Mylo
Samantha and I rescued Mylo when he was 8 weeks old not knowing exactly what he was (it turned out he's a GSD Rottie X - a "Shepweiler"). He was going to be BIG, and shortly after we got him we discovered we were going to be parents to twin girls before the end of the year.
Mylo grew increasing bigger and to our horror started to develop aggressive behaviour towards Sam, despite us faithfully following Cesar Millan's pack leadership techniques. He would growl when she came into the room in the evening. If she asked him to move out of the room, or tried to pat him to tell him it was OK, he would growl louder and start to bare his teeth. This was extremely worrying. He even snapped at her a couple of times. Understandably Sam became very nervous around Mylo and feared for her safety and that of our soon-to-arrive twin girls.
I was faced with having to re-home Mylo for the sake of my family. This was hard to take as I loved him, having raised him from a pup and having spent so much time and effort exercising and training him.
I called Mat and arranged a consultation, he was our last hope. I took some video footage of Mylo's behaviour and showed it to Mat when he came to our house. We also discussed at great length everything we'd been doing. Mat explained what the likely problem was, and showed us how to fix it.
Within a day or two we had noticed a big difference. Mylo only demonstrated the aggressive behaviour a few more times. It was really night and day, and in an incredibly short period of time Mylo was back to his happy self. Mylo has never been aggressive towards Sam since and is very well behaved around our two beautiful daughters too. Mylo is the perfect dog!
I can't thank Mat enough for saving us from the heartache of having to re-home Mylo, and now we have a very happy, if a little crazy, household.
Steve Young, Lanarkshire.
Willow
Our wonderful family dog Willow was attacked earlier this year and this seemed to change his nature. He became aggressive and defiant – having tried everything I contacted our vet, who suggested Mat. After an afternoon of calm observation and engaging retraining work, Willow was already responding. I put into practice the clear and detailed instructions in Mat’s report and over a couple of weeks we had our old dog back again, even better than before. Most importantly, I know that this is a work in progress and I am more attuned to little signals from Willow if he is uneasy, so I can look out for him and he can relax. Our family is delighted to have had Mat’s encouragement and positive contribution. I’m sure Willow would woof in agreement!
Elizabeth, Edinburgh.
Astar
We had a big problem with our 2 year old collie, growling, snapping and lunging at dogs and barking at people. After seeing a couple of dog trainers, and attending obedience classes, we couldn't see much improvement and didn't feel like we were on the right track to tackle the problem. Although we were tired of dealing with it and almost gave up, we decided to take our last chance and contacted Mat. He gave us a lot of advice on our dog's problem and also the confidence to work on it and stay positive. His method is kind and easy to implement and our dog's response was amazingly good. Now, we feel like we are on the right path to solve the problems that made our life so stressful.
Putting his method (show the dog what's good instead of punishing for what's bad) into practice, Astar is now walking off lead around other dogs, and although she is still wary of dogs that are too interested in her, with just one word I'm able to stop her aggressive behaviour. We can get her focus in a second. It feels like she has really started thinking before acting. She is much more relaxed; she managed to ignore a boxer and sniff a greyhound. She has almost completely stopped her mad barking. I never thought that I would be able to have my dog walking at heel, off-lead, and ignoring other dogs. I thought she was untrainable. I'm much more relaxed now, so I guess she's picking up on that as well.
We had some people visiting for a week, including a 9-year-old girl and they were the best of friends by the next morning of their arrival (it turned out it's not so hard to convince Astar that children are fun).
Although I know that we haven't finished our training, and she will continue to get better throughout her life, and that she will never be completely ok with all dogs, I couldn't ask for a better result now.
Previously I was so unhappy with Astar and with myself for failing, but now I own a happy, confident and such an obedient dog that I really look forward to our walks every day. I couldn't be more grateful for Mat's help.
Thank you so much Mat for changing our stressful life with Astar into a happy life, full of fun and hopes for the future.
Thank You!
Ewa, Edinburgh.
Milo
We just wanted to let you know how well Milo is doing since you came and spent time with us back in August – and to thank you so much for helping him (and us!) get on the right track.
Milo has made huge progress – you helped us understand his barking behaviour and we really feel that we’ve been able to build on the practical tips you gave us. You also gave us some ‘lines’ to say to other dog owners and this helped us introduce him to so many more dogs instead of panicking.
We used to find walking him very stressful as he would get very agitated and start barking and lunging uncontrollably as soon as he saw another dog. Because our older dog, Ollie, has always been so quiet and laidback, we simply didn’t know how to deal with Milo’s behaviour. We were at the point of thinking re-homing would be the only answer.
Nowadays other dog walkers often remark on how calm he is and he often gets mistaken for Ollie (even by us!). He is so much more settled, greets other dogs like a pro and is so much fun and affectionate in the house.
We can walk the two dogs together on leads with no worry about Milo, who now prefers to walk calmly a few paces behind Ollie. It’s an incredible transformation.
There’s still work to do, but we feel like we’ve made huge strides and are so appreciative of your help – it made a huge difference to Milo’s confidence and to ours! Thanks so much.
Helen, Laurence and Anna
Penicuik, Midlothian.
Bridie
Dear Mat,
I am writing to say a heartfelt thank you from Ivan and myself for the effort you put into helping us with Bridie – she is a different dog.
Her discipline has improved 70% and is simple and easy to reinforce when she plays ‘the deaf dog’.
You have performed a miracle in our lives for our dog and we are very grateful.
Both Ivan and I would never hesitate to recommend you to people with a problem pet. It would be the most loving thing anyone could do for their pet.
Thank you again,
Allie and Ivan Nagel
Hercules Morse
Hi, it’s been ages since Hercules Morse was with you and thought you really should have an update as to how the big fella has been.
Escapes from our property = 0
Dogs attacked = 0
Children eaten = 0
He is decidedly more chilled and sure of his place in the household. We have learnt so much from the experience and it was invaluable. There are other dogs our area who are likely to be in touch (or should I say their owners) who after hearing and seeing our success have asked for contact details.
Huge thanks….
Leanne, Steve, Zac, Charlotte, Hercules Morse, Gismo and the 5 cats.
Jum Jum
My gorgeous Burmese cat Jum Jum preferred to poo on the floor rather than use the litter tray. For a year I had tried everything I could think of to encourage him to use the litter tray but everything failed. I knew it was time to seek professional help when I had guests from London staying this summer and one of them accidentally stood in one of Jum Jum’s ‘offerings’.
During my search for a cat behaviour expert I was particularly impressed by Mat’s credentials and testimonials but even so I had my doubts about whether Jum Jum’s behaviour could be positively modified, given the duration of the problem and the extent of my previous intervention attempts. I couldn’t have been more wrong because with Mat’s advice the problem was sorted literally overnight and Jum Jum has been happily using his litter tray full time since! My friends and relatives are equally delighted and are now looking forward to visiting again!
Thank you Mat for all your help - and restoring my sanity!
Adele Martin, Fife, November 2011
Bracken and Geordie
A long standing problem with one of my Gordon Setter dogs showing serious aggression to the other when visitors arrived was, to my astonishment, effectively resolved with Mat’s help.
Although Geordie and Bracken were the best of friends 99% of the time, Geordie’s desire for sole attention when people arrived resulted in competitive aggression between them which was very stressful for visitors and myself. I had reached the stage of dreading anyone suggesting a visit. Mat came along and after spending time discussing my concerns, asking questions and calmly observing and interacting with “the boys”, the outlined an insightful and practical approach which to my delight ended up resolving the issue. This was something I had lost hope of achieving after consulting previously with other dog behaviour "experts" (who gave advice contrary to Mat's).
I can never thank Mat enough for resolving this problem in just one visit. His expertise, patience, and understanding has greatly improved the quality of both my life and that of my dogs.
Sheila Graham, Kelso.
Moseley
Moseley decided after 11 years of using a litter tray, that he preferred using the hall floor to toilet. This made for a very unpleasant 'al fresco' toileting area in our house. The impact of this was dreadful for ourselves and Moseley, our normally harmonious home was no more. We couldn't use the front door, had a very smelly hall floor and Moseley and I were not the best of friends, both very much stressed. After checking for possible health reasons for this behaviour, the vet recommended consulting Mathew for help. Mathew came out to the house, assessed the situation and gave clear instructions both verbally and in a written report. I have to say I was sceptical of the solution (I felt it couldn't be that simple!) working. But, it worked immediately. We now have our hall back, a clean floor, no smell and use of the front door again! Oh and we now have a much happier and contented cat. We are all friends again. I can't thank Mathew enough.
Carole and Seamus, Edinburgh.
Harry
We had a serious problem with our Ragdoll cat Harry spraying indoors every day, and so booked a consultation with Mat. Mat travelled to see us all in our own home environment which meant he could observe Harry’s behaviour and see how his life was structured. Mat gave us some fabulous advice on every aspect of the problem and helped us better understand life from a feline perspective. Harry is so much better behaved now, and more importantly we think he is leading a happier and more stimulating life. He has also become a lot more affectionate!
We would recommend Mat to anyone with any sort of pet behaviour problem and will certainly be recommending him to our local veterinary service.
Thank you again Mat for your great help and advice.
Kindest regards,
Eleanor and Stephen Fielding
Galashiels
Sparky
Dear Mat,
I am writing to thank you for the incredible work that you have done with my dog Sparky.
I adopted Sparky at the age of 7 months from the Pound. To my horror, he was a nightmare to deal with. It began with an obsession with attacking other dogs or anything else that moved. It evolved into constant barking at my front window (at anyone or anything that passed) as well as escaping over fences, through windows in order to attack whatever he could find outside. He even resorted to eating his way through a window frame as well as my back door in order to escape. I became a prisoner in my own home, unable to open windows on a hot summer day or leave the door open even for a brief moment. Sparky was a prisoner too; only ever going outside with a strong metal lead attached to him and this with me using all my strength to hold him. A daily walk of course was out of the question.
I came to you after watching your animal training segments on television. I thought that if you could do the amazing things you do with the animals that you have, then surely you could help me decide what to do with Sparky. After an initial consultation that was courteous, educational and professional, I decided to entrust you with Sparky, with the theory that if you could do nothing for him, then he could be put down with a clear conscience.
After three short weeks, I returned to find a new dog waiting for me and I am absolutely ecstatic with the results. Sparky now responds to commands, of which the most important is ‘come’ and ‘watch me’. I am able to release him in my yard without a lead and he no longer rushes at the fence in order to jump it. He even focuses on me when a neighbouring dog is seen, instead of looking to attack it. I can even take him on walks. An added bonus is his affectionate manner with me. He is eager to please, responding instantly to my commands as well as cuddling up on the couch with me. As a result, his fate is sealed. He will not be put down, but remain my faithful and loyal pet until the end.
It is difficult to put into words my gratitude, so I can only highly recommend your services for all those dog owners that would like assistance to have the perfect pet. If a miracle can take place with Sparky being such a difficult pet, then there is hope for all dogs.
With my heartfelt thanks,
I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Frances Louard
Ben
I first consulted Mathew after my 2 year old labrador, Ben, began exhibiting some aggressive behaviour towards strangers - such as growling at other people when we were out on walks. This aggression ultimately led to Ben biting a family friend when he entered our home for the first time, and as such, we felt we had to consult our vet for advice. Euthanasia was suggested by our vet, as the bite had been fairly severe. We contacted Mathew in December 2007 the same day of the incident, and he visited us within 24 hours, despite it being almost the Christmas vacation. Mathew was instantly able to establish the reasons for Ben's aggression, and gave us detailed strategies to work with Ben to help conquer the problem. He provided plenty of advice on the two lengthy face-to-face sessions that we had (including coming on walks with us) and followed this up with written advice, phone and email support.
Five months on in 2008, we have a different dog - and we are different owners. Thanks to Mathew, walks are again a pleasure, and there have been no further incidents since we saw Mathew in December. Christmas 2007 was dreadful for us in that we had to face the real possibility of getting a family pet we dearly love euthanised. This is no longer a worry, as the strategies we have employed at Mathew's direction have indeed 'sorted' our pet's behaviour. Due to the measures we now employ, I would be confident that Ben will not bite again. I am also 100% confident in recommending Mathew Ward to any pet owner with a pet with problem behaviour.
Evelyn, Haddington.
Badger: