Lucious
My name is Lucious and I am a Cane Corso. My humans’ names are Joe and Pinida and they are preparing me to be a great protector and friend as I was bred to be. I am a high drive and highly reactive pup. I am always on guard and at times am misunderstood. When my human purchased me they knew I would be this way and took the steps to train me accordingly. I am 15 months old and started training when I was only 16 weeks old. I have gone through many stages since then and often was a frustration for Joe. However, he has been fairly consistent with me and has continued to expose me to different scenarios outside my home. Joe continues to take me to weekly training out at Ken and Lynn’s place now for almost a year which has been key to my success. I listen well, stay well, and for the most part, get along with the other dogs in training. Despite a few setbacks, my owners and I are on a path to success due to consistent training. Early on it was evident I would be a champion for Joe and Pinida. I love them without hesitation in my work, which at times may seem to be my down fall. Without solid and consistent training I would be dangerous; and my size and nature consistently proves this. In additions to my training, Joe has seen improvement of his own as an owner of such an awesome K9. Through this process, Joe has recognized he is key in how I respond to my environment and that I am a product of his commitment. I thank my humans for enrolling me in Schilling’s Northwest Law Dog and for being consistent in my daily training.
Joseph Land
Eugene, OR
Zito Budd
We originally adopted Zito Budd from Eugene’s 1st Street SPCA folks a little over 2 years ago. Zito was originally found on the street and had been in the SPCA facility for 5 weeks without any interested parties. The SPCA folks warned us that intros for both people and dogs should be taken very slowly. “He had no puppy skills” is how they put it. And sure enough.. he was dog aggressive and very protective when people approached. We thought that Zito Budd may have been a homeless person’s dog, where his job was to protect.
We immediately decided to take Zito Budd to a professional dog trainer. Unfortunately, that was not the Schillings. We completed 8 weeks of private lessons and then signed up for an additional 8 weeks of group lessons with another trainer. After 7th week of group lessons, are old trainer informed us that “Zito was getting worse and couldn’t help us any longer”. We were crushed. We turned to our veterinarian, and he recommended Ken Schilling.
During Ken’s first meeting with Zito, he informed us that Zito was not ready for the Schilling’s training classes. Oh boy.. But listened to Ken’s recommendations and continued working with Zito on our own. 2 month later, I boarded Zito with the Schillings. Ken and Courtney were kind enough to work with Zito during his boarding visit. When I returned to pick up Zito Budd, Ken informed me Zito was ready for his obedience class.. I was sooo excited. We immediately started attending the Saturday obedience lessons.
In the first months, we only attended class when it was raining, to try and work with a smaller group of dog/owners. Slowly but surely we started making progress.
After 15 months attending the Schilling training classes.. we can pass the chickens without Zito lunging. We can approached folks without him barking. We have been slowly approaching the “circle” of dogs during class. Everyone at our Veterinarian office is amazed at Zito Budd’s transition. They couldn’t believe it was the same dog I had adopted 2 years earlier. We are now allowed to sit in the waiting area, vs only being allowed in the office via the back door in order to avoid dogs/cats/owners. Our neighbors have also commented on Zito Budd’s improved behavior. Zito Budd now has 2 doggie friends, our neighbor’s dog, Ice-us and my cousin’s dog, Finnegan. Ice-us and Zito share a “Y” leash during our walks… side by side! Finnegan and Zito sleep side by side when we visit! They share toys, food, water and treats. Another one of our neighbors has 2 dogs, and by the end of our walks, Zito is laying down within feet of the other doggies. Zito and I now shop at Home Depot together, and many people just come up to him and pet him. We take him bird watching and he is calm and lays down when my husband or I stop to look at a bird of interest. Such the better boy!
Zito Budd is not perfect, he has more room for improvement with dog interactions, but his improvement is truly amazing. We are continuing with Courtney and Ken Saturday’s training sessions.
To all the Schillings.. THANK YOU!!! and our friends and neighbors thank you, too!
Barbara Horn and Dave Jones
Eugene, OR
“We had such a good experience with the first dog we purchased from Ken that we came back for another a year later! This was not our typical pet-purchasing experience where we just pick out an animal, buy it, go home, and then we’re on our own. Ken helped us pick out a dog that we felt was just right for us, and then had us take the time to bond with him before taking him home, which was an excellent idea. Afterwards we were able to return for continued training, which has made all the difference in the world. Ken and Lynn have always made themselves available to us for questions and have taken the time to work with us on trouble spots. We couldn’t be happier with our dogs. It is easy to see that Ken takes great care to breed for brains. They are so sweet and intelligent and affectionate and even strangers comment on how beautiful and well-behaved they are. More than once I’ve had people yell out their car windows what beautiful dogs they are. Ulrich, who is trained for protection, is very impressive to watch during aggression training and when my husband goes out of town I feel 1000% safer with him around. We can’t imagine life without them. Adam and I both jump at the opportunity to recommend Schilling’s to any friend who mentions that they are even considering getting a dog. “
Adam and Jessica Pelatt
Higgins
Higgins has joined our family and we love having the benefit of having him with us.
It’s kind of surprising how this came about.
When my husband Andy, decided to take our 9 month German Shepherd to Ken Shilling’s dog training classes, I casually asked Ken about Service dogs.
I have felt for several years that I could benefit from an Assist dog, but this became more pronounced in the last year, after many significant surgeries that affected my mobility. Being with Higgins gives me so much pleasure and confidence. I feel blessed that Higgins had already been trained by Ken for another person that was unable to keep him, so this beautiful dog was returned to the Shilling’s kennels.
My blessing! That I was in the right place, at the right time.
I have been working with Higgins and Ken for several weeks now, so that we have a smooth transition into our home, and mostly that Higgins and I will have a great relationship.
My heartfelt thanks to Ken, Lynn, Courtney, and especially to Higgins!
Sincerely,
Mary & Andy Dalglish
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 signedup 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.”
Sammie
My husband and I brought Sammie home at 8 weeks old, he rode in my lap all the way and we have been inseparable ever since. Sam is our third German Shepherd so we had experience with his breed and wanted to give him the chance to reach his full potential. I spent all of my free time touching, playing, loving and teaching him the obedience we had learned with our other German Shepherd’s and my husband took Sam everywhere he went and socialized him every chance he got. At a year and a half Sam was a well rounded dog, he was great with people and dogs alike and we had done the best with him we knew how, but it was time to get professional help. A friend told us about Schilling’s Northwest Law Dogs and after checking out the website we agreed this was just what we were looking for.
We made an appointment to meet with Ken and the first thing he said to me after meeting Sam was “You spoil this dog don’t you”. He had us both pegged from the very beginning. One of my biggest problems with Sam was heeling and I was constantly struggling with who was walking who. Within the first few minutes Ken was with Sam he had him heeling like he had always done it. There was no pulling or struggling for control. He made it look so easy I couldn’t believe this was my Sam. Ken has such a way about him he is all about the dogs, the training he provides is more for the people. That morning Ken spent more time teaching me how to heel than he did with Sam.
There is so much more to this training course than we expected. Ken’s family, Lynn and Courtney, are also professional dog trainers and in addition to helping Ken with training made themselves available to provide their support and knowledge when needed. This has been such a great experience for both Sam and us, it has been rewarding watching the changes we have all gone through. Soon we will be coming to the end of the 16 week obedience and protection classes and we plan to continue “our” training with the annual classes offered.
Thank you Ken, Lynn & Courtney for everything.
– Vonnie, Daniel & Sam Christensen
I first started training with Ken about 11 years ago, shortly after I adopted my first dog from Greenhill Humane Society. I had taken her to another obedience class in town & learned some of the basics but quickly learned that we needed more training, especially when she was around other dogs. One of the things I like best about Ken’s classes is that all the dogs & handlers participate at the same time, so the dogs learn the training even when potentially distracted by other dogs. After a few weeks of frustration and feeling a little overwhelmed with obedience class, things started to get better & I started to figure out how to handle my dog. The concepts that Ken teaches really set in and started to make sense to me. It was easy to get frustrated when my dog wasn’t behaving until I learned that a big part of why she wasn’t behaving was actually my fault… I wasn’t being consistent & I didn’t always make her do what I asked her to do. As Ken likes to say, dogs don’t understand the idea of “close enough” they need clear commands followed by praise when it’s done correctly.
After getting the hang of obedience, I started staying to watch the protection training. It looked really fun & as I learned more, I realized it would actually make my dog more confident & less fearful. Ultimately, it made her a better dog, me a better owner and me a lot more confident when out running, hiking, etc. She ended up excelling at protection work, competed in several local / regional competitions and retired from competition as the two-time defending champion of the annual SOKS challenge. Not bad for a mixed- breed who was dumped in a dumpster and left to die as a puppy!
Eleven years later, I am training my third dog and am still going to Schilling’s Obedience & Protection classes. Even now, I still learn new things that help me be a better owner & have a better life with my dogs.
– Lisa Jenson – Eugene, Oregon