"Hi Bob. Not long left you, but just sitting in the car and thinking how appreciative we are that Andrena recommended we get in touch with you. I have learned some about calm but firm handling from you the expert. I am confident that I can effectively check and correct my dog. I have more understanding about equipment such as gentle leader, harness and muzzles, and love it that Thunder now has a muzzle that doesn't bother him. I have been introduced to a whole new experience in tracking. We shared some of the pain and resentment we have toward some actions of the local dog club and have gained some insight into other clubs. We laughed about snakes and a myriad of your experiences. We even had the pleasure of meeting your great dog characters. Who knows, your advice may have saved Thunder suffering from buried bones. We will share your name and recommend you!! Soooo, thank you from the bottom of my and our hearts."
"Hi Bob, I managed to get one of those leads yesterday. I'm still blown away by how calm and chilled out Chase is. He hasn't attempted any of his circle work inside, and on two occasions when he did outside, he stopped when I told him to."
"Hi Bob, I had you come to help me a few weeks ago with my 8 month old dog "Bonnie". I just wanted to take the time to thank-you for your services and methods of training you showed me. As soon as you left I started the training and have kept it up for the past 2 weeks. I am so happy with the improvements I have seen in Bonnie, and the behaviour problems I was having are almost non-existent now. She is a pleasure to have in the house and is no longer dominating me or jumping all over the furniture. I have been walking her everyday and doing the methods you showed me, and I am very happy to report that she is now walking beside me without pulling and is a pleasure to walk. Thank you for your simple yet effective training services and I will be recommending you to all my friends and family."
"Bob's training was sensational! I was amazed at just how quickly Bob managed to firstly train our troublesome pet, and then round that off with the harder part of training me the owner. His advice was always practical, easy to understand and do, and had immediate lasting effects. I highly recommend his services to any pet owner struggling to control their dog."
"We bought a puppy who was, to say the least, worse than the children when they were little. The dog's name is JJ and he dug gardens and ate plants. If we replanted them JJ would re-dig them. He always knew when we were out because that is when all the mischief would occur. In desperation we built a run for him, only to find if he didn't squeeze through the bars, he sailed over the fence (all five feet). This is where Bob came in. We went away on holidays and left JJ with him for a period of four week. When we came back JJ was a different dog, though he still jumped fences. Bob showed us how to solve this problem. When I broke my foot, my husband was interstate and only the children were with me. We had no way of looking after JJ, so we rang Bob, and he took him for a couple of days. Bob became a person we could rely on for help, and advice, no matter when we called. Bob is our very own Cesar Millan."
"Douglas our miniature poddle was poorly behaved always barking at the TV, visitors and passers by. Bob only needed two hours with us and Douglas to help us regain control of Douglas' behaviour. We're doing well with Douglas now, in fact we had a large group of people here on Saturday, including four babies and I can't remember having to manage him. It was when we sat down at the end of the day that we both realised that he had behaved really well and that we hardly noticed him around. We're not embarrassed by his behaviour any more and the parents have noticed and commented how calm he is around the babies. They continue to visit us! Thank you so much for providing us with the tools to make this difference."
"We called on Bob to help us with our dogs that we adopted from SA Dog Rescue. Our neighbours also adopted a puppy and we hoped it would get along nicely with our dogs, and they would live happily next to each other. Unfortunately, their initial introduction was very aggressive and confrontational, and they looked like they were going to rip each other to pieces rather than be friends. This beautiful puppy was so gentle with its new family and people in general, but suddenly turned into a wild animal whenever it saw another dog. It was terrifying for all of us, and a huge concern for the family that adopted him. Bob came and talked us through a number of general techniques to successfully train our dogs, and we were amazed when the five month old puppy responded to hand signals within only a few minutes of training. He then introduced the puppy to our dogs, and after a few minutes of snarling and aggressive behaviour, they were happily lying next to each other like the best of friends. We could not be happier with the result, and we all intend to continue the training techniques Bob taught us, to keep our dogs well trained, happy and safe. It was really amazing how he was able to curb such a serious behavioural problem that could have got out of control if we hadn't sought Bob's help. Thanks again Bob, we are all overjoyed at the results, and so pleased that we had the opportunity to meet you."
"As a life long dog owner I have met with a few trainers over the years. Something that always struck me was their lack of passion for what they did. Their main motivation seemed to be either for money or a sense of superiority. The thing that I found the most offensive was when someone had clearly taken every effort to try and correct the behaviour of their dog. They surely didn’t deserve to be treated like they were stupid or was a useless dog owner by the trainer they had employed to assist. As I became more involved with the Moorook Animal Shelter my paths crossed with Bob and his work with Canine Companions. I was overjoyed to finally meet a trainer who does what he does from the sheer love of dogs and the need to improve our understanding of our canine friends. THIS was the passion I was looking for in a trainer/behaviourist. Bob has generously helped countless people understand what they need to do to become good pet owners and has prevented a good many of the dogs adopted being returned to the shelter with friendly and practical advice and education.
We have Bob to thank for many, many ex-shelter residents now living in their happily fur-ever after homes. One of the best things that Canine Detection Service has to offer is a range of progressive and flexible options to suit every situation depending on the desired outcome. The board and train option was the one we chose when trying to re-home an ‘unmanageable’ American Staff named Kevin. Kevin is legend at our shelter, having been re-homed at least four times. Each time we made sure his potential new owners knew how strong and uneducated he was before they took him. Despite the advice from people who knew him they took him as they believed they knew better. Each time he was returned, once after only being in a new home for less than an hour. After spending a fortnight with Bob in the board and train program Kevin was re-homed. Bob succeeded where many others had failed. The fantastic insight, awareness and direction taken with Kevin was no less than remarkable. I believe there are certain people who have a special ‘knack’ for particular things and if they are lucky enough to discover what those things are then the results are amazing. Bob has this knack with dogs; he understands them and they understand him. His diverse skills and knowledge range from training dogs for disabled children to highly skilled explosives detection dogs and everything in between. I would recommend Bob and Canine Detection Service to anyone with a dog who feels like they are not experiencing the full joy of ownership due either to behavioural/training issues or maybe it could just be a lack of education. The solution is much more straightforward than you would imagine and the rewards are so great. I could not endorse Bob Yeo and Canine Detection Service more highly."
"I want to truly thank you for your assistance with Zeus. Zeus would not walk in the street, until the training with you. I can see the work ahead, but can see the drastic change made with Zeus and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If you ever wanted to retire Bella, please let us know. I wanted to let you know that since you left Friday, we have done a lot of walking with Zeus, and today, he didn't stop. Thank you."
"My partner and I recently decided to adopt a dog from the Moorook Animal Shelter, a no-kill facility located in the Riverland. Our eyes and hearts were instantly taken by a three year old Red Heeler, Jessie, who presented as a healthy, happy specimen with no obvious “baggage”. Because she would be returning with us to our home in suburban Adelaide, it was important she be socially well adjusted because, although we do not have children she would come into contact with other people and dogs when we were out and about our neighborhood and further afield when she joined us on our regular caravanning holidays. There was nothing in her history, as far as the Manager at the shelter was concerned, that indicated anything that could pose a problem. In fact, we were told that she had been observed to be both people and dog friendly during her short stay at Moorook and she came quite willingly and without hesitation to us when we arrived to meet her.
However, once we had her home, within twenty four hours of her being a member of the household she had attacked two people who had visited us and had proven quite an aggressive dog when being walked. She would attempt to attack any other dog we came across and had to be constantly restrained whilst passing other pedestrians, after almost biting the first person we encountered! Even allowing for a settling in period, the frequency and severity of her attacks continued to be of concern especially as we had been led to believe she was such a sociable dog. I was in regular contact with the shelter in an attempt to learn anything about her past that might explain her aggression but given the circumstances surrounding the surrender of most animals, very few details are known. I was certainly within my rights to return her as she was not he dog we had hoped for, temperament wise, but I really wanted to give her every opportunity to become our forever girl. It was during one of these increasingly worried communications that Bob Yeo’s name was first mentioned as a person who might be able to offer some help.
I rang Bob almost immediately and explained the situation. Although, at this stage, he was just a voice at the end of the telephone, it was obvious he was hearing and understanding my concerns about our new girl. He asked questions about our household and expectations of a dog as well as details of any history that might account for the way she was behaving. Because I was unable to shed much light on the last matter but understanding the urgency of having to address her extreme anti-social behaviours, Bob organized to visit at his earliest convenience. Even though this was going to be three weeks away I agreed and began the wait until he could arrive and make his assessment. Imagine my surprise, and relief when, not two nights later, I had a phone call back from Bob saying he had been able to reschedule some of his other sessions with dog owners to accommodate Jessie and me the following week. I was so grateful that Bob had considered my plea for assistance a priority that needed more immediate attention and, although my story with Jessie does not have the happy ending we were hoping for, I will never forget this very caring gesture.
He arrived at our home at the time we had arranged and met with both me and my partner for approximately one hour. Jessie remained outside for this first part although she could see we had a “stranger’ in the house and was not at all happy. During this time he asked questions about our history with dogs, what breeds we had handled in the past, any dog training we had undertaken previously and our expectations of the newly adopted pet. He presented a considerable amount of literature, all of which was extremely easy to read and which also made complete sense, around establishing a household hierarchy in which Jessie’s position would be clearly identified. He explained that animals who are unclear about their position in the “pack” can assume a highly dominant, and often aggressive nature in order to protect the others and that, perhaps the best way of helping Jessie through the problems we were encountering might be to adopt an approach which places her at the bottom of any “pecking order”. We then moved outside, after putting Jessie on her lead. I was fearful of her response to this stranger and wasn’t surprised when she did attempt, upon their first encounter, to bite him. However, Bob was prepared, quickly placing his lead on her check chain and before any damage could be done began walking her up the street. On several occasions Jessie attempted to resist the newcomer leading her but Bob was having none of it and after less than ten minutes of some serious checking of the lead, Jessie was walking more calmly than at any other time since we had brought her home. We took her to a local park where he did a few obedience drills for our benefit so that we could practice them on our own with her. At no stage was the angry dog that we were so worried about present and it certainly gave us some hope that things could be turned around. We finally headed for home after some forty five minutes where Bob gave us another fifteen or so minutes debriefing before departing.
Over the following month or so I remained in regular contact with Bob, keeping him up to date on the latest developments and constantly picking his brains for advice and answers which he provided willingly. He was always patient and practical with the things he said and suggested and his encouragement of the work I was doing kept me going even when it felt like I was achieving very little in the way of progress. On several occasions he invited Jessie and me to join him whilst he was training with another dog and each time he worked with Jessie she responded without hesitation to anything he asked. Although I did continue to worry about the possibility of her biting him, she never showed any signs of doing this and this still remains one of the most memorable achievements of our time together. Nobody else who met Jessie whilst she was with us could get anywhere near her, but she remembered Bob and always paid him the respect he was due. Unfortunately, despite all the wonderful work Bob did and our best efforts, in the end Jessie’s aggression with others reached the point where it became unpredictable. As long as we believed we could predict potentially dangerous situations, there were strategies Bob recommended which would help keep everyone safe. Once the element of predictability concerning her behaviour, disappeared we had no option sadly, but to return her to the shelter. Even this difficult decision was made a little easier when Bob offered to buy the dog crate and muzzle we had purchased once he was informed of her return.
Even though our attempt to adopt Jessie was unsuccessful, I truly believe that no-one could have offered more sound advice and encouragement during our brief period together as Bob. The reasons behind her return were more complex than mere re-training around alpha dog principles and involved some serious abuse at the hands of the owner who had surrendered her in the first place. With all his years of experience to call on and his “tough love” approach, Bob is still realistic enough to admit that there is some damage from which a dog may never recover and which no amount of extra effort will suffice. Although we are not rushing into dog ownership I have every confidence that when we do and if we ever need help we will know the exact person to contact. Thank you Bob, for your time, understanding and empathy."
