Master Duke McGirl

Master Duke McGirl arrived at the Stratham SPCA severly malnourished, with advanced respiratory infection and wagging his bleeding “happy tail.”  He had been transported to the NH SPCA as a stray from Texas.  While he still won’t tell me how old he is, they suspect he’s probably 5 years old.  After a two-month health tune up in Stratham we adopted Duke.  Adopting Duke was a loving nod to our beloved Maddie who had passed away months prior.  

It took Duke at least 6 hours after bringing him home that first day to settle.  He was clearly “excited!”  I am eternally grateful to have received the SPCA’s handout describing the rule of 3’s.  My first instinct would have been to throw a party for Duke welcoming him to the family; what a disaster that would have been.  Duke’s adjustment followed the rule of 3 recipe with the exception of the last rule. Duke seemed to need more than 3 months to truly feel settled in his new environment.

Duke initially had exceedingly poor impulse control; he subscribed to the “I want it I take it” philosophy.  We quickly learned that his DNA must include some feline genes.  He can leap from a standing position to the top of the counter without any effort. His drive to seek food was unrelating, as he always operated in a very heightened state of arousal.

Duke today loves nothing more than to be in his home, cuddled up beside his family.  Attending My Dogs Mind has given Duke the confidence to be calm and collected.  Each day we hope to offer him the security of love, food and shelter so that he may be his best.  So far, this recipe is working for Dukie!  His happy tail finally healed and our home no longer looks like a crime scene.

I did satisfy my curiosity about Duke’s “heritage” and we found out thru DNA testing that he is 20% Supermutt, 26% Redbone Coonhound, 40% American Pit Bull Terrier, 6% Dachshund and 4% American Bulldog.

Cheers to Duke!

-Mitzi and Barton McGirl

Boona Cyr

We were lucky enough to meet our girl Boona within the first week she was born.

She certainly stood out from the very beginning being the smallest and the only yellow lab in a litter of ten puppies.

But it wasn’t just Boona’s physical features that made her so distinctive; her strong personality was evident from day one, seemingly the “leader of the pack” among her littermates.

Curious and independent, we could tell early on she would need a lot of attention and training.  

After we took Boona home, we enrolled her in My Dogs Mind puppy classes. It was in these training sessions we learned just how smart and independent our puppy really was. My Dogs Mind taught us how to harness her strengths and shape her into our well-behaved girl.

The trainers also helped us recognize that without giving her the right amount of stimulation and direction, she would become anxious which often led to trouble. It wasn’t long before we noticed the positive change in Boona with the implementation of these tips and tricks.

After Boona graduated from puppy classes, we felt confident we were well equipped to keep up her training and good behavior.

A few years later, Boona had a bad encounter with another dog, which left us all very shaken up. After this experience, suddenly our fun-loving girl was fearful around other dogs. We did not want her to live a life in fear and isolation from other dogs, so we found ourselves back at My Dogs Mind for help.

We scheduled our sessions with Terence around the MDM Dayschool play groups and it wasn’t long before we saw great improvement in Boona. She was more confident and less fearful. It took some learning for us as parents to understand how to handle future situations.

Thanks to My Dogs Mind, Boona was able to overcome her fear and is back playing with her dog friends again!

Leah and Matt Cyr

Ruby Satz

After meeting her, I agreed to take her. At the time, we had a 9-year-old male lab and a 2-year-old female lab mix at home.

For the first 3-4 months, everyone was getting along fine. Then, one night after returning home late from work, all the dogs came running to the door to greet me as they always did.

The two girls got into their first fight.

We kept them separated, my wife and I on high alert. Over time we let our guard down hoping it wouldn’t happen again, but it did.

They got into several more fights: over food, toys, or getting too close to the couch when sitting with mom or dad.
In time, we found Ruby a doggie daycare. We were hoping interacting with other dogs would help her. One day we got a call from the daycare. Ruby had snapped at another dog, and we needed to come to pick her up. They told us that she could not come back when we got there.

Not sure what to do, we enrolled her in some training classes. She is super smart, and did great with everything we were taught, but unfortunately wasn’t helping with the issues we were having at home. We were at the point where we were discussing possibly giving her up.

One day, a friend recommended that we try My Dogs Mind. With not much hope, we set up a consultation with Terence, and explained the issues we were dealing with. He scheduled a few private lessons, inviting our other dog to join us, observing how they interacted with each other. Later, came group classes with other dogs. Terence gave us several tips to work on at home, such as: being on the lookout for things we thought were cute and playful at first, but became a big problem later.

His advice has resulted in a huge impact in finding the relief we so desperately needed.
Ruby spent about one year training at My Dogs Mind, before graduating to the Big Red Barn daycare, where she has been attending one day a week for the past two years.

Ruby loves her day at school, she always seems to know when it’s her day. She can’t wait to get inside, and is so excited to see the girls greet her in the morning.
We’re proud to say that there has been no fighting for more than two years.

There are a lot more rules than there used to be, and pretty sure we will never to be able to fully let out guard down, but we have all learned to live together.

We wouldn’t have been able to do it without all the help, advise and knowledge from the My Dogs Mind staff.
Thanks to all of you!

Russ Menter and Teri Satz

Axel Tsonas

After losing our beloved Jax at the young age of 5 (who was also a member at My Dogs Mind) It took some time but we eventually began the search to welcome a new dog into our family.

We were the first to reach out about wanting to rescue a pitbull…

After months of researching various rescues, we connected with Mary’s Dogs and were got the perfect opportunity to choose which dog we “liked best”.

Since we already have a female at home, we wanted to rescue a male. The moment we saw “Bennett,” (and his adorable giant black heart on his white fur) now named Axel, we knew he was the one. 

Axel was 14 weeks old when we picked him up from the rescue.

We reached out to My Dogs Mind to enroll him in puppy classes as soon as possible as it was tremendously helpful for our other dog.

Axel loves and plays hard. He demands your attention: letting you know by placing a paw on your arm or nuzzling his head under your arm if you stop giving him tummy or head rubs.

He could come off as a “tough” dog and needed to learn how to control his excitement when seeing other dogs. We have worked with the staff at My Dogs Mind to learn how to manage over-stimulation, walking on a leash, and following basic commands. As a result, his freedom in our home has increased. 

Thanks to My Dogs Mind, our family is confident and comfortable with Axel as ever. We can leave the house whether it be a walk, a ride in the car, or going for a swim. Our confidence in Axel is absolute.

Axel knows the days he has “school” and is always ready to go! His tail is flapping and he eagerly jumps into the car to see his second favorite people.

Kelsey and Dean Tsonas

Piper Jean Gaulin

When Doreen and I brought Piper home at eight weeks, we knew we needed help. She was chewing on everything, including us, and it wasn't easy to get her attention. And as Katie pointed out in Puppy I class, "Piper has attitude."

Katie was patient with Piper and us and provided much-needed encouragement. While it was not always easy to see progress, we knew we were in good hands with My Dog's Mind. Gradually, we began to see improvement. The continuing education classes with Terence have continued to help shape Piper who she is today.

Piper was approved for the My Dog's Mind Day School when she was seven months old. The day school staff is so supportive and positive. Once upon a time, we needed serious training for 'settling in the crate,' per her First Day Report. Piper now naps on top of the crates at school. She is always ready for fun. She responds to commands and has excellent focus. The day school is one of her favorite places to go every week.

We are forever grateful to all of My Dog's Mind, who put so much loving time and effort into working with Piper and helped bring forth the sweet, fun-loving, and (mostly) well-behaved pup we love so much.

Thank you

Sheri Philips and Doreen Gaulin

Bailey Swenson

Bailey was found and rescued from living under a porch in Georgia with his 8 siblings at 2 weeks old. They were very sick and needed to be bottle fed.

We adopted Bailey at just 11 weeks old. His personality was very cautious and shy, but he was a gentle dog. 

Bailey was rescued from under a porch in Georgia with his 8 siblings at 2 weeks old

Feeling like we needed some guidance the community referred us to My Dogs Mind for training.   Since attending private and group lessons, we’ve watched Bailey gain confidence and grow from his accomplishments of Puppy I, Puppy II, and the Intermediate Obedience Classes.

All of the trainers at My Dog’s Mind are super knowledgeable and have given us as owners the skills, tools and training tips necessary for Bailey to succeed! 

Thank you!

Matt and Jodi Swenson

Monte Herbster

It was a struggle for him to stay focused, even with minimal distractions.

When we first brought Monte home he was people friendly but had a wariness for his surroundings. He was super reactive on walks, escalating quickly before we could distract him. He’d chew through a leash in seconds and reacted to dogs walking past the house, dogs on the TV, and once he even freaked out when I came downstairs wearing dog-printed PJs.

When we met Margaret at My Dog’s Mind, she described him as “a teenager with the social skills of a toddler.” Working with her, we could see the results of our perseverance and consistency.

To Rick’s and my excitement, Monte graduated to group classes as long as he had his own coned-off zone. When Monte joined the Dayschool, he wore a doggie backpack at the suggestion of Terence, its weight would make him feel more secure, not unlike a Thundershirt. Today, he no longer needs that backpack.

Monte has transformed from his time at My Dog’s Mind. He is calmer and though he can still be reactive, it is easier to redirect him. He loves to work and our bond has only grown stronger through the years. He has friends at Dayschool and he’s even made friends in our neighborhood.

He still doesn’t get along with every dog, but now we know how to set him up for success instead of failure, and for that Rick and I thank Terence, Margaret, and all the other trainers at My Dog’s Mind.

Lisa Herbster and Rick Vaillancourt

Max Condon

My husband and I adopted Max from Oklahoma 2 years ago.

When we first brought Max home, his listening skills were terrible and he had a complete lack in understanding of simple commands. We tried training equipment on our own, like “Bark Buddy” and “Pet Corrector” but they didn’t work. We needed help.

We took Max to My Dogs Mind and had Terence as OUR trainer. Seeking out My Dogs Mind was the best thing we did. Not only did Terence work with Max, he taught us how to work together as a team, us and Max together.

Since taking Max for one-on-one training, we were able to enroll him in the My Dogs Mind Day School. Max loves it. He has many friends there that he loves seeing.

Max is now great with commands and listening.

Thank you to everyone at My Dogs Mind for working with Max. The change from beginning to now is great.

Nancy and Rick Condon, and Max

Baby Jones

Five years ago, we adopted Baby when no one else would. She was very reactive towards other dogs. She would go crazy at the sight of them.

Thanks to My Dogs Mind, taking Baby for walks now is much more enjoyable. We took Baby to My Dog’s Mind for private lessons, Ruff Dog Classes and group classes, and all of our hard work has paid off.

The knowledge MDM has instilled in us has been helpful beyond words. Baby is now able to play with others (in a controlled setting) and has three friends at school. My Dog’s Mind are truly the dog whisperers.

Taking her to MDM has by far been the best decision we ever made for her.

Thank you My Dogs Mind,

Pam and Wendell Jones