Hamilton’s Story
Ms. Sue has completely saved our relationship!
I grew up with dogs, however, Hamilton is my first dog as an adult. I planned for his arrival for months, including finding a trainer. Hamilton is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a breed know for being sensitive, quiet, an easy to train. The only thing I “knew” about training him was the training needed to be “positive” and the importance of puppy training.
I got Hamilton when he was 8 weeks old, commonly smaller breeds should be a bit older, however, Hamilton has ALWAYS been as people pup. From the moment he was placed in my arms we were bonded. He never had any sadness from leaving his littermates. One of my favorite stories from the breeder was when he was 6 weeks old, she took the litter to a new location, opened the crate and walked about 20ft away, she turned around to call the pups and Hamilton was already at her feet a few minutes later his sister slowly came over. However, his 2 brothers never exited. What a brave puppy!
Trainer #1:
I met her at Target. She had her extremely well behaved service dog with her. I approached and asked what trainer she used. She explained she was a trainer and I got her information. We utilized her simultaneously with commercial puppy socialization classes. She worked great as she lived around the corner and also did daycare/walks. She was a young and newish trainer. She wasn’t a bad trainer just not experienced enough for me. Additionally, as I have seen her grow as a trainer, I believe her “expertise” is more in larger/adult dogs.
Lesson #1: Research the trainers experience and abilities.
Trainer #2:
I found this commercial trainer via yelp. I researched the company and the packages they offered. I started with their puppy socialization class, the class was great for Hamilton. The trainer’s personality wasn’t a great fit for me. This was the start of what I deemed “cookie cutter training”. In retrospect, there were some pups in there that weren’t improving and there wasn’t a lot of guidance on at home issues. I dismissed this as puppy stages. Hamilton graduated to the next class.
Lesson #2: Listen to your gut
Trainer #3:
Was with the same company as Trainer #2. I took the classes every Sunday without fail, rain or shine, I showed up. There were anywhere from 5-15 dogs in the class and due to the company’s free unlimited repeating of classes there was no consistency. Hamilton and I did all the homework EXACTLY as assigned, a lot of luring was used. Hamilton was still acting out at home and wouldn’t “perform” unless there were treats. We decided to transition to private home lessons with this trainer. After 4 home lessons and lack of improvement. I was lost and wasn’t sure if Hamilton was the issue or me. I resigned this was as good as we could get as a team.
Lesson #3: Versatility! A great trainer can train the human just as much as the dog!
Trainer #4:
I befriended a woman at the UCLA campus who had a sweet old dog who was extremely well trained. Long story short, she had a trainer recommendation. This was one of the best trainers out of the ones we experienced as far as good with people and animals. We drove 35 minutes in rush hour weekly. Classes were geared towards show/agility/etc dogs. Hamilton was great in class, not great at home. The trainer had no solutions and was not interested in helping me solve them outside of class.
I was willing to put in the work and the money, but no one was giving me the proper tools!
Enter Covid:
We ended up moving to OC to live with my mother-in-law, after my father-in-law passed away. I frequented one of the best pet stores ever, Furly’s in Lake Forrest. I befriend the owner, Geoff, who is extremely knowledgeable. I eventually asked him for a training recommendation, without hesitation he immediately said Dr. Sue Myles. I received the contact information and reached out.
Trainer #5- Fifth and Final (Sue)
Hamilton started with a private lesson and has since attended several classes. He will be 3 in a couple months and the last 6months we have learned so much and best of all its working! We are supported and encouraged! A couple of months ago we moved back to Los Angeles and now make the 1.5hr drive midweek in traffic to train with the best! What you get from Sue is priceless. She is worth far beyond what she is charging and the saying is true, you get what you pay for.
Emergency Recall Class vs Vet for injured dog (if you are lucky)= $2000 (plus trauma and stress and likely occurs right before payday)
Puppy Class vs destroyed items (& maybe more vet bills depending on what was ingested) because you don’t have the proper information on how to keep dog mentally and safely stimulated
Family Dog class vs Dog bite because you aren’t learning how to read body language of a dog.
Dog training is work for both the owner and pet. Dogs are expensive and its great to be cost conscious, however, training is NOT where you want to cheap out. Quality over quantity. If you are reading this, stop second guessing, and sign up for the classes. I promise you won’t be disappointed!