By Heather Owens, Category Manager 
First, I would like to introduce myself and my two furry sidekicks. I am new to the blog as well as to the PetSafe® office! I have two Australian Terriers: Jack is 2 ½ and Lily is 4 months.
My free time is often occupied by walks, throwing toys and my favorite activity: training. I plan to focus my blog posts on my experience training from an owner’s perspective, as well as any fun or unique activities I do with my dogs.
A little background on my training experience thus far: I rescued Jack at 7 months old and at that time he had zero training and didn’t even know sit. He was very insecure, would startle at every little noise, and rarely wagged his tail.
I really saw his insecurities come out at our first basic obedience class. This sweet puppy I adopted turned in to a monster. He was dog reactive and his screaming, lunging and pulling was horrifying. I was practically in tears after our first class. I felt helpless and out of control of my dog.
Luckily that is why I was going to class! Fast forward to now, celebrating his second adoptaversary and having taken 6 sets of classes, Jack is a well behaved, nub-wagger that has his CGC certification and two rally obedience titles. He is even well behaved enough to come to work with me every day. Not only did taking classes give me the tools to work with him, it gave him an opportunity to build his confidence and for us to strengthen the owner/pet bond.
He is certainly not perfect and I am always sure to be present and in control when he is introduced to new dogs. But just like a person, Jack is a work in progress and there is room for both him and me to grow.
Lily on the other hand is just getting started! She is the smartest little dog. She quickly learned to ring bells on our door to signal to go outside and already knows a handful of tricks. She is fearless and I predict is going to be a great agility dog. I will face a very different set of challenges with her than I did with Jack and I look forward to learning new teaching methods as I train her. I can’t wait to share more of Jack and Lily’s training journey with you!
