Esperanzas Sanctuary (formerly All Big Canines)

I called Tabitha, of All Big Canines, because I recently added a 13 week old female goldendoodle puppy, Goldie, to my household, and I only had my nearly 4 year old male goldendoodle, Rusty. I thought Rusty would be happy to have a friend. Instead, he stopped playing with his toys, and he refuses to drink water inside the house. He will go outside to the bowl of water I have there, or the pond water, to drink. This was very concerning, and I considered returning Goldie after 1.5 weeks of having her. Tabitha sent me numerous educational posts, and videos to read and watch. In the meantime, Rusty and Goldie began to play with each other. I can see that Rusty does like her, so I will keep her. He is beginning to play with one of his toys, but still not drinking the inside water. Time will tell. Tabitha has been very supportive, and I surely appreciate all of her help.

My newly adopted nine-year-old boxer-Lab mix was very sweet with people but seemed skittish around other dogs, probably because he had been attacked twice in the shelter and then again by an off-leash dog on a walk with me, which resulted in a horrible dog fight and a trip to the vet for multiple stitches. I found that I was stressed when I was walking him and constantly keeping him away from other dogs. This didn’t seem healthy for either of us, so I signed us up for a five-lesson training with All Big Canines. Today, several months later, with the tools I learned from Tabitha, I’m relaxed and confident on our walks and my dog is regularly interacting in a positive manner with other dogs. In working with Tabitha, I also gained information that’s moving me forward on addressing my dog’s separation anxiety and occasional jumping behavior, problems I wasn’t aware of when we first started our training. I highly recommend Tabitha and All Big Canines to anyone whose large dog has a behavioral problem or simply needs some good training. Tabitha clearly loves dogs and her work with them. She is gentle and patient and has an exceptionally positive attitude which I found contagious. I believed things would improve for us and they did!

We love All Big Canine, and particularly we love Tabitha the trainer. She cares about our dog and about us. Her hints and ideas seem to come from her deep understanding of both people and dogs. We are on our second Fur Friend training and can't imagine having anyone but Tabitha involved. The facility is a bit of a haul from our home, but quality takes time. You know from the first lesson that you will have an interesting experience. We really like that Tabitha listens to us and tailors training to our life needs, how our dog fits into not just our life, but becomes a better citizen as well. The training facility is a bit rural. Be sure to bring water and follow the instructions. Training is outdoors, and she tries to make it fun for both us and the dog. Tabitha provides lots of notes and videos to watch, so you never feel like you are missing something. Last week on the way home we stopped at a restaurant with Ella, and she was a perfect patio dog, quiet and patient with us. Thank you, Tabitha.