Rebecca and Joel Say:
"Prior
to adopting Luna, our family had set out on
a mission to find a
family pet. When my husband first proposed the
idea of a German Shepherd,
I have to say that I wasn't thrilled. However,
one evening he called me into
our home office, not knowing he was baiting
me, I responded. It was love at
first site! Ken had a picture of Luna on his
website and she was the most
beautiful creature I had ever seen. It was not
24 hours before we had met
Luna for the first time. Shortly thereafter,
we took her home to be with
our family forever. She is in every way our
best friend. She provides
amusement, companionship, and protection. She
accompanies us where ever
she can and we miss her when she can't. I can
honestly say that I can't
imagine our lives without her."
Jan Say's
"My beloved Tucker almost
didn’t make it. At one year old, he was
disobedient and aggressive towards humans and
other dogs. Even though our family had raised
two other German Shepherds before, Tucker was
definitely different. Besides not listening
to me, he barred his teeth at me, lunged and
growled at other dogs and humans on walks, and
soon I realized I was afraid of him.
I was desperate for help and brought him to
Ken Schilling. Tucker was out of control during
his evaluation. He barked, growled, and pulled
at his leash. I signed up for 10 weeks of obedience
classes. Tucker had to be muzzled since he lunged
at everything that moved in class. I heard other
students say to stay away from the “mean
dog.” I wanted the ground to open up and
swallow both of us, but I know I had to stick
with the training or Tucker was going to be
given way. After my third class, Tucker bit
me. My husband was adamant about getting rid
of Tucker and I argued for one more chance.
I was determined to make Tucker compliant and
I signed up for a year of obedience and hopefully
protection training. After we began protection
training, his obedience seemed to improve. We
continued to train.
Fast forward to today. Tucker and I have entered
our fifth year of training. We both just love
it and hardly ever miss a class. After 2 years
of training, Tucker and I took second place
in the intermediate level of the SOKS Challenge,
a competition the Schillings hold annually at
their country home. The following year, we placed
second again.
10 months later, with Ken’s encouragement,
Tucker and I went to CA to compete in the first
annual World K9 Gladiators competition. We took
second place in the semi professional level
and came home with not only a trophy, but with
a purse of $ as well!
This year at the Schillings’ annual SOKS
Challenge, Tucker and I took first place in
the advanced level. Tucker rocked!
It’s been an amazing transformation.
From a dog who would bare his teeth at me and
growl, to a best friend who kisses my face.
I will be forever grateful to Ken and Lynn for
all their training, support, and encouragement
and I am honored to be a student of Ken Schilling,
an incredibly talented and gifted trainer."
