I held my breath as Anthony walked my 5 year old leash aggressive pit bull up to completely strange dogs on the street after years of us ducking behind cars to avoid them. I waited for the inevitable lunge and freak out…. and it didn’t happen. In fact, I was near tears, mouth open in amazement as he calmly greeted the dog, sniffed it and moved on. The change in my dog was instantaneous because of a huge talent that Anthony has.

Simply seeing how my dog is capable of acting, and seeing how Anthony does it was worth everything. I realized that my dog is normal, albeit under socialized and that it’s up to me to fix it. A important discovery after years of feeling like an irresponsible dog owner with an aggressive dog, despite my best efforts to keep him under control.

I keep having to remind myself that it’s not a magic pill. Anthony eventually leaves and it’s up to you to do the rest (luckily he’s there via email- I’ve already sent him one with videos and questions… I know). It’s only been a few days and its going to be a lot of work, but I learned I can’t be scared to do things anymore. In fact, with the right amount of confidence and calmness we can handle any situation. And if we can’t, Anthony is there to tell us how.

7/28/2014 - Laura Sussman