In this testimonial‑style video, the speakers recount rescuing a four‑month‑old puppy named Mabel, whose mixed‑breed background led to severe reactivity that escalated because the owners could only reward good behavior and had no way to signal mistakes. Unable to take her on trips or to campsites, they faced a make‑or‑break moment and decided to use training tools—a remote e‑collar and a prong collar—despite initial reservations about their harshness. After enrolling Mabel in an intensive boot‑camp style training program, the owners observed a dramatic shift: Mabel responded to commands off‑lead, calmly passed joggers, and the family felt a renewed sense of control and happiness. The narrative emphasizes the importance of clear boundaries, consistent negative feedback, and structured training to transform a reactive dog’s behavior and improve the owners’ quality of life.
Chapters
We didn't think we had another year with Mabel. So we took Mabel on as a 4-month-old unknown rescue puppy. Turned out not to be quite the mix of breeds that we thought she was and was quite a challenge. Her reactivity was getting worse because she was practicing it, and I think the thing was we had no, no way of telling her no.
Yep.
We had ways of praising her when she made a good decision, but no way of telling her when she made a bad one.
Yep.
And we just couldn't take her anywhere. And we got her as our retirement dog to come travelling with us and go camping. Couldn't take her to a campsite.
No.
She would kick off at any, any other dog. He didn't think we had another year with Mabel Fish. That's, that's why I was so emotional. Good girl. Because I knew it was make or break, really. The thought of the e-collar and the prong collar. Okay. Using tools. Yeah. I felt it was a bad thing to do with the dog, but it's turned out the opposite. Yeah. Having that you know, that, that no, letting her know when she'd done something wrong. And you could tell with all the dogs, it was almost a relief, I think, for the dogs. Yeah. That they were like, oh, I understand now that you don't want me to do that.
Yeah, they had clear boundaries in place.
Yeah.
They had something they could do and they had something they weren't allowed to do.
I'll tell you what, the day after boot camp, Yeah. we went for a walk. We called our daughters, come and went for a walk.
Nice.
We had her off lead. We saw a couple of joggers coming towards us, which was one of her absolute— Yeah. She would really kick off with joggers. Popped her on the lead, walked past them beautifully. They said thank you. Mark, we're like normal people. It was just so nice to feel in control. I think that's it. Oh, we're all just so much happier.
Good. So much happier. Best money I have ever spent. We are all just so much happier. That is what sustainable dog training looks like, is giving you the tools, the confidence, and the communication so the work still holds when you go back to your own street, in the pub, on the beach, off lead in a field full of dogs. If you are living with a dog that dictates where you can walk, who can come round, and whether you get a normal weekend. You do not have to live like that. We can fix it. More importantly, we can teach you how to keep it that way.
