Testimonials

Hi Michelle
> Here is the picture of the first day at home with belle and king .
> hope all is fine We got the food and she is doing fine .
> Best
> Bob Ortiz

Just wanted to let you know Lucy is doing very well and send you a picture. As I’m sure you would expect she’s a beautiful shepherd, extremely loyal, and loves to play

I wanted to let you know how happy we are with Titan- he is beautiful, remarkably brave, and very intelligent. He is just full of energy and life. He likes to go to busy places and interact with people, especially children. Working with you before we bought Titan made such an impression and convinced us that Thinschmidt was the way to go. I cannot tell you how happy I am that he came to us already crate trained and housebroken- just amazing. I love to brag to my friends about Titan and have even made a few referrals. In the future, if we decide to get Titan a puppy friend we will come straight to you. Thanks again, and may God continue to bless you in all your endeavors. Zach and Maria Stevens (Fresno, CA).

Dear Diana,

Yesterday, I received the Pink Papers for Nestor. Thank You! Don't tell anybody of your buyers, that the best German Shepherd is already sold, because we have him. Nestor is absolutely the best, funniest and smartest dog we could get. It does not go a day, without me laughing. People stop me at the street, asking about him. This happens all the time, so he just lays down and let them talk and if there are kids, he let them pet him, while you can hear a happy sigh from him. At the moment we are taking a clicker class, which he likes. Last week, we got applause, when he sat like a squirrel and with both paws, gave me "a high five'

Sending a picture from the last walk at the beach.

Best Regards to you all,

Gunilla and Nestor

Hello Robert, Dianna & Doug,

Our ride home last week with Riley was uneventful. There was not a peep out of him! That was a good thing since it took about an hour and a half to get home.

The time that Riley spent with you and your training is priceless!!! We have almost made it through one week, and Riley is doing great.

We are following all of your advice. He is no longer top dog, but he is our family pet and he is being enjoyed soooo much more, now that we have him under control. We are continuing to work on the come command. He is fine while in a sit/stay, but when he is allowed to roam the yard, we must keep the long line on him so that we can correct him quickly. He is slowly getting it! Yeah!

Dave and I were very impressed with the training program and all of the time that you spent with us when we came to pick Riley up. You all are so educated in dog obedience and training, and it shows! Did I forget to mention very posititve and caring?

Thank you all for all that you offered to us. We look forward to each day that Riley

progresses. He is a wonderful pet and we love him dearly.

Fondly,

Elaine & Dave Ludwin

P.s.

Your compound is so relaxing… the music playing in the background is a beautiful touch! God Bless.

Nancy and Cameron

2).

Hi Diana,

We picked up Mischa last night with the other 5 new owners. It was overall a great experience. The 3 of you have done a great job, although she has been testing us. We'll try to keep to the ways you showed us in managing her. She had a small accident in her crate last night. We didn't hear a peep out of her, but in the morning (6hrs later) the towel in the crate was damp. We'll just set the alarm for sometime in the middle of the night to let her out. Did I say she's definitely testing us!! But she'll settle in I'm sure. I will send you the 5 best pics from last night in two email just in case you have 56k. I did what I could with Photoshop to brighten up the night shots. Feel free to use them however you please. Enjoy!

Regards,

Brian & Tracy Lee

3).

Hi Dianne & Robert & Co.
Just downloaded these from our weekly trip to Doggy beach. Thought you might like to see how your little girl is doing. I hope you can unzip these. I couldn't decide on one so I am sending you a couple. Hope you all have a GREAT HOLIDAY and when we have a chance we will bring her by & let you see how well she is doing.
I can't praise you enough for the way you trained her before we got her. She is very well mannered & is a joy to take on trips & just about anywhere we can go.
I think Tammy thinks of her as the daughter she never had. HAHA
Take care
Mike & Tammy Lipes ......... and Nena too

4).

Diana and family:

"Cash" is just making a wonderful hit with us. She is gorgeous to look at, very bright and responsive, playful, energetic, and I think making a good adjustment. Is doing quite well with potty training, eating well (good appetite!), and we are conscientiously going about upholding the training you have put on her. The training is a lifesaver.....she focuses so well. (I've reviewed the tape not less than 3 times, so far!). We are socializing her each day -- she shows interest and is quite well behaved.

Got her an all wire crate on Tues. to sleep and "retire to for quiet time". She loves it. We keep it off our family/TV room and kitchen, then at night she goes into it in the room down the hall from our bedroom. She wakes me up about 3-5 hours after we go to bed to go out to poop and pee, then "hops" back into the house and crate to sleep another 4 hours. So far, very reasonable.

Well, I guess that is an answer. I sound like a proud owner, don't I? We are.

We will stay in touch. Thank you again for the opportunity to own such a beautiful dog.

Beth & Ed

Dear Diana:

Thank you for the really kind thoughts. It means a lot. Janet and I are very committed to providing solid and stable homes for dogs. Maddie is an example of what can be done with an animal that has been neglected and left on her own to survive. She is really a one-of-a-kind dog. You all did wonders.

I have given your information to an acquaintance. His name is Dan Marciello (is think that's the spelling). He has a Shitzen (sp?) trained German Shepard and wants to have him trained in only a few areas. He wants him to not bolt when faced with other dogs, cats or circumstances. Obviously, he has had a great deal of training, but he needs fine tuning in obedience. I gave him your phone number and web site, so if he contacts you, you'll know ahead of time.

I ordered the bike thing.

Again, thanks. We're taking Maddie to Catalina this weekend. So keep your fingers crossed. Oh, one other thing. I bought a bag of Nutro weight control food for Maddie. She is not eating. Is this normal? I am mixing a very small amount of wet food plus a bit of warm water. Any advice?

Best regards,

John Richard

Dear Diana, Bobby and Doug:

This letter is to thank you guys so much for all that you've done for our
family and for our sweet yellow lab, Lucky. Lucky is a reformed dog because
of your dedication and perseverance.

The greatest joy for my husband Danny and I is our yellow Labador, Lucky.
Because we don't have children yet, we devote much of our time and energy to
having a great relationship with our Lucky. We've had him since he was 6
weeks old and love him like family

During the very early puppy stages in Lucky's life, we had my 18 year old
brother living with us which we believe attributed to Lucky's mouthiness and
aggressive tendencies towards his treats. My brother, for fun, would take
things away from Lucky's mouth and play tug of war with Lucky with his toys
and treats. This must have been when Lucky started to realize that he had
to guard with his mouth. I believe that Danny and I also contributed to
Lucky's behavior by spoiling him and "humanizing" him in many ways. We gave
Lucky free reign of the house, walked him when he whined, gave him treats
without making him do any sort of commands, gave him food first, and
basically allowed Lucky to feel like he was alpha in our familiy.

One weekend when my sister came over, Lucky took her piece of bread off the
kitchen table and ran under the bed with it. When my sister went to go
retrieve it from him, Lucky bit her and she had to get 6 stitches in her
hand. This initial shock made us panic and we called one of several dog
trainers right away. The dog trainer that our vet had recommended, told us
to treat his aggression with aggression and punish him for any unwanted
behavior. With much fear, we obeyed her, but only to learn that his
aggressiveness was only getting worse.

On one fateful afternoon, we gave Lucky a treat before leaving to run
errands and as Danny went to pet Lucky, he raised his upper lip, growled and
bit Danny's hands. That was the last straw. We knew that we had to do
something. Sadly, the thought of relinquishing Lucky became a topic of
conversation. We knew that we could not have an aggressive dog when we were
planning for children someday. My heart was breaking at the decisions that
lie ahead.

Through a very good friend at work, I was recommended to see Diana Foster at
Assertive K-9 Training. I picked up Lucky and took him over to see her to
see Lucky's temperament and get her professional recommendation. She advised
me to leave Lucky for 9-10 weeks for deep unconditioning and re-programming.
Although skeptical and very sad, I knew that the only other option would be
to put him down, which we were not ready to do until we exhausted all
possibilities.

The major issue was cost for Danny and myself, but I told Danny that if
Lucky needed a heart transplant or a surgery that would save his life, we
would absolutely do it for him, and this was no different. We had to save
his life.

After what seemed to be an eternity (10 weeks), we met up with Doug, Diana
and Bobby who advised us on what Lucky's new routine - no more free reign
of the house - and how we could continue Lucky's overwhelming progress.

Since Lucky has come back, he is a totally obedient, loving and
non-aggressive dog. No longer does he guard his treats, but he is more than
willing to give them up on command.

Assertive K-9 Training really saved Lucky's life and during the 10 weeks,
they were more than willing to answer my questions and to support us. Bobby
has been instrumental and amazing at working with Lucky and making his
training a positive and fun experience.

Just in time for the holidays, Lucky is back with us, and we feel so blessed
at his new lease on life.

Thank you Assertive K-9 Training!!!

Grace & Danny Lee

I am happy to give you our opinion of Assertive K-9 Referral. Do not hesitate if you feel you have an aggressive issue at all do not stop go directly to Corona and drop your baby off. You will never regret it. If anyone can help you with your Dog they can. Thunder is our second Rottweiler and has a wonderful temperament. As he approached three however he began to get a little "aggressive" by my definition. That is when we took him to Robert, Doug and Diane. They are incredible. They truly are. They can deal with all types of behavioral issues. For Thunder one of our biggest issues was focus when we had him out and about with other animals and other people. He also was getting a bit dominant when we had him at the beach at the park or around othe dogs. After having a VERY AGRESSIVE female Rottweiler I didn't want that again. The trainer really provided focus for Thunder. With all the other dogs around in a very safe environment your dog can be trained with focused attention while getting the appropriate socialization to work on his other tendencies. Rottweilers like to work, they like to be challenged. I believe that if you are having aggressive issues with your dog that getting him working will be one of the best things for him. By working I mean the training. They really begin to love it. Robert handled the majority of Thunders training and he was incredible. Doug and Diane also had significant roles in Thunders training. They were able to train Thunder to perform in ways I never thought possible. We live in Germany and Dogs must be fully trained here. Thunder's training brought on the results necessary for us to take him with us anywhere in Germany. He goes to Restaurants, markets, trains everywhere.

An Aggressive rottweiler is difficult to deal with, a trained focused rottweiler is an incredible gift. Take him to Diane, Robert and Doug and have them let you know what they can do. They will not pull any punches with you. If there is something in the Dogs temperament that is the issue they will let you know. If it is something you are doing they will let you know. Be open. In the end we found out it was probably me that needed the training.

If you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to let me know.

Enclosed you will find a picture of Thunder this past weekend at the Kuekenhof in Holland (Huge Tulip gardens). We had groups of tourists all day taking pictures with him around the tulips... he had so much fun..... however the key here is that the gardens were incredible crowded and Thunder sat posing (if you will) for this picture with none of us holding on to him....we would have had a really tough time pulling that off with him before.

Dartanin

Hello from KC and Ginger who writes to us…
I thought it would be nice for you to see how great they turned out.
They both are doing great. Thanks for everything.

K.C was from the litter 9-11-2003
Ginger was from the litter 10_2003

Marilyn Hoffman, CEO

Positive Steps Inc. 562-938-8353

Owner of Dutch von Zathan 10 months old

From Zathan & Holly ~ 2004 ~

The Perfect Sunset