By Carol McCracken
Aiwin was waiting patiently – oh so patiently – with his recently adopted family – Betty and Howard Heller in the waiting room of the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal building. Aiwin is only 7 months old and the Hellers are 50 plus. They adopted him from a family in southern Maine about a month ago. “He stole my heart immediately. I couldn’t leave him behind,” said Howard. Aiwin is Celtic for good guy.
Aiwin weighs 50 lbs already and is probably close to being full grown. He has a full coat of soft apricot hair. Even at this tender age, he’s so intelligent and so loving that any adoptive family would be proud to include him in its family tree. Oh, MHNO forgot to mention that Aiwin is a Standard Poodle. He and his devoted family were awaiting the arrival of Diana Logan, CPDT, Pet Connection – at the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal building waiting room.
“Owners can bring out the best in their dogs through positive reinforcement training,” said Diana. “Whether you have a new puppy or an adult dog with problem behaviors or just in need of some fine-tuning, training can enhance your relationship.” After spending time with the Hellers finding out what behaviors they wanted to change, Diana proceeded to explain to them and them demonstrate for them how they were going to accomplish that.
Soon, she had the Hellers “in the ring” – communicating with Aiawin in a new way that changed his behavior to meet their current needs. It also laid the ground work for future behavior training. Results were immediately visible to all. Eye contact – not intimidating commands to obey – between dog and owner is key to the relationship that changes behavior. “Aiwin is a good student as well as a good guy,” praised Diana at the conclusion of his lesson.
An old dog CAN learn new tricks as Diana demonstrated with her 8 year old Standard Poodle, Dory. After five minutes of working with Dory, she retrieved the February/March issue of the “Island Times” from its stand at the Terminal waiting room. A feat she’d never attempted before and at which she was successful. For good measure, Dory picked up several copies of the monthly in her mouth and brought them to Diana. Dory was well rewarded for her work. Sweet Dory lives in North Yarmouth, with Diana Logan. Diana has been in the pet training business for 8 years and has a wide background of experience indicated on her web page.
For more information, please contact Diana Logan at www.petconnectionmaine.com or at home at 829-3187. Her cell phone number is 252-9352. It could be the beginning of a new and wonderful relationship between you and your dog.
