We adopted a 70 pound, 1½ year old, mixed breed dog from SICSA on December 7,2009. He was beautiful and seemed very mellow. This was the perfect dog for our family! He met our older dog, Kelly, and they were fine together. About 1 week after having our new guy, now named Ben, he became food aggressive with our then 5 year old son. We had trainer number 1 come to the house to work with us. Due in part to his heavy handed training style, and Ben's protection instincts towards us, Ben took an immediate dislike to him. During one of the training sessions, Ben growled at the trainer. The trainer told us that we have a very dangerous dog that should never be trusted around our children or me.

We tried another trainer who was very nice, but Ben didn't learn anything from her because she allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Ben also jumped the fence and ran away a few times, and we had to track him down in the neighborhood, which at times took several hours. Trainer number 3 was again very heavy handed. She in turn was teaching me to be heavy handed as well. Ben started growling at that trainer. He also growled at me. She told me that he would never be a dog that we could take anywhere in public with us as he was dangerous.

I immediately came home and went onto Cesar Milan's website. I looked at recommended trainers in our area and found Virginia. I called and talked to her. She explained the program and I was very hesitant about the price and about leaving him there. My husband and I discussed it and both agreed that Ben needed to go and we would make the financial sacrifice. The week before Ben left for training, he snapped at someone, drawing blood and we knew that the amount of money that we were spending on training was nothing compared to a lawsuit. We were also relieved to know that Camp Bow Wow has webcams so that we could see Ben interacting with other dogs. Until this point, we were too nervous to let Ben have interaction with other dogs as we didn't trust him. It was a complete relief to be able to see, with our own eyes, that he played great with other dogs!!!

After the week long training I went to Cincinnati and Virginia trained me. It was an easy system and I caught on quick. Ben was a completely different dog! I didn't really believe it though until we had him home with us. We continually trained him and worked with him. My husband was unable to go to training when I did, so he went a few weeks later. Virginia guarantees the work she does for the life of the dog. I have never met any trainer who would do that! Ben has been in many situations since his training that have pushed him out of his comfort zone and he has always shown us that he can handle it. He is truly a changed dog!

It has been one year since we have welcomed Ben into our family. He has turned out to be a very well behaved, loving, and fun addition to our family. Without training, I am afraid to say that he would probably have been given back to the shelter as we couldn't afford any legal bills and the safety of our children was at risk. Now we can not think about life without him. He makes our house complete. He is a companion for each of us, a pillow to lie on, a playmate for my children, and a valued family member. He walks outside in our front yard, and goes on hikes with us off leash without any problems. We cannot tell you enough how Virginia has done wonders with Ben and for our family. We highly recommend Virginia, because if she can turn Ben around, she can handle any dog! Thanks Virginia!