond measure, they just need more time than our human brains can comprehend and more patience than we’ve possibly ever experienced. You just need to slow down, accept them for who they are and where they are at, gather the knowledge to care for them, put on your patience jacket and watch a beautiful life unfold. 

As well, this style of coaching WORKS. When we started the RRP we were lost and considering rehoming B; my anxiety is now 100% gone and we are all hoping for many many beautiful years to come with B. “Proof in concept”!!

I absolutely loved this program. Even though B and I have not crossed off many of our initial goals, we have a whole new relationship with him. That was ACTUALLY something I didn’t know I was hoping for and surprisingly, it will be the thing that gives us the most success going forward. In the end, the goals didn’t even matter to us; the fact that B is now growing and thriving is much more than I expected out of this program. I have also made some amazing friends to continue forward with, and share support.  

How has your experience been working with Jenna?

Amazing. I have appreciated every minute of listening and learning from her. She always had the answer OR question for any situation. Whether she was met with frustration or joy or tears, Jenna always had a calm, well thought out response and offered a learning moment for whatever the situation, while also offering support. (It was really impressive to watch.) She is an absolute wealth of knowledge when it comes to this field of work - she has 110% found her calling in life and I found it a total privilege to be able to learn from her. 

How has your experience been working with Shelly?

Also amazing! Personally I very much appreciated Shelly’s input when it came to questions about my “dingo” dog. Her zoo experience and work with wild animals helped me immensely when it came to looking at Ballinga through a different lens; it always gave me the support that I could actually care for him in the moments I didn’t think I was capable. I also very much appreciated Shelly’s calm demeanor and inquisitive mind, always asking clarifying questions to any team, really helped to personally give me different perspectives and think outside the box. 

I’ve mentioned it many times before but Jenna’s style of coaching and answering questions with questions was the most helpful to get me to actually learn. And, the option of knowing the FB group was present, actually really motivated me to try techniques and post in the group with questions. 

I’ve not been a part of another dog training program before but I have been in other coaching programs and I can easily say Jenna herself sets this program apart. Her “I am COACHING you” approach is something I don’t see other coaches 100% stick to and I’ve left programs before, scratching my head after six months thinking “well what do I do in THIS situation?”...because I wasn’t coached enough to figure it out on my own. I love how Jenna stays consistent with “coaching” and truly sets us up for long term success. 

And, the content. The science backed, study your dog, video your dog, run experiments, log your data THEN train; I’ve not come across this in any other program I’ve researched, (although I haven’t looked into many). I love this approach of Jenna’s. 

What would you say to someone who wants to join the RRP but is on the fence at the moment?

Stop wasting your time!! Just sign up!! This is the only program you will ever need. (Along with actual facts…)