I adopted Scooby thru the 100+ Animal Rescue group. He got along great with our 9 year old doberman Nia and has always been gentle with the kids. He was VERY nervous around my husbandDavid though. We figured this would stop over time. David fed Scooby and walked him every night. I would have to get Scooby on the leash and then help him walk out the door but once out of the house he would be OK although still very nervous. Without a leash on David was unable to pet the dog at all and as he walked around the house Scooby would run and hide behind the table or move to the other side of the room. He also liked to hide in corners, or even in the shower, where he felt safe. If he was ever in a situation where he was backed in to a corner with no escape route he would really panic and look terrified. And one time tried to bite him as he had no way to get out. It was not a good situation for David or Scooby. He seemed to be generally a lot more nervous around men but certain men, including my husband, he was worse. Obviously my husband was nothing but nice to Scooby but obviously something from his past made him have this fear.

After a few months of this without seeing much improvement, we decided we needed some help and reached out to Betsy with Lorenzo's Dog Training. Betsy listened to our concerns… and gave us an overview of a plan for 6 weeks of weekly training for Scooby. She worked patiently with both David and I as we learned the correct way to hold the leash and the commands. She also gave us a lot of great advice for general day to day things that we could do to make Scooby feel more comfortable. Initially Scooby would not sit or lie down for David.. And would not let David walk behind him at all. Over the 6 weeks of training he has improved drastically. David can walk by him lying on the ground and he no longer runs away. We leave the leash on Scooby around the house and this way if he ever does have a lapse back to his old ways, one of us can grab the leash, put him back on his spot and correct him.

I really believe that Betsy (and Lorenzo's) training plan gave Scooby the 3rd chance he needed. There was only so much longer my husband was going to put up with having to tip toe around his own house with a dog running away from him every time he moved, and we were also worried it was unfair on the dog too. Now everyone gets along.. Scooby is improving more and more. I would highly recommend any dog owner with dog troubles, taking the time to do some training sessions with Betsy as it can really help out for both dog and family.

Helen and David McKenzie, and Scooby