the meeting
Merlin came into my life during the winter of 2011; nothing would ever be the same after that day. Before meeting him I was told he had been abused in the past and that he was terrified and aggressive around men. The warning was not an exaggeration, upon meeting Merlin I was greeted with aggressive barks and growls mixed with charging and gnashing fangs. I could feel how scared he was and I knew I had to help him, unfortunately, Merlin didn't get the memo. He continued acting like I was a threat that needed to be removed, but I stayed in the room with his kennel even sleeping on the couch for four consecutive days. I woke up on the fourth morning to Merlin sniffing my outstretched hand, it was as if he finally understood, I let him outside and he even started to act playful. This was the beginning of our journey together.
Our new life
At the time when Merlin entered my life, I was in my second year as a personal banker. While I was doing very well for myself financially, I was ultimately unhappy. Enter my new passion, I already had a deep love and understanding of dogs from my past, and meeting Merlin made me dive head first into the dog world. I worked with him every day, helping him realize his potential and building him up to the balanced, happy, and well trained dog he is today. Working with Merlin taught me patience, when working on "loose-leash walking" it took 3 months for us to walk farther than the neighbors driveway without pulling, and it took over two years before he was socialized to accept most men. Teaching Merlin and myself how to adapt and overcome each obstacle became my joy in life, this led me to my life and career choice to become a dog trainer. I found an amazing trainer to apprentice under named Cathy Jurewicz who has over 25 years experience; my apprenticeship lasted 6 months and I continued to work with and learn from Cathy for 4 years. My life's ambition is to help as many dogs and families as possible, I want everyone to experience the same bond and relationship I have with Merlin.
merlin now
Merlin currently lives the life of a four-legged prince, spending time with his doggie girlfriend Patches who tends to wear the pants in the relationship. He shares a home with a feline friend named Buddy, I'm sure the cat will soon get over it, but Merlin decided they were friends without asking if Buddy was cool with it. The plan for the near future is to start doing nose / scent / tracking work, knowing Merlin's prey drive and tracking instincts I'm sure he'll thrive. I know that he has improved my life just as much as I have improved his, he is the Robin to my Batman. Now I want to share my knowledge in order to help people and dogs live happily together.
