Porter
Porter was a 1 year old (approximate) Red Merle Australian Shepherd that was picked up in the northwestern part of WY as a stray (had a collar but no license or any information on it). The rescue described him as high energy, loved people, fine with other dogs, and fine with kids. Perfect dog for me as an avid runner and mountain biker. I had a 3.5 year old Aussie already who I ran agility with and is very well trained an mild mannered Aussie. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. When I first met porter (to pick him up) he was a wiggly happy dog, excited to see anyone and anything. After a few days it turned out he definitely had some anxiety issues. To start he could not be contained in a crate, he broke out and destroyed a metal crate and escaped from a vari-kennel (plastic sided kennel). With my other dog home he still destroyed any door knob, molding, and at some points light switches close to doors that kept him contained. Eventually I left him out and he continued to destroy doors or anything around them that I walked out of, marked on walls, and typical rescue behavior. None of this concerned me until he met my sisters dog. First impressions were not very good, they nipped at each other and it soon escalated to the point we had to keep them separated. At the time i was a consultant and this was a major problem for me because my sister would watch my other Aussie when I would travel. I live in CO and had worked with some trainers out here but was back in NJ to visit family and was recommended to give Carl a call. Carl took the time to listen to my major issues with porter, none of which were his destructive behaviors but rather his inability to control himself around new people and dogs. At this point I had thought about returning him (saying this makes me feel terrible) to the rescue because he was so anxious and almost seemed uncontrollable. Carl was able to give me the confidence and ability to work with porter on a daily basis. It has now been almost 2 years to the day when I first picked up porter. I can now have him around other dogs without worry, including my sisters. We go to dog parks, we run in public, mountain bike off leash, and he has turned into one of the most well behaved dogs I have seen. He is still very high energy, but with Carl's advice I was/am able to see changes in Porter on a daily basis. I would highly recommend Carl to anyone having behavior issues with their Dog. He is understanding and takes the time to explain why he recommends different ways to handle unwanted behavior. Without Carl's guidance I am not sure I would have been able to work with Porter and help him become the dog I knew he could be.

Phillip Banta

Max and Leo
I learned of Calm Canines about 2.5 years ago when I was telling my groomer how terrible my 2 labs were behaving on their walks every day. They would pull and pull and made me hate walking them ! She gave me Carl’s contact information and once I made contact with Carl it was the beginning of my “new” life with Max and Leo.

Max, 9 and Leo, 5 are yellow Labrador retrievers who are the most loving and active dogs. When Carl first came to the house it was to help me work with them around leash walking. Max and Leo are pullers. After the visit with Carl, and with persistence and practice, they never pulled again. It is a great pleasure walking them now. On occasion they will always revert back to the “old” way but with basic training and getting back to basics of what Carl taught us, it is fine.

About a year later, I called upon Calm Canines again regarding Max’s anxiety around the pool. Max had an unexplainable fear of the water, where he would literally bark at people when they were in the water and would not come near the edge of the pool. When Leo would jump in, Max would bark and bark. My family and I would yell at him, put him in timeouts but did not take the time to really look at what was going on.

Carl came to the house and observed the behavior and 2 hours later, and with tears of joy in my eyes, Max was walking into the pool with no problem. Just as recent as this weekend, Max now walks into the pool via the steps with a simple hand signal. He will hesitate once in a while, but if you assist him with the way Carl showed us, he goes in without any anxiety and no more barking!

Carl is someone I will turn to every time I have a behavioral issue with Max and Leo. He really is a miracle worker. Do not give up on your pets, just call Carl and he will make it all work out. Let Carl teach you how to be a better owner and give your pet the confidence they need.

Audra Arzoomanian

Jameson
As the proud owners of two boxers for almost three years, we were completely unprepared for what was to change in our one boxer, Jameson, in early 2012. A once happy go lucky boxer, seemed to be maturing into a fearful dog who was extremely reactive on walks to the point where we stopped walking him because he became too much to handle. He started lunging to bite several new people, particularly men. About a year ago on a gorgeous May day, we decided to head to a friend’s house for the afternoon. It’s a day that’ll never be forgotten because our totally lovable boy went after a very close friend’s father and tried to bite his face. It was time to stop making excuses and get some serious help. In a few short days, we found Carl, a day that changed our lives forever!

When Carl first met Jameson, it took almost an hour for Jameson to warm up enough to allow Carl to come close. He never rushed a moment and took as long as needed for Jameson to gradually relax.After over three hours, we knew we had a long road ahead of us, but our prayers had been answered. Due to some travel plans, without someone we felt comfortable with to watch Jameson, we were given the opportunity to have him board and train with Carl for 3 weeks. The thought of being without our “monkey man” for three weeks was heart wrenching, but we knew this was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. During those three weeks, we had 6 training sessions with Jameson. He became the incredible dog we knew was deep down inside of him. In working with Carl, we learned to be confident, calm, and in control owners. It seemed we now were the owners of a boxer who was a gentleman to those who entered our home and those we passed on our walks.

One of the many things we love about Carl is his ability to never rush a training session. In the past some trainers come for an hour and at that exact moment, they’re heading out the door. Not Carl, he doesn’t leave until he knows you’re confident and comfortable with the “plan” as I liked to call it. He offers constant follow up by email and phone. He’s passionate about dogs and you will know it from moment one! He gives you his complete attention every moment he’s speaking with you. He made us feel we were his priority.

We are and will forever be so grateful to have found Carl. You’ve changed our lives and we’re eternally grateful!

Megan and Billy Griffin

Bailey
I can't wrap my head around the fact that this dog was totally out of control for a year, you come in, change her behavior COMPLETELY and she gets out once in 3 months and gets killed. Our kids are still so devestated.

But, "Thank you" isn't enough. Thank you for taking the time to train Bailey and teach us how to deal with her. Thank you for coming to see us after Bailey died. We are all so heartbroken and it isn't getting any easier.

We have three children. We adopted our dog, Bailey, in 2006 when our son was almost 4 and our daughter was almost 2. Bailey fit right into our family and we really had no "issues" with Bailey other than a few accidents in the house and chewing, "going" in the house, etc. regular "dog things". We had a baby in December of 2010. Everything about Bailey changed. She became out of control! She would run out of the house if anyone opened the door, she chewed things, she wouldn't let anyone NEAR our house. She was so overprotective of us, that we could not control her. She scared all of our family and friends! She became so "aggressive" towards everyone that we would have to put her in her crate whenever we had friends over.

I was brought to you by such unreal circumstances. We attempted to get new homeowners insurance and when the insurance appraiser came to our house to check the property, Bailey was going crazy barking at him. I had our baby in my arms, so I opened the window and told this man (whom I didn't know), that I needed a second to calm my dog down because she was "aggressive" (I said that because I didn't know who he was), well....the appraiser identified himself and walked around the outside of our house. He took pictures of our "aggressive" dog going crazy in our house and they refused to give us insurance. In the days following, we learned that no insurance company would insure us, "because the homeowner said the dog is aggressive", so I had to do something. I contacted the person who adopted Bailey from with the intention of finding a new home for Bailey because I thought the craziness of our house was "too much" for Bailey. That's when we found YOU and everything changed!

When you came into our home - it was like you were family. We could not believe that you spent so much of your time with us! But, in the scheme of things - what you did in the 5-6 hours you were here - changed our lives! You knew what we were going to say to you before we even said it and you knew how to fix it immediately! We literally watched Bailey turn into a new dog. By the time you left, she was a big, furry mush! We used all of the techniques that you showed us and every day we could see the progress Bailey was making. It was amazing!

We are so thankful that the last few months of Bailey's short life was so wonderful. It breaks our heart that she was taken so early from us. When we are ready for a new dog, we will be calling you. We would like a shephard mix - if you come across one, please let me know. We are in NO rush, but will want another dog eventually.

Again, "Thank you" just isn't enough. Please keep in touch!
Jean & Chris Meier

Mackie
I want to thank you for considering taking on Mackie's case.  Last week, we found a home for Mackie with a family living on my block.  They fell in love with her and when they found out that she needed a home, they decided that she would fit well with their family.  I will continue to foster Mackie until late June when the family will be moving to Florida.  I want to express my appreciation to your organization for providing me with a training session with Carl Zive.  He is absolutely amazing and after one session with him, Mackie's behavior improved dramatically and I became a much better, calmer, and smarter dog lover!  Before Mackie's transition to her new family, I am hoping to hire Carl to work with them.

Carl stated that he feels that a dog comes into our lives for a purpose and I feel that Mackie's purpose in my life is to educate me on the best way to train a dog and to introduce me to Halfway Hounds and your mission.  Meeting and working with Carl was crucial in this process.

Thank you again for giving Mackie and me the opportunity to grow and learn together.
Gail Cerelli

Daisy
On November 29, 2008 I adopted a dog from Start II. Daisy is brindle and she is a 1 year old. Start II had her for one week and did not get the chance to get a feel for her, all they knew is that she was ready to be adopted. The first few weeks were okay because we were getting used to each other, then things got progressively worse. Daisy started having accidents in the house, jumping, chewing on the furniture, counter surfing and the worst was walking. She was pulling constantly and our walks were very long due to the distractions around and her not concentrating on doing her business. We were at our wits end. I am a volunteer dog walker for Start II and one day we had a meeting with Dog Behaviorist Carl Zive at the shelter. He spoke to us about walking the shelter dogs, how to approach and handle them. With us not knowing what to do or how to correct the problems we were having with Daisy I decided to contact Carl. For our first visit with Carl we spoke in length about what a dog thinks and Carl taught us how to handle each situation we were having problems with. We worked with Daisy for approximately 2 weeks in between our sessions with Carl and I was happy to report there was major improvement with Daisy. Today Daisy is a different dog, we have learned how to handle each situation and apply those techniques when necessary. Thank you to Carl for helping us create not only a calmer dog but a pleasant experience and happy home.
D. Glick

Jake & Harley
My name is Letitia and I am the proud owner of a six year old black Pug named Jake and a two year old English Bulldog, Harley!! The transition of introducing Harley into "Jake's territory" was very challenging. My peaceful home turned into an uptight, on edge, unpleasant environment to exist in. Although Harley has always remained extremely submissive to Jake, Jake would go into a zone that would result in an injury to Harley's face or neck. Harley just didn't get the hint that Jake was just not interested in playing. I came to learn from Carl that I was indeed responsible for all these actions and reactions. Carl trained me to be the leader, read my dogs body language and their energy. This resulted in me trusting myself, my capabilities and strengths. The knowledge he provided me helped me believe in myself to then be able to take control of this situation in hopes to regain that peace and calmness I was so desperate to get back! I am very happy and proud to be able to report back to Carl with nothing but wonderful news! I will forever be grateful and blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Carl. He helped enlighten me into the dog world, a place I want to forever exist in!! Carl will bring balance and peace back into anybodies home!! All you need is the desire for change and the willingness to except your own imperfections!:) You will gain a lot more than a "Calm Canine".
L. Musano

Maggie Cavanaugh
We couldn’t understand why our perfect little angel, Maggie, would turn into an uncontrollable 70lb bag of muscle on our daily walks. Sniffing, barking, pulling and dragging; she only seemed to be slowed down the tiniest bit by whichever full grown adult just happened to be attached to her by a leash. That’s when we called Carl. Carl’s extensive knowledge guided us in evaluating our situation. We had allowed Maggie to call ALL the shots, and we didn’t even realize it! Inside the house, she didn’t make a mess, so we didn’t give any further thought to the situation. Outside of the house, it was painfully obvious that we were not in charge. We felt helpless and Maggie knew it. She felt that she had to bear the burden of being in charge; alerting and protecting us from every sight, sound and smell that we walked by. Carl taught us how to communicate with Maggie using ways that she could understand. She began to understand us and with understanding comes respect. Her respect in turn, built our self-confidence, and our newfound confidence allowed her to begin to relax and follow our lead. Before we met Carl, our walks with Maggie were back breaking, frustrating struggles. Now, we are building on our experiences with Carl, strengthening our relationship and most importantly appreciating our walks together.
-Laura & John Cavanaugh