DBR in the News
Gilroy Dispatch Saturday, August 5, 2006
Pups on Parade
Dog Trainer Sherry Boyer helps canines become well behaved and obedient
By Mike Meyer, Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy— Two women walking their dogs on a spring evening in Gilroy have the look of model pet owners with well-behaved canines. The dogs are on their leashes, stay at the women's sides, stop when they stop and walk when they walk.
Charlene Williams and Sandy Gillis are wondering how this happened. The two hadn't been able to walk the dogs in more than a year because, as Williams put it, "they barked constantly and were scared to death of everything. It was so much trouble all the fun had gone out of it." But this night's success had the pair smiling.
It's because you're here, Williams said to Sherry Boyer, of Dog Behavior Rehab of the Bay Area, who was accompanying them. But Boyer disagreed. It's because we didn't leave the house until they were calm," she said.
Helping hyper and aggressive dogs understand who is in charge is one of the main elements of Boyer's message.
Dog's have a certain energy level and they're all different," Boyer explained while on a house call to Williams' and Gillis' home. "With some dogs, the energy overflows- and in different ways. They become neurotic, destructive, fearful, or aggressive. They tear their toys or bark constantly. They can let it out in lots of ways."
