BRODY

From Ann, Brody’s person (2022):

 

My husband and I have adopted and fostered over twenty greyhounds from rescue organizations since 2006. Many of them have come with a variety of behavior issues that we have successfully helped them to overcome, that is until Brody came along.

 

We adopted Brody just after he turned two. He had previously been living with a woman who passed away suddenly and Brody was left in the house with her body until it was discovered over a week later.

 

When he came to us, he was terrified to go outside. Frankly, at first, he was terrified to come out of his crate. He would defecate and urinate in the crate and would not come out.

 

Gradually, over time he began to emerge from the crate into the house.

 

When outside though, he would completely melt down, throwing himself into the door to try to get in, crying at the top of his lungs. He would only go outdoors if we carried him, but would not ever go potty outside.

 

No matter what we tried, we could make no headway with him. He started to become more comfortable in the house but was using pee pads and belly bands in the house because of his fear of outdoors.

 

We hired two different trainers and a veterinary behaviorist, and followed their suggestions to a tee. It was heartbreaking as he actually got worse. Now he was jumping up and throwing himself at the door and would not calm down for twenty to thirty minutes after coming inside.

 

I acquiesced to the idea that Brody would never go out and that the pee pads and belly bands were going to be a part of our life from here on out.

 

My husband met Gene through a mutual friend and suggested we give Gene’s training methods a try. Reluctantly, I agreed but was highly doubtful this was going to work as we had already failed with the other trainers.

 

Along with this, we were going to be working with Gene on Zoom. I have to honestly say I thought, “this is never going to work”.

 

Right from our first meeting, Gene was so different from the people we had tried previously! He spent so much time with us really listening and going over all the details about not just Brody, but also our other three greyhounds.

 

We started to work with Gene and the approach he used was so kind and supportive (but also so knowledgeable). His approach was very positive and not at all like the “tough love” approaches we had tried.

 

With great empathy, Gene was able to understand Brody’s feelings and to guide us step by step in how to help him feel safe while becoming comfortable and confident. He made each step easy for us to understand and to execute.

 

And it was working…

 

Brody started making progress within mere weeks of training!

 

With us following Gene’s instruction, Brody finally began going out into the yard (on his own!) to pee and poop, staying out there for longer and longer periods of time as the days went by.

 

In the past, he never once ate even the yummiest treats outside, no matter what we offered or how many times we tried. We have reached yet another milestone: Brody now eats treats in the backyard!

 

After living with him for over a year and a half, we also finally got to see Brody run for the first time ever and to play enthusiastically with his greyhound siblings outside.

 

The first time Brody “ran with the pack” in the yard I started to cry. He was actually having fun out there–it was a miracle!

 

Gene is tremendously talented and has so many resources available to his clients, and always has just the right tips for whatever challenges arise.

 

He would give us clear, specific homework to do in between sessions and really trained us to train Brody. Always our cheerleader and our coach, his style is so kind and often quite funny.

 

Gene has such a unique gift for this work, I cannot recommend him enough. Though at first doubtful and reluctant, I am a huge Gene supporter now.

 

He truly worked a miracle with our boy and I cannot put into words how much I appreciate that.

 

If you have a dog that needs training, regardless of how challenging their behavior may be–I would recommend Gene strongly. His work with Brody was miraculous and so very worth it!

 

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Brody has since passed away. I will always be grateful that he learned to feel safe—and that Ann finally got to see him “run with the pack.”