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Testimonial
NH, Melbourne, owners of Jess & Callum
We have really enjoyed the experience of bringing Jess and Callum into our family.
After having had our Border Collie, Chloe, for 18 years, having a puppy again sounded like a lot of work. But the beautiful temperament of the dogs that Merry breeds, her careful approach to their handling at an early age, and her guidance have made for a wonderful experience!
We got Jess when she was 14 weeks. Merry came over to our house in Melbourne and introduced her to the family and Chloe (who had been with us for ever)! At this time, she also gave us a session on the principles of Dog Listening where we learnt lots about how to interpret their behaviour. She also gave us a Dog Listening video and book, which has become the ‘go to’ resource. We learnt about the benefits of Natural Feeding and have continued to adopt this as our feeding approach.
When Merry suggested that we use a crate for Jess's training, we were surprised (How will Jess feel about us putting her in a cage? Will this be cruel?) but having used this method now, we can thoroughly recommend it. A couple of things we found with the crate training were:
When Merry rang some 6 months later to tell us that Callum (one of Jess's brothers) was available we jumped at the chance to have him join our family. Merry felt that he would be a great match for Jess in terms of temperament. Jess had taken Chloe's role as a very confident dog, and Callum, with his happy go lucky nature, would follow her lead. Our only concern was how best to introduce Callum as he was coming to a new home as a young adult (12 months) and we felt that he might take a little longer to adjust to the new circumstances.
As with Jess, Merry came to Melbourne to deliver Callum. Our friends thought this was rather amusing as we were the only people they had ever heard of who had their dogs personally delivered but it was really worth the extra expense. At first sight, Callum and Jess rolled around as though they had never been apart. Callum has been an absolute dream and has settled in without any problems.
Merry suggested that we initially use the crate with Callum to help him settle into the family. We set it up in the corner of our family room near where Jess slept on her rug. After a couple of months (and when Jess started to sit outside his crate and try and play with him every morning), we decided that he was ready to sleep on his rug next to her!
We call Merry every now and then to share our latest stories. I refer to her as their ‘birth mother’ and she asks about the ‘furkids’..!
We have had such a wonderful experience with Merry and her dogs.
I am happy to provide email information direct to any potential new owners if they would like to hear from a present owner.
NH, Melbourne, owners of Jess & Callum
We have really enjoyed the experience of bringing Jess and Callum into our family.
After having had our Border Collie, Chloe, for 18 years, having a puppy again sounded like a lot of work. But the beautiful temperament of the dogs that Merry breeds, her careful approach to their handling at an early age, and her guidance have made for a wonderful experience!
We got Jess when she was 14 weeks. Merry came over to our house in Melbourne and introduced her to the family and Chloe (who had been with us for ever)! At this time, she also gave us a session on the principles of Dog Listening where we learnt lots about how to interpret their behaviour. She also gave us a Dog Listening video and book, which has become the ‘go to’ resource. We learnt about the benefits of Natural Feeding and have continued to adopt this as our feeding approach.
When Merry suggested that we use a crate for Jess's training, we were surprised (How will Jess feel about us putting her in a cage? Will this be cruel?) but having used this method now, we can thoroughly recommend it. A couple of things we found with the crate training were:
- Firstly, the crate is not about punishment and the pups don't view it in a negative way. We used to laugh at how happy Jess was to go to her crate. It was her special space, where she felt comfortable and relaxed. She would simply settle down and go to sleep.
- Secondly, the real benefit to us was that it made her training so much easier. There were amazingly few ‘little accidents’ to clean up and we could be confident that when she was in her crate, she could not get into mischief. By removing two of the major issues we expected to have with a puppy (going to the toilet in the house and chewing on things), we could spend our time enjoying Jess's company. Thus, the crate training was a very important part of the establishment of a great relationship with Jess, as we could spend our time praising her.
When Merry rang some 6 months later to tell us that Callum (one of Jess's brothers) was available we jumped at the chance to have him join our family. Merry felt that he would be a great match for Jess in terms of temperament. Jess had taken Chloe's role as a very confident dog, and Callum, with his happy go lucky nature, would follow her lead. Our only concern was how best to introduce Callum as he was coming to a new home as a young adult (12 months) and we felt that he might take a little longer to adjust to the new circumstances.
As with Jess, Merry came to Melbourne to deliver Callum. Our friends thought this was rather amusing as we were the only people they had ever heard of who had their dogs personally delivered but it was really worth the extra expense. At first sight, Callum and Jess rolled around as though they had never been apart. Callum has been an absolute dream and has settled in without any problems.
Merry suggested that we initially use the crate with Callum to help him settle into the family. We set it up in the corner of our family room near where Jess slept on her rug. After a couple of months (and when Jess started to sit outside his crate and try and play with him every morning), we decided that he was ready to sleep on his rug next to her!
We call Merry every now and then to share our latest stories. I refer to her as their ‘birth mother’ and she asks about the ‘furkids’..!
We have had such a wonderful experience with Merry and her dogs.
I am happy to provide email information direct to any potential new owners if they would like to hear from a present owner.
Please do not hesitate to contact Merry on 0417 832 551 for any additional information.
Or email merry@understandyourdog.com.au
Puppy Gallery
Or email merry@understandyourdog.com.au
Puppy Gallery
