I had heard of Laurie Buffington for years before I met her and I cannot stress enough what working with Laurie has meant to me and my two Pitty mixes. On my first visit with the two dogs to Laurie she saw instantly what the biggest problems were and they rested solely with me. She doesn’t sugar coat it but she is fair and spot on and wants what is best for the dogs and their people. I had lived on an 80- acre farm so I had gotten away with letting things slide. Now I am living in town with lots of neighbors, dogs and kids. It was complete pandemonium any time someone had the audacity to walk their dog by our fenced yard or past our picture window. I thought I would lose my mind. She gave us concrete steps to take and exercises to do. I needed to take charge of my dogs, not in an aggressive way but in a way that relieved them of the duty to take care of us and reassure them that I “ had this”. It has been hard daily work because just like with horses, whether or not you believe it, you are always training. They are looking to you for their cues. We have come a long way and I am so much happier and so proud of my pups. After getting the fence running and front window under control, we could begin in earnest to work on other issues. At the beginning of each session, Laurie watches you interact with your dogs, sets up training opportunities and gives excellent advice, which I have taken to heart from day one. Then she asks what other issues might be cropping up and gives specific suggestions for how to correct them. I look forward to each session and my home is sooooo much more peaceful and I truly believe the dogs are happier and more confidant. I know I sure am! Could I have asked Laurie to train my dogs? Yes, I could have, but that begs the reality that I needed training as much, maybe more so, than the dogs. I have learned from some of the best horse trainers that horses are easy to train—it’s the owners that are often tougher. I think it is the same with dogs. If you think you know it all, think again. There is so much more that we as owners could be giving our dogs and everyone will be happier and the better for it. I never want my dogs to be automatons because they are living sentient beings but I do want them to be good citizens as well as happy confidant ones. I will be ever grateful to Laurie for setting us on the right path and I look forward to continuing that work with her as we move forward. She has spent her life learning to understand dog behavior and keep people and their pets safe. I can’t recommend her and Dog Days Training Center heartily enough. It is a safe environment for learning what your best friends need and how to translate that into real time exercises that pay off one hundred fold. Please, I mean it from the bottom of my heart, make your first appointment. We all have to start somewhere.