I adopted Ivan when he was 4 years old. He is a retired show dog and this would be his 3rd and final home. I found he was super timid and nervous around new people. He would follow friends around the house constantly barking, howling, and jumping up at them. When I told them he’s a calm dog when it’s just us they never believed me. I started taking him to the beginner training program at Canine academy. The first class I don’t think I heard anything Lisa said due to Ivan’s excessive barking at the other dogs and people. After four weeks of the beginner class I could tell that he was starting to get more comfortable around me and my family. Ivan and I were both being trained on our basic commands which started to make Ivan more confident in new situations he was being exposed to. By the start of the Intermediate class I knew we had to do the off leash training program. I wanted to be able to take him hiking, kayaking, and paddle boarding in the summer without having to worry that he would take off after or bark at other animals or people we see on the trail or river. I was afraid because I had just adopted Ivan a few months back that he would be stressed out that he was being left or forget about me. The updates Lisa provided help the time fly by fast. Ivan did not forget who I was and now when my friends come over he is the calm dog that I described to them. All the new commands he learned gave him more confidence in strange situations. Not to say he’s done being trained (and neither am I). He still barks and jumps sometimes and needs reminding of what is safe and what is not safe. I also make mistakes forgetting to correct or my timing is off. This is why I am so excited to do the follow up outings through out the year. And Ivan is learning that being a water dog is pretty cool.