*** Anya's Story ***
Anya and her owner Julia deserve a page all to themselves, as their time together has been an event in itself!!!!
"I first discovered Sue's Lampeter and District Dog Training Centre about 4 years ago. Having moved from Hampshire to Wales 25 years ago, and always owned German Shepherds, I was totally taken by surprise to discover (after years of taking puppies to people claiming to be dog trainers, who were utter amateurs) a genuine professional dog trainer with years of experience, together with the knowledge of the traits and quirks of different breeds - very important.
Mishka was 12 weeks old when I first met Sue. We trained regularly with her and the other dogs and owners in our group on a weekly basis until she was about 18 months old, when she was then bundled into the back of our car and carted off to Switzerland for a fabulous 4 months. She was a little star - the locals couldn't believe her good behaviour in restaurants and cafes and distant control obedience whilst off the lead on the small mountain roads. I became known locally as the 'English lady with the well trained dog' a title of which I was very proud. (I have to admit to feeling horribly smug watching a very nice local lady flying down the icy roads at great speed attached to her two huskies on a daily basis - little knowing my day was to come....)
Very sadly Mishka developed inflammatory bowel disease and despite every effort we sadly had to have her put to sleep when she was just over three years old.
So a house without a GSD is not a home, and after much searching I bought Anya from a small breeder in South Wales. She had a very impressive pedigree, from a very Germanic bred strong working line. So I did know I could have my hands full!
This little bundle of fluff showed the first signs of somewhat obsessive behaviour from day one. She discovered a 6ft piece of blue plastic alkathene and proudly dragged it around the yard making what I can only compare to chimp grunts. A little warning bell of more to come....!
We set off to puppy classes, which she adored, made lots of friends (though have to admit her manner of introducing herself to other dogs has rather been like a freight train...) Weekly classes were great - she's very bright and made excellent progress. Come October, I muttered to Sue that we would be off to Switzerland in the December, for the winter, with of course Anya, who'd be by then 6 months old. The announcement was greeted with a raised eyebrow and advice that to have a four month break from training at that age would not be ideal. 'Leave Switzerland this year - next year she'll be ready' I'm politely warned. Now Wales is very beautiful etc etc, but my God the weather in summer is distinctly dodgy, but in winter can be absolutely dire. The lure of all that wonderful snow was too much to resist and being a grumpy old know-all, I set off to head for what I thought was going to be another 4 months of holiday heaven. I'll never forget Sue's last words before we left "For heaven's sake ring me if any problems arise."
All started well. She loves the car and was beautifully behaved at the Hotel in France - well there was one little blip when having been lying asleep under the table in the restaurant, she was woken up by a huge cheese trolley rattling over a wooden floor towards our table. She completely freaked and bought the whole restaurant to a shocked silence. I'm not sure who had the biggest fright, Anya the waiter or all the diners... Very funny but only in hindsight!
First call to Sue was all that wonderful heelwork very quickly flew out of the window. Anya was in excitable heaven. Obsessive with her ball, no fences, lots of dogs, people and endless snowball games. She very quickly twigged that 34kgs of GSD won hands down against rather unfit owner slithering on ice and snow shouting HEEEEEL... As she's so obsessive with her ball Sue suggested tying it to her collar - this worked a treat for a while until she realised that actually some poor innocent old couple accompanied by small dog looked much more fun than a ball. In the meantime, obsession with toys was stepping up a notch, but as she was frantically teething, I chose to ignore it in order to save my furniture from being annihilated.
Next phone call was much more serious. Early one morning, off lead, she met a very small dog, also loose. Anya used her usual freight train introduction which was most certainly not appreciated - though untouched it squealed like a stuck pig, following with a nip, to which Anya reacted by picking it up and pinning it down on it's back, whilst making noises that convinced me she was considering an early breakfast. It seems that apologising (grovelling more like!) to a furious owner is understood in all languages, though not always, understandably accepted. To my annoyance, owner stalked off with small dog wagging it's tail, while I was left slithering on an icy slope frantically trying to hang onto a completely manic GSD who could see her breakfast happily trotting off into the distance. The whole episode left me shaking like a leaf, and thank God Sue was in when I phoned. First of all, she made me pull myself together by making me laugh at some far worse senarios than my appalling start to the day, followed by some stern advice. Cut out all those toys and stop letting her race around off the lead having the time of her life. It worked and I realised how dim I'd been. Thank goodness Sue is a behaviourist as well as a trainer.
We arrived back home in April. On route we stopped off at my sisters in Hampshire, planning to spend the night before travelling back to Wales. This was very shortlived as Anya took a dislike to my sister dachshund and went for him. Result, one very upset sister, another phone call to Sue and a trip straight home arriving back in the early hours of the morning. I also own two mini wirehaired dachshunds - one of which has always been top dog. For the first two days after we arrived back everything seemed fine between them all. Then, there was an almighty bitch fight between Anya and Pip. Pip was nearly killed and spent several days in the vets on a drip, and I really thought I was going to lose her. It was truly a terrible time, she is ten years old and has been with me all her life, I was devastated, and made the decision to put Anya in kennels when Pip came home to recover. Once in kennels I would visit her and give her a decent walk once a week. If she didn't want me to leave I would cry all the way home - if she happily trotted off with the kennel owners I was convinced I'd lost that bond, no pleasing either way. The only thing that kept me sane was Sue's support. I'd waver between offering her to the MOD, having her put down, finding a home for Pip. It was hell, but Sue just said "you make a decision and I'll support you and if you want me to help you give Anya another chance, we'll give it our best shot"
Which is exactly what we did. No toys, plenty of training, both physical and mental and of course for a while she was muzzled until they settled down. I had her spayed and embarked on a no nonsense routine. If ever I was unsure of the next step I'd give Sue a ring and we'd talk it through. I bought her to training and we discussed every aspect of her rehabilitation which was essential if it was going to work.
Well, we are now in August. Anya is no longer muzzled, they live, walk and eat together as in any normal pack. I'm back training every week (often twice when I get the chance!) It's an absolute miracle, especially as no one apart from Sue, and myself when I was feeling positive thought it could be done.
I just want to say thank you to Sue for her unwavering help and support which has enabled me to still own a very, very special part of our family."
Julia Coviello.
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January 2012 - Julia and Anya have now returned to Switzerland
and are due home in March.
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