Norman

I adopted Norman in May 2026 from the Buddy Foundation, where I volunteer alongside Erin. He's a 6 year old boxer mix, very smart, and he was carrying a lot of fear. I knew it would be work, but it was still harder than I expected. After a month of trying to figure it out on my own, I reached out to Erin. I was flailing. Norman knew plenty of commands, but I had no idea how to help his impulse control or build real trust with him. Some days I dreaded taking him out for a walk because I didn't know if I'd be able to control the situation.

I'd never worked with Erin one on one before hiring her, but I'd watched her with a lot of dogs at the shelter. Her energy is calm and confident, and she knows how to carry her body in a way dogs can understand. She's there to lead them, not the other way around, and she's patient with every one of them. I wanted to be that person to these dogs, and my dog, too. She also already knew Norman's story, which meant I wasn't starting from scratch.

The biggest lesson was to slow down way more than I thought I needed to. She helped me understand that training is just about setting your dog up for a win before asking for more. That rewired my brain to start to think the way Norman does. I'm here to lead him to the right decision. I'm here to take the weight off his shoulders so he doesn't have to be on watch all the time. I've got his back, and everything I do needs to show him he can trust me.

The "place" command is where it really clicked. Instead of correcting him for what he was doing wrong, I had a calm, clear thing to ask him to do instead, and he knew exactly what winning looked like. Now he settles on place and looks to me for direction instead of making up his own plan. We use "place" all the time! 

The best part is that the training never really stops. 
Norman and I are always working together, on walks, at home, in the small everyday moments. That's how we bond, and that bond keeps growing. Honestly, it's magical!

Erin didn't just teach me how to train my dog. She changed how I show up for him, and I'm so grateful. I'd recommend her to anyone and everyone that's willing to put in the work, even just a little bit, every single day.

Norman

Boxer mix

Estimated DOB: March 4, 2020